Outta my way! My turn for the spotlight!

Many sights to behold during December in New York City.

I was lucky enough to catch some of them earlier this month. The Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center–bigger and brighter than I could imagine and an experience most definitely. You couldn’t stir the people with a stick, and who knew that Santa accepted tips? Yes, the Santa we took a photo with lost his ho, ho, ho after the photo and surprised us with this grumpy woman–where was Mrs. Claus?–who held out a bag for tips.

The store windows lived up to their reputation. Loved the creativity that went into them, and I wish I could get a gig where I could dream up what they should look like. I’d leave the execution to the engineering types, though. Too many moving parts for me to organize.

I also loved the fashions in those department stores. Cute, cute, cute. Lots of red, lots of animal print. Two staples for moi.

Then there were the Santas–hundreds of them–participating in some sort of city-wide pub crawl. Never have I seen a white-and-blue Santa–or was that a Hanukkah Harry? I couldn’t have imagined a Santa with a black veil over his/her face, and the image of two skinny Santas smoking outside a bar is one I’d like to erase from my memory bank. Forever.

But my favorite memory happened on Broadway. My friend, Rebecca Robinson, and I bought tickets to the revival of Hair; The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. Of course, we loved it, but we were more than ready for the finale. Managing to climb over one pregnant woman, down a flight a stairs–all in high heels, mind you–we were number one and two on the stage when the audience is invited to dance.

Yes, ladies and gents, I can mark one major accomplishment off my lifetime “to do” list. I actually have danced on Broadway. Rebecca and I, blonde hair flying, “Let the Sun Shine” at the Hirschfield Theater.

One of the best New York City sights this December for sure.

If you search the internet for information on stage, screen, television and recording artist Betty Buckley, you will find a wide range of descriptions such as actress, singer, performer, composer, producer, star, legend, diva, as well as one review that refers to her as “The Voice of Broadway.”  Since her Broadway debut over 40 years ago, Buckley has amassed a resume of performing credits so extensive and diverse, no one category fully describes her.  Additionally, she also has collected a treasure chest full of awards, including the 1983 Featured Actress in a Musical Tony Award, Broadway’s highest honor, for her performance as Grizabella, the Glamour Cat, in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS. It is easy to understand how this former 1966 Miss Fort Worth and Texas Christian University head cheerleader’s voice was described by the Hollywood Reporter as “one of the wonders of the world.”

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Buckley about her upcoming show BETTY BUCKLEY: BROADWAY BY REQUEST featuring Seth Rudetsky, which has its hometown debut this weekend, July 25^th, 26^th and 27^th, at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and I must say, I can only describe her as simply delightful!

LG: Has your show, Broadway By Request, evolved from when you performed it at the Lyric Stage in Irving last summer?

BB: At the Irving Arts Center, we did everything that everybody requested.   The first night it [the show] was like three hours long.   And the second night was about two and a half hours long.  Now it is a 90-minute show.  So that is a major change.  We had so much fun.  It was like a real home-town crowd at the Lyric Stage where I believe I answered every question, sang every song and told every story.  Now I have honed it down just a bit.  We performed this show at Feinstein’s at the Regency Hotel [in New York City] in February, along with a couple of weeks ago at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor NY and a week of performances at the Hartford Stage in Hartford Conn.  So we have refined it quite a bit of it. 

LG: At the Irving show, you actually sat people on the stage.  Are you planning on doing that at this performance?

BB: We added seats to the stage because there was such a demand…it was a riot!  We will certainly do whatever we can do to accommodate everyone.

LG: Considering this is a request-type show where the audience chooses what you will be performing, what has been the oddest song you have been asked to perform?

BB: Last year at the Lyric Stage, I had requests for Led Zeppelin music, which is pretty funny.  Although, I am a huge Led Zeppelin fan so that wasn’t so remote from possible…except that the show is called Broadway by Request! 

LG: Is there a favorite song that has not been requested that you wish someone would ask for?

BB: Not Really.  I always put my request, Mama Look Sharp from 1776.  This is my favorite song from the musical, which, actually, I did not sing.  That is my request!

LG: This particular performance features the talented Seth Rudetsky at the piano.  What is it like working together?  

 BB: He is a dream!  He is the best, and he is my friend.  Years ago when we first moved to New York, he played at my voice lessons.  Since then, of course, he has gone on to become radio talk show host, author, comedian, producer and true celebrity in his own right.  He actually knows more about Broadway and about my career than I can remember.  During the show, people will ask me questions that cause me to think and he will say, “Don’t you remember…” It really is pretty funny.  It is such a pleasure having him on stage with me. 

