Betty Buckley in "Gypsy"- Page 3
Betty Buckley in "Gypsy"
#50re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 10/31/06 at 11:16pm
Sunday was the most transcendent of her performances, the one kringas and I attended with Sueleen and Iflit. Patti's "for me" at the end of Roses is something we'll remember for the rest of our lives, and her Rose's Turn was as perfect I'll ever see in my lifetime.
The audience that night was overwhelmingly appreciative--mostly Ravinia subscribers who knew that they were witnessing THE Rose of our lifetimes, on her closing night, in their own city, of her first time playing the role.
And those of us who were there from New York knew that we would see her do it again, to great acclaim, but that it would never be as special as it was that night.
I'm sorry you experienced it differently, but I am sure you were the only one there that night to feel that way.
#51re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 10/31/06 at 11:24pm
And those of us who were there from New York knew that we would see her do it again, to great acclaim, but that it would never be as special as it was that night.
Don't say that...
I was in Guatemala and could not fully appreciate three days of the expierience thanks to Patti in Gypsy.
Theatre is a safe place to do the unsafe things that need to be done.
-John Patrick Shanley
MrMidwest
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/8/05
#52re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 11/1/06 at 2:28am
"I'm sorry you experienced it differently, but I am sure you were the only one there that night to feel that way."
Somehow I doubt that. I know you've been trying to build the whole performance up as one of the greatest ones ever since it happened, but I didn't buy it then, and I don't buy it now.
"The gods who nurse this universe think little of mortals' cares. They sit in crowds on exclusive clouds and laugh at our love affairs. I might have had a real romance if they'd given me a chance. I loved him, but he didn't love me. I wanted him, but he didn't want me. Then the gods had a spree and indulged in another whim. Now he loves me, but I don't love him." - Cole Porter
#53re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 11/1/06 at 9:37am
"And those of us who were there from New York knew that we would see her do it again, to great acclaim," How did you know that? That decision wasn't made until weeks later.
"but that it would never be as special as it was that night." I hope you mean for you personally.
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson
#54re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 11/1/06 at 9:51amI confess that I've been a little underwhelmed by the clips I've seen of LuPone at Ravinia: perhaps the hype has just been a little too over the top in the time following - but there is no denying that the vast majority of people who saw her live said she was brilliant.
#55re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 11/1/06 at 10:08am
I agree with you totally, MB. I was not at Ravinia, but I have seen the clips too and I wasn't impressed at all (and I LOVE Patti). She seemed... "fake" to me. Maybe it was the video and seeing it live would have been much different.. according to the majority of the people who did see it and loved her.
I also saw Tyne and thought she was GREAT in the role.. her Rose was spot on. Her singing voice did have an impact on how much I liked her though.. I wanted her to be able to sing the score better than she did.
I also saw Bernadette and I have to say out of all the Rose's I've seen, I liked her's best. I liked her new interpretation and LOVED hearing the score sung the way it should be.
I never saw Betty do Rose, but I have heard a bit of it. It sounded too harsh, too cold for the role. Betty is very intense in everything she does.. and I think that would tend to make a very one dimensional Rose.
CrimsonFaerie
Chorus Member Joined: 4/18/06
#56re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 11/1/06 at 10:13amThe clips that are out there don't do her performance justice at all, in my opinion. I saw both the Saturday and Sunday performances from up close orchestra seats. Patti was absolutely wonderful. The energy in the audience was electric, and all the people I was with loved her performance. The show far exceeded my expectations, since I knew it would not be a fully mounted production. Also, after seeing Gypsy, I read a couple interviews where Patti said she read Gypsy's and June's memoirs and partly based her portrayal of Rose on what she read. I read Gypsy's memoirs the week after seeing the show, and I appreciated her performance even more. I felt she did a wonderful job capturing a lot of the characteristics of Rose, as described in Gypsy's memoirs.
