Buckely SWEENEY scrapped!

[Michael Bennett]

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

[baddadnpa]

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

What did Buckley do now?

[nmartin]

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

Is that woman just an ass??

[gymman]

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?

[Plum]

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

Way to leap to conclusions, guys.

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.

[popcultureboy]

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.

[BobbyBubby]

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.

[doodlenyc]

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?

[erniesgirl96]

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.

[Plum]

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.

[Michael Bennett]

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.

[baddadnpa]

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.

[doodlenyc]

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.

[Barihunk]

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?

[EddieVarley]

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.

[WonderBoy]

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?

[Gothampc]

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.

[nmartin]

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.

[popcultureboy]

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.

[Michael Bennett]

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

[nmartin]

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?

[Barihunk]

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...

[Mister Matt]

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.

[Michael Bennett]

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

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

[WOSQ]

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.