LG: I’m sure you are always asked to perform what could be easily considered your signature song, Memory from Cats.  How often do you hear it referred to incorrectly as Memories?

BB: Often, I am always correcting people with it.  It is Memory, singular. 

LG: Will you be taking this show on the road to other cities?

BB: It is being performed here [Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth] in July and then again August 29^th, 30^th and 31^st, with the musical director John McDaniel.  He was the musical director for The Rosie O’Donnell Show and is coming down for these concerts.  We are calling that evening “On Broadway.”  I will be performing songs I have sung on Broadway and some new material we’re working on for my new Feinstein show (Feinstein’s at Loews Regency in New York) next February.

LG: You have played a wide range of diverse characters in the past, is there one character that stands out as a favorite?

BB: I loved Dixie Scott in Tender Mercies and I loved the character I played in the HBO series Oz.  On Broadway, I loved playing Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard on Broadway and of course, Grizabella in Cats on Broadway.

LG: I understand that you have an HBO mini-series The Pacific for Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks coming up.  How will that affect your new workshops?

BB: This is a mini-series for HBO that we shot last year in Melbourne, Australia and it will air in 2010. 

LG:   What would you consider the pinnacle of your life thus far?

BB: There have been so many extraordinary nights.  I guess my Carnegie Hall Concert for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS in 1996 was one of the most extraordinary nights of my life.  It was almost a two and half hour concert with a big symphony orchestra…just an extraordinary event.  Then my opening night on Broadway for Sunset Boulevard was quite an extraordinary experience too.  I was welcomed homed to New York by the community.  It was just an amazing, amazing night.  Actually, my entire run in Sunset Boulevard was amazing.  Then the opening night of Cats.  Really, all of the Broadway opening nights were amazing…there is nothing like a Broadway opening night! 

And most recently, the birth of my brand new baby filly.  Her name is Little Bit O’ Honey Boon.  She is two months old now. 

LG: You must be quite the equestrian.

BB: I ride cutting horses.  I don’t know if you would say I am “quite the equestrian” but I sure do love it! 

LG: Where do you go to relax?  How do you get away?

BB: Well, with my horses.  I love listening to music.  I love reading a good thriller.  I like real scary books. 

LG: What piece of advice would you pass on to those who would dream to perform on Broadway? 

BB: Practice! Practice! Practice!  Keep the faith and believe in yourself.  That is why I am teaching these workshops; to help them remember that.  It really is about committing to your dreams, staying the course that is necessary to fulfill your potential and continue to believe in that potential…no matter what.  It you have a dream; it is there…you can fulfill that dream.  It might take a little more time than you figure and it might take a lot more practice and hard work than you thought about, but you can definitely fulfill those dreams. 

These upcoming concerts are a kick off for a new after-school series Buckley is working on for the Fort Worth Independent School District, sponsored by The Imagination Celebration.  At The Workshop for Young Singers and Storytellers, Buckley will help participants that are chosen from deserving students in the public school system refine their talent.  She plans to hold more than 20 of these workshops during the year.

Tickets for the hometown debut of Betty Buckley: Broadway by Request featuring Seth Rudetsky this weekend in Fort Worth can be ordered online at  www.lyricstage.org or by calling 972-252-2787.

The Imagination Celebration program, which began as an outreach project of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is a non-profit organization founded in 1977 by executive director Ginger Head.  Its mission of  ”to provide programs which create learning in, through and about the arts and enhance the education of students from kindergarten through university, their teachers and their families” is possible through public support. Donations can be made by marking them  as “Buckley workshop for young singers and storytellers” and sending them to Imagination Celebration, 1300 Gendy Street,  Suite 210, Fort Worth, TX  76107 or call the main office at 817-870-1141.  For more information on Buckley or the Imagination Celebration program, go to www.bettybuckley.com or www.icfw.org.

The cast of A Chorus Line.

Chorus lines I’m a big fan of.

Give me an entire musical about one, and I’m ecstatic. So when A Chorus Line, the Broadway show that collected 9 Tony Awards plus a Pulitzer Prize for drama, I’m ready to applaud.

A Chorus Line, Dallas Summer Musicals’ latest offering at The Music Hall at Fair Park in Dallas, revives the classic story of the show that once was a smash hit on Broadway. From the opening number’s pulsating beat to the swell of the finale, the tale remains relevent to people who ever wanted something badly enough to put themselves literally on the line.

