Betty Buckley and Shuler Hensley to Star in Texas Sweeney Todd

[mtdonegan]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 4:26pm

Betty Buckley and Shuler Hensley to Star in Texas Sweeney Todd
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/92704.html

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 4:37pm

yes!!! Shuler Hensley NEEDS to play Sweeney!!! that's the first thing I thought when I saw him in Oklahoma!... he'd make a great sweeney todd... LOVE IT!

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 4:39pm

I loved him on The Jeffersons.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 4:41pm

He probably knows the part well already--I remember reading in Entertainment Weekly that he was often singing songs from the show on the "Van Helsing" set!

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 4:49pm

I can see this!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!

[Timmerbo]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 4:50pm

I recall reading on his website that he really wanted to play Sweeney someday. I have trouble thinking of an actor with a voice better suited for the part. He should be great.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 4:57pm

My Thoughts exactly Baddad-- Could they make Mrs. Lovett's first name Weesie?

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 5:03pm

i'll have to take a day trip to see it!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 5:06pm

This Odessa Theatre Company which is brand new sure is intriguing ain't it? Maria Friedman in GYPSY and now Buckley in SWEENEY.

They must have some budget, and I have no idea where the audience is going to come from to see these shows = but bravo!

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 5:46pm

Without a doubt, this is the creepiest combo to ever play Sweeney and Lovett.

[Dolly_Levi]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 5:51pm

I would kill to see/hear those two together in Sweeney Todd.

Inspired casting, to say the least!

[Plum]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 5:53pm

Hensley has it in him to be a great Sweeney, I think. Just watch him in the Oklahoma! DVD.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 6:25pm

Good luck and Godspeed, Mr. Hensley.

[Dolly_Levi]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 6:33pm

Can they play any instruments?

Maybe these two bring their act to NYC?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 6:43pm

I'd rather see Buckley then Patti LuPone again, but Sondheim apparently doesn't care for her, so I doubt we'll see her in NYC.

[leomaxfrank]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 6:59pm

I recall Sondheim not liking Buckley - and it having something to do with her performance of one of his songs. Was it Being Alive?

MB - Can you refresh my memory?

[sanda]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 7:29pm

wow!great news for Shuler. He is one of the best actor for that role.

Sigh, wish I could be in Texas.

[Plum]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 7:30pm

Sigh, wish I could be in Texas.

Wow, that has to be a first on this board.

[Taryn]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 8:56pm

OMG! If my best friend is in Texas for that part of the summer, I'm forcibly sending her.

[wildcat]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 9:50pm

Baddadnpa...that did not go unnoticed...

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 10:33pm

I know Sondheim doesn't care for a lot of the arrangements she's done of his songs on her recordings, but he's not nasty about new interpretations (obviously -- the London SWEENEY is coming to Broadway), but my personal theory is that something happened during the workshop of INTO THE WOODS (Buckley was originally the Witch). That was at the height of Betty's true insanity, so perhaps something happened between her and Sondheim then, because she was uninvited to continue with the production.
Updated On: 5/2/05 at 10:33 PM

[maybethistime]

Posted: 5/2/05 at 11:38pm

**kicks self for not being in town**

This theatre always had the most amazing performers that come and do really short runs of the most amazing shows, and I live near enough to drive in for a matinee, but I'm never in town. Ever. UGH.

[BWAYboi_yes]

Posted: 5/3/05 at 12:57am

I'm thrilled to see Shuler in the role, and what a great one for Betty, too. This is great, and Jonathan Tunick conducting? Now there's a real catch. Wonder how they got him.

[jim coleman]

Posted: 5/3/05 at 3:53am

I can't imagine Betty Buckley playing Nellie Lovett. She is humorless. When I was conducting ANYTHING GOES at Lincoln Center, after Eddie Strauss left, they were looking for a replacement for Patti Lupone and Miss Buckley came in to audition, and believe me, she has no humor. And she is not the easiest person to work with. With a show as difficult as SWEENEY TODD (I have conducted over 600 performances), the last thing you need is a diva making everybody's life miserable. She has an amazing voice, but there is a reason why she hasn't been doing a lot of theatre lately. Paper Mill's GYPSY added a great deal to her "difficult" reputation.

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 5/3/05 at 6:36am

this is a first in my life- I wish I could be in Texas, too!