MrMidwest
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/8/05
#57re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 11/1/06 at 10:16amI had a good time seeing the show at Ravinia, but it was, after all, only for 3 nights. I didn't expect her to be as good as she could be with as much preparation and time to get into the role as she would have doing it on Broadway and, to me, she wasn't. I'm not saying that I don't think there are people on this board who think she gave a terrific performance, but it doesn't seem unlikely to me that there are some people who just want to be able to say that they saw a great performance from a star in one of the few performances (so far, anyway) they gave in an amazing role.
"The gods who nurse this universe think little of mortals' cares. They sit in crowds on exclusive clouds and laugh at our love affairs. I might have had a real romance if they'd given me a chance. I loved him, but he didn't love me. I wanted him, but he didn't want me. Then the gods had a spree and indulged in another whim. Now he loves me, but I don't love him." - Cole Porter
CrimsonFaerie
Chorus Member Joined: 4/18/06
#58re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 11/1/06 at 10:22amI'd love to see what Patti would do with the role when given more time and preparation.
#59re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 11/1/06 at 11:06am
According to Rathnait, we will. And, from what I'm hearing, Rathnait is right.
And Rath--no, I'm afraid I meant what I said. The Chicago-ans who were there that night were longtime subscribers who had been seeing Patti each summer in the Sondheim concerts for the past 5 (?) years. Seeing her and hearing her do Passion, Sweeney, Night Music and Candide had been wonderful experiences, but this one had the feeling of theater history being made, not just for Chicago or San Francisco or PBS but for Gypsy itself.
Everyone KNEW this was just the beginning, that Patti would go on to do the role again and again and again, and that each time she did, she would re-define the role for our generation. And that Ravinia concert would be remembered as the where-it-all-began, the culmination and crowning performace in her 5-year-long association with Ravinia and Chicago and Sondheim.
Even Arthur seems to have come around--and for those of us who know him and loathe him, that's nothing short of a miracle.
#60re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 11/1/06 at 12:05pm
So what have you heard?
Does Betty have that type
of rep?
#61re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 11/2/06 at 3:31am
"The Chicago-ans who were there that night were longtime subscribers who had been seeing Patti each summer in the Sondheim concerts for the past 5 (?) years. Seeing her and hearing her do Passion, Sweeney, Night Music and Candide had been wonderful experiences, but this one had the feeling of theater history being made, not just for Chicago or San Francisco or PBS but for Gypsy itself"
Whoa. That's heavy. Count me as extremely unimpressed by Patti's Rose... as seen on that sunday night that is supposed to have had only one unhappy customer. I think she could very well do the role... maybe have the giant success you are suggesting... but it simply was not on display at Ravinia. (Obviously... this is my opinion)
While we are at it... count me as being extremely unimpressed by most of her Sondheim appearences at Ravinia (which did NOT include Candide, by the way). She was good in Sweeney but... I thought over the top and wrong in the concert incarnation... She WAS quite good in A Little Night Music... but I felt she was outshined by her co-stars. She was appropriately pathetic in Passion... Sunday in the Park was good... but... where was she in that? One wonders why she didn't play George's mother in the first act as her Beautiful might have been something special... no? She was alright in Anyone Can Whistle... but that was really the Audra show... I think... and that role should have been OWNED by Patti... but... no. I just don't think her Gypsy was all that realised... and I am mildly shocked at your very well articulated enthusiastic response. To be sure... I thought she was good... but not as thrilling as Buckley's audio recording of Rose's Turn on the London concert.
kmc
Jesus saves. I spend.
husk_charmer
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#62re: Betty Buckley in 'Gypsy'
Posted: 11/2/06 at 10:46am
scot-
Buckley *occasionally* does regional theatre, as of late she's not done much outside of a few concerts. I'm from Fort Worth, and I don't think she's graced a stage there in a while, aside from opening last years Buckley Awards (the High School Tony's of Ft. Worth)
http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer
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