Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

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Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:59pm

Any guesses as to why?

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/93579.html

Updated On: 6/16/05 at 12:59 PM

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:00pm

What did Buckley do now?

The truly beautiful should be lawfully restricted from wearing clothing; and the truly butt-ugly should be lawfully mandated from going naked.

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:01pm

Is that woman just an ass??

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:02pm

I dunno--saw her in "Sunset Boulevard" and she was fabulous; is she believing her own diva press?

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:04pm

Way to leap to conclusions, guys. re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

It's too bad this happened, whatever the cause. I just hope that Hensley gets to play Sweeney some time, hopefully in a place where I can actually go watch.

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:05pm

My first thought was it had something to do with the upcoming Broadway revival and the rights or something.

Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:07pm

I assume they froze the rights for the show because of the Broadway revival. I assume Seattle's planned production in October will have the same fate.

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:08pm

"My first thought was it had something to do with the upcoming Broadway revival and the rights or something."

But isnt it playing in Philly now?

"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."

"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:08pm

She is a horriable lady. She is very talented, but she is very rude. My mother worked at the Minskoff theater when she took over for Glenn Close in Sunset and she treated my mother horriable. She tried to get my mother fired because she refused to clean up after her dogs. She also tried to get the doorman fired because her wouldn't carry the dogs to the limo.

#10

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:09pm

The Philly production will probably end before the Broadway one opens. Also, I think it opened before the Broadway production found a theater, but I'm not completely sure.

#11

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:10pm

This was a very high profile production that has been announced for some time -- playing in Odessa, Texas -- far, far from New York. I'm sure it was NOT a rights issue.

#12

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:12pm

I also doubt it is a rights issue. A Texas production is not a threat to a NY production.

The truly beautiful should be lawfully restricted from wearing clothing; and the truly butt-ugly should be lawfully mandated from going naked.

#13

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:13pm

Her doing the role didnt thrill me. After seeing her do Gypsy, I kind of dont need to see her. If she could just sing the score for me, that would be enough

BTW, I love the Arden poster art for Sweeney.

#14

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:18pm

I agree it was definitely not a rights issue. Buckley was quoted in a recent article regarding the production as saying that she did not know the director (Tony Georges) was only 20 years old when she signed the contract. Do we think this had something to do with it?

"When you're a gay man, you have to feel good about yourself when a urologist says, "Yeah. I pick you". - Happy Endings

#15

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:18pm

That's sad, I was hoping to hear her take on the role of Mrs. Lovett, I'll always think of her fondly as she was an incredible teacher and true inspiration to me during my early years in the city.

#16

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:20pm

Well, that sucks. I also doubt that it is a rights issue but it very well could be. I think Ms. Buckley would make an interesting Mrs. Lovett to say the least. I have seen her perform on numerous occasions and had the privilege to talk with her a hand full of times as well and I have always found her to be genuine and generous. Sure, she's a bit eccentric but aren't all theatre people?

"For me, THEATRE is an anticipation, an artistic rush, an emotional banquet, a jubilant appreciation, and an exit hopeful of clearer thought and better worlds." ~ an anonymous traveler with Robert Burns

#17

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:23pm

I bet she couldn't get the lyrics right. Has she ever done a full Sondheim show? His lyrics can trip up the best performers.

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

#18

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:25pm

erniesgirl, that is terrible. There's no excuse for someone to be that horrid. Someone chastised some of us for leaping to conclusions. Obviously, it is not a leap.

#19

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:28pm

That Betty Buckley can be difficult is not a leap. That she can be so difficult that she can scuttle a whole production is another matter entirely.

Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.

#20

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:29pm

In about 1990, Buckley was in negotiations to do 110 in the Shade at Casa Manana in Fort Worth, Texas. She wanted $25,000 for a one month commitment, which was pretty outrageous for a summer theatre. I can only imagine what her salary demands are now.

I'm thinking this cancelation is probably a budget issue of some kind

#21

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:32pm

Maybe she and Daniel Davis should go on the road in Virginia Woolf. But who would play whom?

#22

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:32pm

Apparently this wunderkind, Tony Georges, has raised $2M for this theatre season. I don't think budget was an issue... I think his inexperience at directing had more to do with it...

"When you're a gay man, you have to feel good about yourself when a urologist says, "Yeah. I pick you". - Happy Endings

#23

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:39pm

The article says "due to monetary problems". If it was her salary, then I expect that would have come up in her contract, which would have been signed long ago. It probably has nothing to do with Betty at all. If this is a non-profit group, then it could be any number of things causing the cancellation.

"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian

#24

re: Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:51pm

I wonder what ticket sales were like. Perhaps that has something to do with it as well.

#25

re: Buckley SWEENEY scrapped!

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:55pm

That Betty Buckley is notoriously difficult is fairly common knowledge within the biz that we call 'Show'. A stage manager I know who likes actors called her "a miserable human being", and that is a quote.

That said, my problems with her as Mrs. Lovett are twofold. She has a huge metallic-sounding voice that seems out of place in Sweeney Todd. It is a voice that can nearly etch glass and is not always a good sound. Bluntly, she shrieks and lacks warmth.

And (he ventured gingerly) isn't she...well, a trifle mature to play Mrs. Lovett next to Shuler Hensley? She's 60 if she's a day.

"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable." --Carrie Fisher

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