Betty Buckley in "Gypsy"- Page 2

[Londonskyguy]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 12:31pm

" There wasnt one laugh with Patti LuPone either"?????????? By chance are you another one of the people on here who like to give a negative review without even seeing the show,, ? Patti was fab, and got lots of laughs!

[kjklo]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 12:35pm

Agree that Peters was brilliant. She created a fresh character free from any of the cliched stock mannerisms that have accrued to "Mamma Rose." She's the only one I've seen do this (I missed Daly though).

[madbrian]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 12:38pm

I enjoyed the show. She may not be the greatest actress, but it was great hearing her sing those songs. Lenny Wolpe (Drowsy) was her Herbie. I thought Debbie Gibson was fine as Luise.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 12:42pm

Buckley was terrible in the role, but her vocals were thrilling.

As was already said, she had no warmth or humor, which Rose MUST have for the show to work.

I actually felt that was lacking in Bernie's Rose as well, but nowhere near to the extreme of Buckley. It's true that you just wanted the girls and Herbie to smack the crap out of her (Buckley).

Tyne had warmth and humor in spades, but a lacking vocal...still she was my favorite (not having seen Patti, Angie, or Ethel.)

[kjklo]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 12:42pm

Londonskyguy, of course I saw LuPone. I wouldn't claim I had if I hadn't. I actually saw the first two of her three performances. The first night she was especially weak; the second night she was much better but still very much the standard issue Rose. I felt she hurried through and flubbed her laugh lines. I wasn't laughing. Yeah, some people were--I guess I would say general reaction was mixed.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:15pm

Lansbury was breathtaking. Brilliantly acted and extremely well sung. She was a funny, sexy, charming, frightening Rose.

[kjklo]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:22pm

I did see Lansbury, and, yes, she was excellent (as it goes without saying). I was only 17 at the time though so I'm afraid I wasn't able to fully appreciate it.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:27pm

I find the criticism of Buckley not having humor interesting. She used to be a great actress, on film and on stage, completely dimensional. I wonder how that gets lost.

[kjklo]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:31pm

A progressive mental illness?

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:36pm

It seemed her choice to play it that way...very strident and angry. The one place where she tried something funny was when she got stuck onstage when the girls were auditioning...it came off strange instead of funny.

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:37pm

I've never enjoyed Buckley's acting or voice for that matter; the only time I've enjoyed her performance was in Sunset Blvd. where I recognize she gave a thrilling star turn as Norma Desmond.
It's a pity that the production with McArdle did not take advantage of such interesting casting choice. I've always wanted to see the show with someone who actually resembles the real Rose.
I'd have loved seeing Kazan as well as Donna McKechnie who also performed the role in stock.
Peters remains my favorite Rose to date.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:39pm

The regional Rose I most wish I saw was Patty Duke.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:40pm

I thought Tyne Daly as fine; but, I loved Angela Lansbury in the role.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:41pm

Wow, MB, that sounds VERY interesting. I bet she was great.

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:43pm

Did Michelle Lee ever played the role? Now, that's someone who would've made a fierce role back in the days.
I was going through an old thread back when Peters was playing the role and someone actually suggested Jane Krakowski as a replacement. I just thought it was a bit funny yet interesting.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:47pm

Oh yeah, I would have loved to have seen Duke. That wasn't even regional, as I recall, it was actually a community theater near her home where she performs regularly.

Updated On: 10/31/06 at 02:47 PM

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 3:20pm

There's a recording of Buckley in "Gypsy"?

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 3:22pm

No official recording was made but she has recorded a couple of songs from the show in her solo albums.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 3:42pm

kjklo--I was there at those two performances. It's clear you have an animus toward Patti LuPone that is coloring your comments.

The reactions of both those audiences were overwhelmingly positive.

[kjklo]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 4:00pm

Perhaps--though I did love LuPone in Sweeney Todd.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 5:23pm

The night I saw Lupone in it she slurred some of her lines without much emotion behind them and she wasn't "on" vocally during Rose's Turn, but I still enjoyed her performance.

[ILUVTOMG]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 8:20pm

i thought the entire production was awful. draggy, dull and no humor. i thought buckley's rose was way too ladylike and pristine and it just didn't work. of course she sang the hell out of it but her acting was very tentative (as if she was searching for her lines - and maybe she was). not to be mean but when gibson looked into the mirror and uttered that famous line 'mama, i'm pretty' there were many snickers from the audience. gypsy is a long show to begin with - this just went on forever. AND if it had ended 10 mins earlier i would have been able to catch the 11pm train out of milburn. instead i ended up waiting 90 mins for the next one. but i'm not bitter.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 9:20pm

Which night was that Mr Midwest?

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 9:23pm

Sunday.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 9:30pm

I saw it, I believe I was 9. I remember there were two laughs the entire evening: one was from Tessie Tura and the other was when Louise said her line during "The Strip", "Pack up your apples girls and back to the trees."
Even though Buckley was my first live Rose, I remember being extremely turned of by her. She was very...intense. I was more used to Rosalind Russell and Bette Midler.
Debbie Gibson was fine. Nothing special. Honestly, had she been in a better production of Gypsy she would've done a lot better. Even Lenny Wolpe was pretty mediocre.