Tag: Betty Buckley

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Throwback Thursday: Betty Buckley “Amazing Grace”

It’s been quiet in the house lately.

Michael has been traveling with clients doing press in NYC, and with Bruno the wonder dog having crossed the rainbow bridge recently, I’ve been reflective of late.

My mind kept finding it’s way to this meditation on “Amazing Grace” from the brilliant Tony Award winner, Betty Buckley.

I’ve seen Ms. Betty perform live onstage countless times and it’s always a transformative experience.

Yes, everyone loves her huge show-stopping vocals in songs like “Memory,” “With One Look,” and “Meadowlark,” but her brilliance is revealed with equal ease in her quiet, pensive musical moments.

This performance is from her Stars and the Moon (Live at the Donmar) concert which, thankfully, was fully recorded for us all to have now and forever.

It’s not often that artistry of this depth can really shine through via a YouTube video, but as always, Betty is right in the center of the song’s emotional core.

While a “throwback Thursday” post is defined by looking back, I’d be remiss if I didn’t add here that Buckley has recently been announced to star in the upcoming national tour of Hello, Dolly! currently killing it on Broadway.

Happy Thursday, kids.

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New Music: Betty Buckley “Story Songs”

Tony Award-winner Betty Buckley (Cats, Mystery of Edwin Drood, Triumph of Love, Sunset Boulevard), who recently starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s box office hit film Split, releases her latest recording today, the two-CD Story Songs.

Yes, kids – Broadway star, movie star, recording star… she does it all…

The release is a live recording of Buckley’s acclaimed cabaret show of the same name. The song cycle includes tunes by Jason Robert Brown, Joni Mitchell, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Leonard Cohen, and more.

Reviewing the show last fall, the New York Times called the event “arguably the strongest cabaret of her career.”

“Ms. Buckley belongs to a small circle of nightclub singers who are truth-tellers. Riding the crest of acclaim she received for her portrayal of “Big Edie” in a Los Angeles production of the musical “Grey Gardens,” Ms. Buckley, her voice in excellent shape, gave everything she sang the shape and depth of a personal confession.”

Buckley is in top form, bringing to bear her full, formidable gifts. The voice, that has brought Carnegie Hall audiences to their feet, is vibrant and strong. And not a comma goes overlooked in her rich readings of these character-driven songs.

Christian Jacob, Buckley’s longtime arranger and music director, delivers a collection of jazz-tinged musical landscapes that perfectly align with the actress/singer’s emotionally bare and yet expansive performances.

The album is a fine follow-up to her 2014 collaboration with T Bone Burnett, Ghostlight.

In that the album captures an carefully constructed evening of song and storytelling, I’m loath to point to specific songs. But, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention her poignant “Don’t Give Up;” the rich, knowing melancholy of “Both Sides Now;” and Buckley’s “been there, done that” depth of survivorship in the ultimate showbiz anthem, “I’m Still Here.”

Truly one of our great storytellers, the album is a must-have. Head to iTunes, Amazon or anywhere music is sold.

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News Round-Up: January 17, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• The weather forecast for Friday in Washington DC? 90% chance of rain. See forecast above. How terrible… 😉

• Some of Broadway’s biggest stars – including Tony Award winners Betty Buckley, Chita Rivera, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Kelli O’Hara, Jessie Mueller and Billy Porter – will be spending Inauguration Day at a concert in New York City that raises money for human rights organizations.

• Over 50 Democratic members of Congress (53 at last count) will not be attending the Trump inauguration.

• Speaking of the inauguration, scalpers are having a tough time unloading tickets they bought for the event this Friday.

• Team Trump is having such a tough time getting supporters to the inaugural festivities they are using targeted Facebook ads to up free ticket attendance.

• One more inauguration item: don’t miss Randy Rainbow’s hysterical interview with Tony Award winner Jennifer Holliday regarding her recent kerfuffle when she confirmed then cancelled her appearance the “peaceful transfer of power.”

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“Concert for America: Stand Up, Sing Out!” Starring Tony Award Winners Betty Buckley, Billy Porter, Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth & More

This is all kinds of awesomeness 🙂

Click here for all the details for Concert for America: Stand Up, Sing Out!, the first of a monthly benefit concert series with Broadway, TV, film and recording stars that will debut at The Town Hall on Friday, January 20, 2017, at 3:00pm.

The concert will feature performances by Betty Buckley, Sharon Gless, Andrea Martin, Jessie Mueller, Bebe Neuwirth, Rosie O’Donnell, Rosie Perez, Billy Porter, Chita Rivera, Brian Stokes Mitchell and more.

Proceeds will benefit several national organizations working to protect human rights, including Planned Parenthood, Southern Poverty Law Center, National Immigration Law Center and the Sierra Club Foundation.

Tickets range from $25 to $50 and are available at TicketMaster.com and at The Town Hall box office (123 W 43rd St.). Participating performers are subject to change.

But here’s the best part – if you can’t attend, no worries! The concert will be broadcast on Facebook Live at 3:00pm EST on January 20th, directed by Emmy Award winner Debbie Miller.

