In "The New York Times" review of the 1986 Broadway cast recording of "Song and Dance" (titled "Bernadette Peters in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Song & Dance), Stephen Holden wrote that the recording was "a personal triumph for a singer and actress who is rapidly establishing herself as the first lady of the Broadway musical. Performing material whose music borders on kitsch and whose lyrics and story suggest a verbose soap opera, Miss Peters nevertheless projects an astounding emotional generosity and conviction. Almost singlehandedly she turns the inconsequential erotic misadventures of Emma ... into a touching romantic fable about love and its defenses and the loss of innocence. ... Miss Peters has always oozed a cuddlesome Shirley Temple-like sweetness and vulnerability. This quality, which used to seem more like an adorable child-star affectation than a deep-seated trait, has proved to be an essential ingredient of Miss Peters's personality. A delivery that once seemed coy and cutesy has deepened and ripened into an honesty and compassion that pour out in singing that is childlike but also resilient."