Bernadette Peters coming to Paramount in October

CEDAR RAPIDS — Orchestra Iowa audiences will say hello to Broadway's 'Goodbye Girl' when Bernadette Peters brings her symphonic show to the Paramount Theatre on Oct. 3.

It's a big-ticket gala fundraiser, with a $200 top-tier price available to series subscription holders through April 15. Any remaining seats will be available in August, at a price range to be determined.

The event replaces the orchestra's portion of the recently retired Sight & Sound auction extravaganza, a biennial benefit split with the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.

'What we found when we brought in Harry Connick Jr. to do a gala performance was something that fit who we are better,' Maestro Timothy Hankewich said. 'One of the challenges is finding that guest artist who has great star appeal (and) performs with symphony orchestras — and we need somebody a community our size can afford. I think we've found the beautiful solution to that.'

A luminous leading lady, Peters' Broadway career began in 1958 and jumped into high gear with Theatre World's debut award in 1968 for 'George M!' and Drama Desk accolades that same year for 'Dames at Sea.' She picked up Tony's Best Actress awards for 'Song and Dance' in 1986 and 'Annie Get Your Gun' in 1999, and was nominated for 'Mack and Mabel' in 1975, 'Sunday in the Park with George' in 1984, 'The Goodbye Girl' in 1993 and 'Gypsy' in 2003.

Equally at home in front of the camera, her film career stretches back to 1973. She nabbed memorable starring roles with Steve Martin in 'The Jerk' in 1979 and again two years later in 'Pennies from Heaven,' for which she won a Golden Globe. Active in television since 1969, she's had recent star turns in 'Grey's Anatomy,' five episodes of 'Ugly Betty' and six episodes of 'Smash.'

Hankewich worked with her in Kansas City before he assumed the baton in Cedar Rapids 10 years ago.

'She's a tremendous performer,' he said.

And a natural for the orchestra's only major fundraiser of the year, because of her 'artistry, celebrity and the fact that as a Broadway artist, she knows the culture of singing with acoustical instruments,' Hankewich said.

'Because she's from the generation of what I consider the Golden Age of Broadway, when there were still orchestras in the pit, that means when she's performing with a symphony orchestra, the symphony orchestra isn't just a set piece — it's actually a collaboration with her.

'And the fact that this area is so crazy with show choir and is heavily invested in theater, it seems to be the perfect match.'