Troy Historic Village to Host Musical About Sarah Bernhardt

will host a performance of ‘Bernhardt on Broadway’ at 2 p.m. on Monday, June 18th in the old Troy Church. ‘Bernhardt on Broadway’ is a no-holds-barred exposé about the daughter of a courtesan who overcame countless obstacles to become the most famous woman in the world.

Now, almost a century after her appearances in southeast Michigan, audiences can once again experience the wonder of Madame Sarah in the one-woman musical, ‘Bernhardt on Broadway.’ 

Playwright, composer, lyricist and lead Carol Dunitz is currently in discussion with a major Broadway producer to take ‘Bernhardt on Broadway’ to New York. The show premiered at Maxims in Chicago in October 2010. 

Before mass media and modern travel, Sarah Bernhardt ingeniously mass marketed her meteoric rise to superstardom. She was the worl's first superstar. Before Lady GaGa and Marilyn Monroe posed nude for national magazines, and Janet Jackson introduced the world to the concept of a wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl halftime show, Sarah Bernhardt shamelessly posed nude for renowned 19th century photographer Felix Nadar while still in her teens.

Before Britney Spears and Madonna French kissed at MTV’s 20th annual Video Music Awards, Bernhardt spread rumors that she studied her parts in a coffin and played croquet with human skulls. Before Elizabeth Taylor was led to the altar seven times and Zsa Zsa Gabor sampled marital bliss with nine men, Madame Sarah received over 1,000 proposals of marriage.

Before Joan Crawford and Bette Davis endorsed Lucky Strikes, Sarah Bernhardt touted Ogden cigarettes as well as Vaseline, Pears soap, and Guerlain perfume – and got paid handsomely to do it.

She was an unrivaled success in the first full length silent film Queen Elizabeth – before Cate Blanchett and Helen Mirren offered their interpretations of England’s great queen. Before Richard Burton and Sir Lawrence Olivier performed ‘Hamlet,’ Sarah Bernhardt played the young prince at Stratford on Avon in French.

Mark Twain punctuated Sarah Bernhardt’s Avant Garde status when he identified five kinds of actresses: “bad, fair, good, great – and then there is Sarah Bernhardt.” Nicknamed ‘The Divine Sarah’ by Oscar Wilde, Bernhardt was the undisputed queen of theatre during her lifetime.  It is said she almost single-handedly revolutionized the place of women in the theater. Her bravery and bold abandon has become the archetype of successful women to this day.

About the artist

Carol Dunitz read over 100 books and articles on Sarah Bernhardt before writing ‘Bernhardt on Broadway.’ Dunitz received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and holds a Ph.D. in Speech Communication and Theater from Wayne State University.  She is the author of several books in addition to ‘Bernhardt on Broadway.’ She has been writing music since she was a child. Her love of musicals dates to her childhood when her mother, who often told her she was ‘a little Sarah Bernhardt,’ took her to see Gypsy.

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the Troy Museum & Historic Village (60 West Wattles Road) or by calling 248-524-3570.

Source: City of Troy/Carol Dunitz