I've said this many times. I've seen every Mama Rose on Brroadway from Angela Lansbury to Patti LuPone. They were all terrific in different ways. But if I had to pick the best, I'd say without hesitation that it was Betty Buckley at Papermill. Thanks for sharing.
Gary Tifeld I couldn't agree more! She was never given the attention she deserved. A vulnerable and layered performance and vocally superior to all others.
@@laddboris4116 I saw the same production, and Mss Buckley is always unquestionably the greatest when playing any role that any other actress has attempted. There is no comparison. Whether it's Mama Rose or Norma Desmond, the other performers (no matter how iconic they may be) don't stand a chance against Miss Betty Lynn. I have seen her in three Broadway musicals and three solo concerts...each time, she left me barely able to hobble out of the theater. She is my all-time favorite, and I love her!!!
I was in that production, as Debbie Gibson's understudy. I never went on as Gypsy opposite Betty. I was only 23 and just would've been so afraid. However, it was a master class every show. I was enthralled by Betty's performance. She is hands down the BEST Mama Rose I have ever experienced. Every show she was Tony Award Winning brilliant.
I saw her at the Papermill Playhouse and I loved that she played the role a little darker than other versions I've seen. Her Rose was more troubled and less sympathetic, but that was even more effective.
Must have been astonishing to see live. Wish there were a better video. I saw Angela Lansbury when I was in college and she was a huge let-down! Buckley has the voice and the acting chops. Never much cared for her before seeing this either.
I like Betty Buckley very much, and I've seen her in many shows, but she was not an interesting Rose. Her pacing was odd and her energy was just not there, at least in the show I saw. I didn't think her voice was suited for the music either. Not every actress of a certain age with a big voice is suitable for Rose. When Arthur Laurents saw the Papermill production, he told Buckley she was the worst Rose he'd ever seen. Not terribly kind, but I must agree with him.
Laurents was not known to be kind. Her singing of this role puts her in a league almost all by herself [the exception being Delores Gray]. I have heard them all and no one comes close. Not remotely close. Not by a long shot.
And this performance was completely denigrated by Arthur Laurents. She creates a nuanced portrayal and not a carbon copy. They hated her interpretation but I think she's possibly one of the best out there
I loved peters though it was much gentler than rose was or should be. Tyne Daly was the eye opener for me to this role. Lupone was lupone. Linda lavin, ok. Buckley was good at the paper mill. Wish streisand did it when styne wanted her to. Too bad for theater history. Midler was her mediocre self on tv. Only great as the divine miss m.
+Tyler Edwards-Tagg You are comparing acting or SINGING?? If its singing Buckley wins easily.. acting.. yes Imelda does a great job. But Broadway is a little of both is it not when in a musical? And Buckley covers BOTH.
Thank you!!!! Imelda is one of the greatest actresses working. She should have won an Oscar for Vera Drake. I saw her in this and I completely agree: Staunton owns this role! Tyne and Patti and then Betty in that order. And you should see Stuanton in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woif. Superb!!!
Imelda shouted from her first entrance to her last scene. She was angry and unlikable throughout. There was absolutely no demonstration that her Rose could’ve used her sexuality to get ahead, no glimpse of her being manipulative, no glimmer of the humour, no light and shade. How did her Rose have so many husbands? There was no sense that her Rose had any layers or shades beyond being a loud, bulldozer of a person and that undermines Rose’s Turn - there should be some sense that she would indeed have been incredibly successful as a performer in another life.
@@christophermalfa4689 Sondheim only had to write the lyrics not perform it 7 times a week. For someone like Ethel Merman, of that period, without an education in role development, theater and interpretation, this role was a major challenge that she met.
