Betty Buckley as Norma Desmond

[Parsley]

Posted: 3/15/14 at 11:37am

Missed her live on Broadway all those decades ago (!) and caught her understudy when she did it in London but was going through my show dvds and watched this yesterday. Quite AMAZING. And I have never seen a post-number reception from the audience as she got after With One Look where, in character, she tries to get the audience to stop. .spinetingling stuff.

IMO one of ALW's greatest scores





Updated On: 3/15/14 at 11:37 AM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/15/14 at 11:48am

It was only 2 decades ago lol. And yes, she was remarkable.

[bryan2]

Posted: 3/15/14 at 12:20pm

I saw pretty much every major Norma and Betty was hands down the best..
Saw her in London and 3x in NYC because I couldn't get enough of the performance. Glenn was crazy from the jump..loved her but vocally just average...Elaine Paige sang it beautiful but her being so small was strangely distracting...Karen Mason was amazing considering they booed when it was announce Glenn Close was out (she had just come back from 2 weeks vaca and was out the first Saturday..not happy) Betty was sad/pathetic/slowly descending into her mental hell...and vocally the roof shook...the ovation after WITH ONE LOOK is something I will never forget...my entire body had goosebumps lol......

[bryan2]

Posted: 3/15/14 at 12:20pm

I saw pretty much every major Norma and Betty was hands down the best..
Saw her in London and 3x in NYC because I couldn't get enough of the performance. Glenn was crazy from the jump..loved her but vocally just average...Elaine Paige sang it beautiful but her being so small was strangely distracting...Karen Mason was amazing considering they booed when it was announce Glenn Close was out (she had just come back from 2 weeks vaca and was out the first Saturday..not happy) Betty was sad/pathetic/slowly descending into her mental hell...and vocally the roof shook...the ovation after WITH ONE LOOK is something I will never forget...my entire body had goosebumps lol......

[bryan2]

Posted: 3/15/14 at 12:40pm

Updated On: 3/18/14 at 12:40 PM

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/15/14 at 12:40pm

Betty is the only Norma I saw. Loved her.

[Sthunderrocker]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 5:01am

^this...
S

[jkstheatrescene]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 8:34am

I couldn't agree more. Betty Buckley's performance in that show was mesmerizing and memorable. One of the best performances I've seen in the last 30 years.

[AC126748]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 8:56am

She was remarkable and truly elevated the show.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 9:55am

One of the my favorite performances ever. I saw her a couple of weeks into her Broadway run as a wee young thing, not knowing at all who she was, sitting fifth row and being blown away. How she could sing like that - did she ever stop for breath?! - and still act the hell out of the role, it's always been one of a couple of standard bearers for me. And how she moved those hands? Wow.

Aside from that weird forced one in The Boy of Oz, it was the first and last time I ever experienced and in-show standing ovation, and I never forgot it.

My favorite With One Look of hers, that I could find, is the one she did at the Oliviers...I also happen to be obsesses with that 37 second long push into close-up!




SUNSET BLVD: Betty Buckley at The Oliviers

Updated On: 3/17/14 at 09:55 AM

[mamaleh]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 10:15am

Like Henrikegerman, Betty B. was the only Norma I ever saw. I was also fortunate to see John Barrowman as her Joe Gillis on Broadway when he was filling in for a vacationing Alan Campbell. Both were so very good that I kept wondering why the theater wasn't packed.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 10:59am

Betty was easily the best Norma. She understood the heartbreak so exquisitely and she sang the hell out of that score almost effortlessly.

[dreaming]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 12:20pm

I saw Betty Buckley as Norma and couldn't understand why she didn't originate the role-she'd have deserved the Tony for it. She was amazing-a fine balance between the craziness and the heartbreak of the character. And, oh, those pipes. I'd never seen an audience quite explode the way they did after she sang "With One Look" (I loved that song-still do). She stopped the show for a bit. It was amazing-a true tour de force performance.

[morosco]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 12:45pm

I've come hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooome at last!

If you don't watch the entire clip at least jump ahead to the 8 minute mark. Stunning performance.
As If We Never Said Goodbye

[Buscee]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 4:54pm

As wonderful as Betty was in the role. Betty would have never sold the tickets the way Glenn Close did. It's business. Glenn Close is a major movie star at the time, and every sit was sold when she was in the show. Once she left no actress was able to fill that theatre. It's basically the same reason Patti didn't play it in New York. Patti wouldn't have been able to fill the Minskoff theatre. Purely a business move. I saw Glenn, Betty, Elaine and Petula all were interesting in their own way. Glenn was amazing. Betty Heart-breaking/ and a powerhouse voice. Elaine was incredible, very Gloria Swanson, and Petula was a real character/ humorous.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 6:26pm

Betty Buckley to me, is the best Broadway singer of al time.. No one else gives me goose bumps when she belts. Corny as it is, I go into another world when she sings Memory.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 8:02pm

I was 2 when Betty started in the show. I did not get to see anyone live, but have the boots and pro-shot footage of Betty, Glenn, Elaine, Patti, Petula. Betty’s vocals are easily the best! Petula was horrible- don’t know what she was doing, but I did not like it. Glenn's acting MORE then made up for her vocals.

Updated On: 3/17/14 at 08:02 PM

[Steve721]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 8:41pm

The other thing you have to remember about Close is the reviews she got. Many critics didn't care that much for the show, but almost all of them went completely gaga for Close. There was also great word of mouth about her--this was a performance you just had to see. And it was a riveting, unforgettable spectacle. IMHO, that's mainly why she filled the theater night after night, despite the inadequacies of her singing.

[Sthunderrocker]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 4:44am

I never understood that. I'm probably in the minority, but I honestly feel Sunset Blvd may well have been ALW's finest work. The set was incredible as well. And meeting George Hearn at the stage door was a dream come true...
S

[frafinley]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 12:30pm

Need to find more clips of this elsewhere online. WOW. Uncanny. Crazy good.