Goodbye to the divine and lovely Rebecca Luker. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/23/theater/rebecca-luker-dead.html

The first time I saw Rebecca Luker on stage was in the 2000 revival of The Music Man, where she gave a wonderful, spirited performance as Marian Paroo. Her soaring rendition of "My White Knight" turned me into an instant devoted fan.

I picked up the cast albums The Secret Garden, The Sound of Music, and The Boys from Syracuse on CD, and I never tired of that lovely soprano voice. Her warmth and charm made her an irresistible force of truth onstage.

Rebecca Luker was also a favorite of John McGlinn who had her record Brigadoon as well as a lot of pre-Golden Age material. Her singing of the original double-duet arrangement of "All the Things You Are" is out of this world.

One of the best performances I saw Rebecca Luker give—and I've enjoyed so many over the years—was as Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins. I think it was the best of the entire production.

Luker wasn't just a queen of revivals—she was also interested in new material and didn't allow herself to be pigeon-holed.

One of my regrets was missing her brief stint as Helen Bechdel in the original Broadway production of Fun Home.

I was devastated to hear her diagnosis with ALS a year ago. Not unlike her friend and peer Marin Mazzie, Rebecca approached her illness with transparency, empathy, and advocacy. In a brief time, she did so much to raise awareness for this horrible disease.

When I was a teenager and starting to explore musical theatre, two of the most formative voices in that journey belonged to Marin Mazzie and Rebecca Luker and I am absolutely gutted that they are no longer with us. https://soundcloud.com/theatreaficionado/make-someone-happy-marin-mazzie-judy-kuhn-rebecca-luker

One last word: Rebecca Luker's final album, a recording of her show with her good friend Sally Wilfert called All the Girls, will be released this Friday. https://twitter.com/PSClassics/status/1339980812817600513?s=20