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. !

@taylorstover3931

6 ай бұрын

I feel the same, after all these years, I will never forget it! My all time favorite performance on Broadway!!

Y'all. That GROWL on "look" gives me chills every. damn. time. And the acting on that final note? This is easily my favorite Norma Finale

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.

Wish I could turn back time and see this live again, she was wonderful, performance never forgotten

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.

Betty Buckley blew me away with her performance and sparked my love affair with Musical Theatre ever since

Saw this so many times in the theatre. Betty Buckley was NEVER bettered as Norma. Thank you for sharing this. x

@olly-kai

3 жыл бұрын

Except perhaps, by fabulous Glenn Close! 😉😉😉

@frankrobinson6841

3 жыл бұрын

I saw this london 1995 may was Fanastic

@frankrobinson6841

3 жыл бұрын

@@olly-kai she was fantastic as well

the hairs just stood up on my arms....AAAHHHHH...FREAKIN BRILLIANT!!!!!!!

I CANNOT IMAGINE ANOTHER MUSICAL TALENT AS WONDERFUL IN HIS ROLE AS BETTY BUCKLEY. BRILLIANT !

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.

Saw Betty with John Barrowman in London. Amazing to see this again after all these years. Just as thrilling as it was then!

Thanks for breaking the Law. The whole show blew me away,and to watch the final scene is a real treat. You had great seats too!

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

Betty, so many accolades are here for you. They are amazing, as is your voice and your performances.

That growl at the end is fucking scary.

The absolute best Norma. She should do the movie version!! 🎵🎤

I love how Betty plays broken/unhinged characters with so much dignity. It's incredible to see.

saw this twice at the Minskoff Theater in NYC. STUNNING! AMAZING! Goosebumps! BRAVA BETTY!!! Oh how I wish it would be revived!!!!!

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.

@allankorn9854

3 жыл бұрын

M

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.

I freaking love the growls on "look" and "me"

A diva with heart .

The reaction at the end was thrilling!

9:18 til the end, that 👏 applause 💕 So Much Love

Unbelievably fantastic

@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.

I got to see this live, so thrilling to see again, Betty is awesome, thanks for posting!

thank you so much for uploading this! she is wonderful

Thanks so much for uploading this!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw Betty perform this role in the London production decades ago. Such a classy performer and a wonderful interpretation.

So good representative !

Thanks so much for uploadin this!!!!!!!!!!!

In every notes her voice is so free, natural and real, there’s no moment of “acting”

WHENEVER i need cheering up, I COME HERE. X

My very first Broadway musical was seeing Ms Buckley in this role.

Brillient! I hope I can watch this live.

When the goddess descends the staircase I burst into tears.

Astounding.

I see Lady Gaga doing this when she's older

@agcaoiliproductions9580

4 жыл бұрын

jumpforjoy6 YES!!!!

@juliansmith4987

4 жыл бұрын

Oh my gawd that wpuld be everything.

@kevinwilson3609

4 жыл бұрын

Catherine's Zeta-Jones should do it now

@coonalisa230

4 жыл бұрын

for some reason I think Cate Blanchett would do well in this role. She got the acting chop down, she needs some work in vocal department though lol

@kevinwilson3609

4 жыл бұрын

@@coonalisa230 She would act it amazingly...better than close I'd say. If she can sing this is a no brainer. Has the face for it too

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

BRAVO!!!!!!!!!

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.

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.

@hubraden

2 жыл бұрын

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..!

STUPENDA! SUPERBA!

@007James66 And too bad Annette Bening can't sing, because if she could, she would be a phenomenal Norma hands down

This maybe the musical. theatrical triumph of my lifetime...

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.

I remember when Betty Buckley came, blew the roof off, and the memory of Glen Close out in the the stage door ally.

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.,

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!

How about we all agree they were all great....I saw Betty, Patti, Glen and Petula. All great

@frankly-he1kf

3 жыл бұрын

And don't forget elaine. ...she out performed them all by a mile.....

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

The incomparable Betty Buckley!!!

This deserved a longer run!!!

Oh my god, I love hearing the audience freak out when Joe is shot! Perfect!

@this_Joe_Smith

5 жыл бұрын

Oh, you're *right* ! You can hear them draw their breath with suspended gasps -- perfect!

@this_Joe_Smith

5 жыл бұрын

3:08

Wouldn’t she have been a triumph if she had gotten to originate this role on Broadway instead of Glenn Close. Betty is the best Norma ever!

Y'all seem to have forgotten Patti, right? Easily the singingest, psychoticist heartbreakingest Norma ever.

Can you post the entire play?

Brava!

@johnbryson9768

7 жыл бұрын

MrPoto00

There is another way to see the full show, now?

yeah, that's why Live theatre is best LIVE. The eye can catch everything.... oh well...

at 10:12, you can see Alice Ripley to the far left :-)

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

@jumpforjoy6

5 жыл бұрын

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

@ValtronW

5 жыл бұрын

I think she comes off as really delusional, almost like she's living in a different reality, which is definitely a symptom of madness.

@BamaFan-vc4gn

4 жыл бұрын

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.

She was the best

london

@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!

Who's playing Max in this?

@LovettSweeney Debbie Downer.. she did how many performances? Where is your broadway show?? Oh yeah you do not have one.

From the audience, I mean.

@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)

I was fortunate enough to have seen her twice in this role. She was incredible as Norma Desmond

Fabulous and wonderful Betty Buckley!! ♥️Xxxooo

Still the best. x

so much for the big head at the end...

She seems pretty mad to me! I thought it was perfect! She’s amazing!!

Correction: This is actually her FIRST Broadway performance and not final.

@joelshock4542

9 жыл бұрын

finale means the end of the play. learn the play.

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.

@JorgeAl

5 жыл бұрын

Yes, Glen Close is the best Norma ever, totally thrilling, from the beginning till the last 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..

@BalletBabyBoy

7 жыл бұрын

Lupone was short but the best for this role

@johnyvanrhedcastro2203

7 жыл бұрын

YAAAASSSS PREACH!

@correoprivado9953

6 жыл бұрын

Lupone can't act.

@JorgeAl

5 жыл бұрын

Totally agree, no one can beat Glen Close in this role, she is stunning, she lives the role with all her soul and every inch of her body!!!

Amature hour

@jumpforjoy6

2 жыл бұрын

Your spelling?

Im off KEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! 9:21

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

Not even close to glenn close. No pun intended.

Diahann Carroll and Glen Close are the best Norma Desmond's ever!!!! While great Buckley is very drag queen like in her performance of this role.

Best Norma ever. Her and Petula Clark...

@p4u7y

5 жыл бұрын

Ruth-Elizabeth Page really ?!?!?!? I question your taste

This is a disgrace to Betty....poor quality, absurd. Take I away

Nope. She doesn't get it....

@mikejock

5 жыл бұрын

no, i'm afraid you do not "get it"

The direction for this show is the absolute worst. Just awful.

Glenn Close was much much much much much better

@BalletBabyBoy

7 жыл бұрын

Thank you

@ramona2400

7 жыл бұрын

Dianhaan Carroll hit this finally out of the park for me, her growl at the end is demented and sensational. Ms. Carroll was Norma Desmond!!

@mikejock

5 жыл бұрын

for plebs, maybe

I know singers develop their little idiosyncrasies, but, my, her vowels sound strange.

Glenn Close was way better in this role.

@mikejock

5 жыл бұрын

for those who don't appreciate soul or nuance