I got to see her and Tovah Feldshuh in a production of Arsenic and Old Lace at the Dallas Theater Center. Directed by Scott Schwartz. Costumes by William Harvey Long. It was a fun show.
She played Rose in Papermill’s Gypsy, and a Broadway transfer was discussed. And then Arthur saw the show, and as the story goes, went to her dressing room after the show and told her “You’ll never play Rose on Broadway.” And that was that.
ray-andallthatjazz86 said: "I do wonder which roles she could have legitimately played in Broadway productions over the past few years."
Not all of these may be ideal, but I think most are legitimate: and a few (*) seem perfect for her
Claire Zachanassian THE VISIT* Mme. Armfeldt A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC* Fraulein Schneider CABARET*
Elizabeth Arden WAR PAINT Letitia Primrose ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY G.D. Maria Fedorovna ANASTASIA*
Margaret Johnson THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA Marie/Fairy Godmother CINDERELLA Mother Superior SISTER ACT Mamita GIGI (yes, just about any Victoria Clark role)
Aunt Alicia GIGI*
Berthe PIPPIN Carlotta FOLLIES* Estonia NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT
PalJoey said: "She'sone of the great theater artists of our time."
She was - but when you’re apparently difficult to work with, don’t sell tickets and have lost your talent it makes sense why you wouldn’t be hired on the great white way. Almost no one, including Bernadette Peters could match the intensity of Betty Buckley’s performances and I am deeply saddened that her career seemed to come to a grinding halt.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
qolbinau said: "PalJoey said: "She'sone of the great theater artists of our time."
She was - but when you’re apparently difficult to work with, don’t sell tickets and have lost your talent it makes sense why you wouldn’t be hired on the great white way. Almost no one, including Bernadette Peters could matchthe intensity of Betty Buckley’s performances and I am deeply saddened that her career seemed to come to a grinding halt."
Hogwash! Betty Buckley can act and sing circles around your precious Bernie!! She’s consistently working. If she was so difficult she would not be.
One only needs to look at her body of work to see why she still is visible on TV in film and on the stage. The woman is a force to be reckoned with.
Betty & Bernadette are both allowed to be amazing. It’s not a “only one can be talented” kind of thing. And I wouldn’t exactly base my argument on Bernadette being a box office draw. As much as I love her, she can’t keep a show open on her name alone.
Jordan Catalano said: "Betty & Bernadette are both allowed to be amazing. It’s not a “only one can be talented” kind of thing. And I wouldn’t exactly base my argument on Bernadette being a box office draw. As much as I love her, she can’t keep a show open on her name alone. "
Never said that Bernadette wasn’t talented, just that Buckley can act and sing corlcles around her is all...in my humble opinion of course. And Bernie is amazing in her own way - she’s got that baby girl/Cupid doll thing down pat.
Aside from Sally Field replacing her in Brothers and Sisters after they filmed the pilot, she's had a great career being able to do basically anything she wants. Must be nice to always be in demand!
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
Tag- you may be thinking of the controversy in Odessa, Texas when Tony Georges, a 20 year old would be Theatre Empressario announced Betty would be starring in SWEENEY TODD as part of a very ambitious season. The entire thing fell apart when it was revealed he never had the funding...
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
I heard she taught a Master Class and threw a fit because she insisted one of the students was a reporter in disguise (she wasn't) and threw her out of the classic. She's known to be pretty erratic.
missthemountains said: "I heard she taught a Master Class and threw a fit because she insisted one of the students was a reporter in disguise (she wasn't) and threw her out of the classic. She's known to be pretty erratic."
Jordan Catalano said: "Betty & Bernadette are both allowed to be amazing. It’s not a “only one can be talented” kind of thing."
I agree - I don't know if my post is unclear but I was actually saying that Betty (in her peak) WAS a much stronger singer than Bernadette just to make it clear how much I respect her former talents. Though I would find it madness if anyone thought that Betty has still got it. It breaks my heart to watch this clip - Carlos if you think this is the level of performance that Bernadette has been able to give in concert recently I'd be surprised (not that there is a need to compare them - I really only compared them to emphasise how GOOD Buckley WAS, but because you brought it up.....).
With this kind of decline, there are almost no leading roles that Buckley could pull off except for The Visit or, well, Hello, Dolly. This voice is not going to pull off War Paint or Piazza.
It's so odd watching because the timbre of her voice has changed so much - the "touch me" notes sound like her and she pulls them off but otherwise it's as if she is a different person singing the song (I hope this is indeed Buckley. But it does sound similar to what I remember when I saw her live).
This actually sounds better than when I heard her sing Meadowlark recently.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
"After 9/11, I think the realization was the truth is that none of us know on any given day how much time we have left, and it’s important to live your life as fully as you hope to do while you’re here," Buckley said.
"Horses were always very important to me as a child and I had this dream to own them and ride them when I was older. I wanted to be in show business to be successful to have these horses."
Somewhere along the line, life and career got in the way.
"I just was always busy working and studying and working and studying and practicing and practicing and practicing and working and studying and practicing and I just didn’t carve out the time to do it," she said. "And then after 9/11, I just became obsessed with fulfilling that dream. And it’s been a beautiful, beautiful life."
Here's the full interview, if anyone is interested:
She’ s one of the nicest people around! Have you ever seen her facebook page? She shares her life like no one else. Even miss Lupone says on her book that Betty was the only one who called her to confort her after the Sunset debacle.
Just the fact that I'm posting to this thread is embarrassing to myself and laughable. BB is a woman of talent, artistry, conviction, dedication, story, song, social conscience... (so of course, she has to be a b*tch)
I (and many more) would kill to have any of the "careers" that Betty has in her repertoire. I have never seen her give a bad performance. Be it stage, tv or screen, Oz, Getting On (on HBO...she is brilliant), Tender Mercies, Remember WENN, Sunset Blvd, 1776, Carrie, Triumph Of Love, Edwin Drood..Big Edie in Grey Gardens...oscar noms, grammy noms, Tony award, emmy noms....I could go on but aside from this...
Betty remains a loud and proud voice, on twitter, on line, in person...speaking her and our truths; dedicated to her family, her animals, her Texas roots, (don't mess with Texas or Betty herself... but you get my point)...I'm thrilled to be seeing her on stage again in this glorious production "Dolly".
Steve C. said: "Just the fact that I'm posting to this thread is embarrassing to myself and laughable. BB is a woman of talent, artistry, conviction, dedication, story, song, social conscience... (so of course, she has to be a b*tch)
I (and many more) would kill to have any of the "careers" that Betty has in her repertoire. I have never seen her give a bad performance. Be it stage, tv or screen, Oz, Getting On (on HBO...she is brilliant), Tender Mercies, Remember WENN, Sunset Blvd, 1776, Carrie, Triumph Of Love, Edwin Drood..Big Edie in Grey Gardens...oscar noms, grammy noms, Tony award, emmy noms....I could go on but aside from this...
Betty remains a loud and proud voice, on twitter, on line, in person...speaking her and our truths; dedicated to her family, her animals, her Texas roots, (don't mess with Texas or Betty herself...but you get my point)...I'm thrilled to be seeing her on stage again in this glorious production"Dolly"."