One of single most memorable performances I ever had in a theater was Betty Buckley as Norma. She was chillingly realistic in her fantasy world that declined minute by minute. A phenomenal interpretation. And - i saw all the Broadway Norma's. Buckley just brought the right stuff to every nuance and her singing cannot be topped. She made those songs operatic arias. She is to musical theater what Callas was to opera.A brilliance like no other. !
WOW! I got CHILLS at the end of this! I'm glad whoever filmed zoomed in close to her face....she looks like an evil Disney Queen. And God, Betty Buckley's voice is unreal. I love the way she almost roars in this. That costume is epic too. As tragic as the ending is, every time I see Norma sing that final bit, there's something so amazingly immortal about it: I always feel what Max must have felt. It's the first and only time the audience sees the film start in her living glory.
I've never seen Norma's final monologue performed in such a strong, centered way. It seems as though most actresses take it to a more emotional place, but this REALLY works on Ms. Buckley.
To those criticising the video shoot, this predates nice little compact phones with video facilities and would probably have been filmed with something the size of a brick. She is wonderful and this reminds me how much of a great musical this is. It really has it all, great musical, drama, stage sets, story. Why it didnt run as long as Les Mis escapes me.
They talk about copyright protection and I'm all for it but without gems of infringement likes this we the masses would never be aware of the beauty of shows like this
Thanks so much for taking the risk and providing this piece of THEATRICAL EXCELLENCE!!! I saw Betty in London, Glenn in LA and Diahann in Toronto and Betty was the best.
@BrochtrupBean Give the guy a break! Remember he was sneaking this and when this was on Broadway, about '95-'96, no one had camera phones, so he was using a large device that was not ez to control amidst a crowd of 1200 while hiding it. Had he done it today, would be better, but I am sure he did best he could given the circumstances. Taping, recording, pictures will get u kicked out, so he took a risk, so now we can see it. Shows have been stopped for this. Thank you for posting.
God. What a powerhouse. She is so seamless between her brilliant singing and lines of dialogue. I get goosebumps at 5:02. "They bring in his head on a silver tray--She kisses his mouth, SHE KISSES HIS MOUTH!" Legendary Betty Buckley.
Brilliance. I saw this four times in NYC, and she got a standing O every. Single. Time. after this song. I've seen 3 Normas, and Buckley is the best. She connected with the audience in a way that Glenn Close did not. Especially during this song, she seemed to be looking straight at you. One commenter below called this a "master class," and that is the truth.
Glenn Close in LA pre-Broadway was a fan…TASTIC…”Performance”..entire musical evening performance memorable..experience repeated six revisits from different seats..from orchestra to balcony…Glenn Close delivered every time..!
That original run on Bway as incredible. Close and Buckley were absolutely fantastic, each with different strengths, but both at the top of their game.
I unfortunately did not see it with Miss Buckley, but did see it, for the 1st time, in London with Patti Lupone, who did an amazing job and whose voice was incredible. I then saw it again in NY with Glenn Close, whose voice is not incredible, but she made up for with her acting. Like the saying 'actor who sings or singer that acts'....she was/is an actor who sings. Lupone, the other, but still a very good actress. Elaine fizzled! Know Faye Dunaway wanted NY, thank God that never happened.
Elaine Paige would have been far better if she hadn't spent her energy in trying to impersonate Gloria Swanson... I really agree with you about Glenn Close; she put her own spin on the piece and made it amazing. Betty Buckley is still my favourite though. x
Well, the costume is sublime, only outshone BT the performance...but I am strangely nostalgic for Swanson's less ornate costume. Of the two however, Buckley is the superior actress.,
@kevhippo I think it was because the show itself was too expensive in terms of production, that it wasn't making enough money to pay it all off. Which will most likely be the fate of the Spiderman Musical. Though I bet if they let it run as long as Les Miserables, it might have paid off!
Its so hard to remake this specially when one have seen the movie version. Lets not fool ourselves, Gloria Swanson did it. To reenact the role even in a musical version no one can fill her superb style as Norma Desmond
Betty Buckley was the very BEST Norma - followed by (perhaps surprisingly) Petula Clark. Hugh Jackman would be a fantastic Joe. Michael Bauer was a truly heartbreaking Max. Saw it over 25 times in the theatre - brilliant musical!
I really love betty buckley as norma, the only flaw for me personally in her last speach here as norma, is she is too controlled. Yes there are other who are over the top in this scene, but for me there is a lacking of mental collapse. But I know everyone handles things in their own interpration. Xxx love to all the sunset fans and thank you so much for posting xxx
No I think it captures the earnestness of it. It doesn't need the crazy eyes to portray how far she has fallen in to the depths. It's much more effective and touching in my opinion
In the film version Gloria Swanson plays it very much like this without a lot of hysterics. You don't have to give it that kind of effort to show the audience that she has suffered a mental break.
@007James66 Me too but I don't know who now could play Norma just as good. Glen Close might be too old now to play Normap, Michelle Phiefer is just about the only possibility(right age, great actress, and she looks like an aged Myrna Loy) but she'll shoot her voice out, and Catherine Zeta Jones is too young,and you know Helena Bonham Carter would do everything in her power to get cast as Norma Desmond like she did with Mrs. Lovett and Madame Thenardier (that's what scares me most)
Glenn Close gives the BEST performance in the last scene. Albeit exaggerated, she goes totally over the edge in her mental state. Betty Buckley, much as I love her, has no emotion, in this final scene.
Glenn Close set her stamp on Norma Desmond..none of the other ladies compare to her overall performance and characterization of the character..people dawg her for her singing but she's the only one imo that can convey both emotion vocally and through her acting..none of the other women can touch Glenn as an actress, sorry folks..my bff that has a Bachelors in Musical Theatre from Point Park even said she'd rather see a great actress that can sing in a role instead of a great singer who's a decent actress in the part..personally I think Glenn can sing her butt off..
The best was Diahann Carol. Petula Clark was good but she did it for laughs like Carol Burnett. Buckley's portrayal was complete Cra-Cra but rumor says that's not too far off from reality