The musical about dancers auditioning for a Broadway musical examines the stories behind each dancer’s journey to make it on stage. Conceived by the late Michael Bennett, the show that orginally ran on Broadway from 1975 to 1990 earned the title at that time as the longest-running musical ever. It’s an entrancing story told through music and dance that those who love musical theater find difficult to resist.

The touring company stopping in Dallas through July 19 brings a strong line-up of dancers performing choreography re-staged by Baayork Lee, a member of the original cast. After what passes for an “orchestra” with some touring companies, the full sound of this orchestra can especially be appreciated with Marvin Hamlisch’s incredible music. Highlights of the current production include Mindy Dougherty in the sassy Dance 10, Looks 3 and Rebecca Riker in the heartfelt What I Did for Love.

The music is great and the dancing is superior, still this company falls short of hitting all its marks, such as when some of the lines are lost in the large Fair Park hall. Each dancer, too, plays a certain type in the chorus, but all should look the part of a dancer. Some of the performers, although able to leap, turn and kick, possess bodies not resembling those of a working dancer, unconvincing in the competitive world of dance.

None of that, though, detracts enough to prevent the show’s enjoyment. The music is intense and hypnotic, and though I’ve seen it A Chorus Line several times, I still hold my breath each time the chorus is chosen. When the final production number kicks into action, I want to tip my own top hat. And if the hat can’t be tipped to this particular cast, I’d still tip it to the music, the dance and the concept.

John Wilkerson

John Wilkerson has been named artistic director for Artisan Center Theater, effective Aug 1.

In his new position, Wilkerson will be responsible for all artistic development for the theater located in Hurst. In addition, he will serve as advisor for the theater’s new acting academy and educational outreach programs. He also will direct four productions in 2010 for Artisan Center Theater.

Wilkerson co-founded with his wife, Margaret Shafer, the Musical Theater Institute of Dallas, a private acting and vocal academy. He also toured with The Three Redneck Tenors, a comedy musical troupe. At Artisan Center Theater, he recently directed My Fair Lady and will direct an upcoming production of The Mikado.

Wilkerson received a bachelor of music education degree from the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music, now Shenandoah University. He completed his graduate work in vocal performance at the State University of New York, and he also placed third in a Metropolitan Opera competition.

His Broadway credits include Abby’s Song, State Fair with John Davidson, Andrea McArdle and Donna McKechnie, and Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby. His career has spanned teaching voice, music theory and music appreciation at every level; directing numerous theatrical productions; and coaching tennis and football.

Artisan Center Theater, a non-profit community theater, was founded in 2003. The theater’s focus is family-friendly productions and Artie’s Playhouse, a special series of children’s plays.

Blondes, “The Rat Pack,” and Mary Poppins all have a place in Dallas this year.

Variety rules The 2009 Dallas Summer Musicals’ (www.dallassummermusicals.org) line-up which features everything from “Legally Blonde the Musical” to a Las Vegas visit with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and it won’t even take a spoonful of Mary Poppins’ sugar for these shows to go down easy.

Season tickets currently are on sale at The Box Office, 542 Preston Royal Shopping Center, Dallas. Subscribers tickets for the Music Hall Classic Series range from $88 to $523. Prices for subscriber specials range from $9 to $85.

The Majestic Series, showcased at The Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. in downtown Dallas, begins with “The Rat Pack–Live at the Sands” March 3 through 8.

“The Pajama Game,” featuring the song “Hernando’s Hideaway,” is set for March 10 through 15, followed by the face-off between David Frost and President Richard Nixon, “Frost/Nixon,” April 28 through May 3.

The Musical Hall Series, with all performances held at the Music Hall at Fair Park, begins with “Happy Days, A New Musical” May 26 though June 7. “The Wizard of Oz” blows its way on stage June 9 through 21, with “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” planned for June 23 through July 5. Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “A Chorus Line” takes the stage July 7 through 19, and then Elle Woods brings “Legally Blonde the Musical” to Dallas July 21 through Aug. 2. Musical group ABBA’s songs string together in “Mamma Mia!” Aug. 18 through 30.

Original Broadway stars Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee will star in “Disney and Cameron Mackintosh present Mary Poppins” during the 2009 State Fair of Texas. The production is scheduled to run Sept. 24 through Oct. 18.

Subscriber specials are planned beginning this month. “Bob the Builder Live!” will be presented Feb. 21 through 22 at The Majestic Theatre. Then May 5-10 will feature original cast members Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp in “Rent, The Broadway Tour” at The Music Hall at Fair Park. Then “Fiddler on the Roof starring Topol” is set for May 19 through 24 at The Music Hall.