How super cool is that? So buy your tickets if you’ll be in the NYC area on January 20th, or set your calendar to remind you at ten minutes to 3PM EST that day to hit the link and watch your favorite Broadway stars “stand up, and sing out!”

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Betty Buckley Stars In M. Night Shyamalan’s New Film “SPLIT”

The imminently watchable Betty Buckley stars in M. Night Shyamalan’s new film, SPLIT.

Film synopsis:

While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being.

Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.

In theaters January 20th.

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LA Theater: Betty Buckley & Rachel York Star In “Grey Gardens”

Now you KNOW I’m seeing this in July. Not to be missed.

Via press release:

Broadway’s daring musical sensation Grey Gardens — The Musical arrives at the Ahmanson Theatre starring the fabulous Rachel York (Broadway’s City of Angels) and the legendary Betty Buckley (Tony Award®-winning Grizabella in Cats).

Based on the cult classic documentary and directed by Michael Wilson, this haunting and often hilarious musical recounts Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ most eccentric relatives’ fall from society darlings to notorious recluses in their crumbling East Hampton estate.

Grey Gardens — The Musical was hailed as Time magazine’s number one show of the year and garnered 10 Tony Award nominations when it premiered on Broadway in 2006.

Center Theatre Group’s production at the Ahmanson is the Los Angeles debut of Grey Gardens — The Musical.

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Broadway Legend Betty Buckley Has Had Enough Of The Ugly Political Discourse

Today, my dear friend, Betty Buckley, who happens to be a Broadway legend, put her foot down and declared the political season ugly and undone.

Miss Betty Lynn made it clear the ugliness must stop.

I wholeheartedly agree. Thank you Miss Betty for your clarity of voice and truth.

We are friends, and she knows I love her. Our friendship is based on this, because she lives by her truth.

This. This right here. Read this.

Dear Friends,

I have reached my Tipping Point. This is the worst political season I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. We are at a new and precarious low in our great Country’s history. I believe in free speech and wholesome debate. And the debasing and contemptuous, racist, sexist, homophobic, hate-filled posts I read every day are making me feel very ill.

I cannot abide the distortion of the founding principles of our Country, our Constitution and Christianity itself. While I have many friends here with differing views than my own, I have worked hard to be tolerant and open, and I have shared with you, individually, as respectfully as I am able.

And, now, I need to say this: I will not tolerate any further bashing of President Obama on my page. I will not allow any further mindless, propaganda based bashing of Hillary Clinton. I will not allow hatred or contempt here. That’s one thing I can do. While I have tried to be open to conversation and debate, I now feel that this coming election rhetoric has descended to a new low. I am done! If you post something ugly on my page I will block you. If you show even a shred of disrespect not only for our President and my candidate or any other human being, here, I will block you. Whether or not we have been “friends” online or in person, I simply will NOT allow it.

And I also need to say to my Republican and Right Wing friends: Donald Trump is clearly a narcissistic psychopath. He is a dangerous man! He and/or Cruz would take us back to the Dark Ages. If you aren’t awake to that fact, I ask that you rethink the fundamental human and humane issues. The only way we all win is if we work together to find compromise and treat one another with respect and fundamental courtesy.
I will NOT abide inhumanity or the representation of ignorant, cruel belief systems here.

With respect and love,

Betty Lynn

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New Music: Betty Buckley “Ghostlight”

Tony Award-winner Betty Buckley’s fantastic new album, Ghostlight, is available today at all major music outlets.  The project reunites Buckley with longtime friend and legendary producer T Bone Burnett.

“T Bone single-handedly changed the world of music and makes each project more perfect than the last,” said Buckley, who first worked with the producer when they were both 19 in Fort Worth, TX, in an earlier statement. “The gift of this project is beyond my ability to even express; it is my dream record.”

“All great art comes from the edge, not a place of comfort,” added Burnett. “Our vision was for a ghostly haunting sound, which I called ‘crime jazz,’ giving the project a timeless feel.”

I’ve been listening to an advance copy and the entire project is sheer art.  One of the hallmarks of the project is Buckley’s restraint in utilizing the power of her evocative instrument.  Like holding back a stallion from full gallop, you can constantly feel the power underneath.

The ‘crime jazz’ element T Bone references is abundantly on display with my favorite track, “Lazy Afternoon,” which ebbs and flows from haunting lilt into an ambient, psychedelic meditation. The creative and emotional edge here catch me and never let go.

Songs featured on the album follow:
1. Come To Me Bend To Me
2. If You Go Away
3. Blue Skies
4. Throw It Away
5. Lazy Afternoon
6. Bewitched
7. This Nearly Was Mine
8. Body And Soul
9. Comin Back To Me
10. Dreamsville
11. Take It With Me When I Go
12. Where Time Stands Still

The title of the recording, according to press notes, comes from “the tradition in the theatre where, after the performance in the dark theatre, a lone light bulb is left on at night to keep the ghosts company. This light is called a ghost light.”

Trust and believe, the spirits of Ghostlight keep excellent company in the presence of Buckley’s artistry.

Click here for more info on the Limited Edition Vinyl & CD Art Box set.

For more information visit Betty’s official website.

T Bone Burnett and Betty Buckley – photo by: Myriam Santos