Betty was fighting a bad cold when I saw her in Phoenix and was struggling. She fought it into Southern California performances and missed a couple in Orange County as I recall . She’s such a trooper though, even having to incorporate a tissue into every scene as she was so congested. I adore her.
I am so sad that Betty Buckley did not get a chance to give her Dolly to Broadway. What man exquisite performance. If I were in the audience watching this number I would be going crazy!
I was so lucky to see her on tour in Minneapolis. It was such a memorable performance of Dolly. She would have made for an incredible cast recording. It’s not just her singing (or which is fantastic) she does some incredible character work. I honestly wish they would have added back in Love Look in My Window and World Take Me Back. She could have owned them on tour.
Betty Buckley is a national treasure. An undervalued national treasure. I saw her many years ago when she took over the part of Norma Desmond on Broadway, from Glenn Close. She gave such an amazing and nuanced performance, that she out-shown the part’s originator, Glenn Close. I love Glenn Close as an actress, but unfortunately she portrayed Norma Desmond as such an over-the-top madwoman, that it was hard to have sympathy for her character. Betty’s portrayal was as I said, much more nuanced, so you could see that Norma was living in-and-out of reality, but it made her a much more pathetic, and therefore sympathetic character. Miss Buckley‘s cabaret performances and recordings are all to be treasured. 💜
Not surprisingly, the best reading of that monologue I’ve ever heard and the best storytelling during that song I’ve ever seen. No one tells a story like BB.
So glad I saw Betty in this in Cleveland Ohio shortly after the road tour began. Had seen her in Cats on Broadway twice - 2nd time ONLY because of her. Love Betty Buckley!!!
I've never seen Betty live nor have I ever seen Hello Dolly. I don't know the plot of the musical or the context of this song. But Betty's monologue made me cry. Her delivery was both poignant and hopeful. Then the song made me smile and laugh at its energy and Betty's cheery performance. At 71, Betty still had it. What a treasure she is!
It's the musical version of the Thornton Wilder play "The Matchmaker". There is a 1958 movie of "The Matchmaker" staring Shirley Booth, Shirley Maclaine & Anthony Perkins.
I luckily saw this in Chicago with Betty...wonderful actor/singer, singer/actor...call her whatever. On top of that, I saw the original, original with Merman, Ginger Rogers, Pearl Bailey,,,,, and it's like this was a complete reconstruction.
I have seen that monologue delivered again and again by different Dollys, but Miss Buckley's... it's like I'm hearing it for the first time. What a great actress.
I can’t recall if I’ve been to this video comments. I have seen all the Dolly’s. Flew to NY twice to see the latest. They were good but rushed their lines the entire show. It was frustrating to see but I did like them well enough. There is only one Carol, of course, but Buckley was incredible. The video here does not do her performance justice. She absolutely relished every line. It was a truly magical night in the theater.
Thank YOU so much for this. I saw her at her last performance in Boston and wished I could have see it again. She was great. Do you have more video of this performance. So grateful you've posted this at least. Thanks
Best interpretation of this number. Betty Buckley's acting and singing are superb. I have seen this show live with Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey and this number on film/video with Bette, Bernadette, Ginger, Barbra, and others and I really enjoyed this version..
actors and legends retire when they no longer can live up to their previous earlier younger performances, this scene proves that to be highly necessary to keep up standards that often fade with time .memories often blind us to the truth of faded glories.
Apologies, but I couldn't leave a comment on the Lea Salonga video you recently posted (Meadowlark). It is labeled Sydney 2017. I thought that was from the concert that was filmed for PBS in 2019 (and aired a couple of days ago). Thanks in advance.
Not a minority at all. Barbra's Dolly was ebullient, sassy and utterly fabulous. I also saw Miss Betty Lynn during her run as Dolly. I adore Betty Lynn and she can do no wrong as far as I am concerned. Barbra was just 26 and Betty Lynn is 71 here. Both are beyond compare. Dolly obviously can be played by more than one certain age or certain look. Ya know?
Oh I'm so with you on this. I know she herself did not have a good experience filming the movie because she felt she was to young for the role, and yes she technically was, but her maturity, intelligence, comic timing, and that glorious voice made it work. She also didn't have a great experience filming along side Walter Mathau whom I truly despise. This was also the film that introduced me to Barbra, so it holds a very special place for me
I imagine the original plan was to have several leading Broadway ladies do the role, much as like what happened in the '60s. But, when Bernadette Peters took over for Bette Midler, the box office for the show suffered. So, the decision was made to close the show on Broadway, and take all those expensive sets and costumes and put them on the road. They decided to ask Betty Buckley, one of the very few "Broadway names" left, to star in it. The short way to answer is that the producers decided that the only reason the show as a hit on Broadway was because of Bette Midler.
@@infotainmentpodcast1427 Yes, that make sense. Bernadette Peters was not so good and she has been doing some rejuvance on her face that was not so successful, as she appeared quite "changed"...Bette was a triumph!
This is amazing, but the problem with most productions of Dolly is that Dolly Levi is supposed to be in her 40s, not her 70s. Bette was too old to play her, so is Betty. Sutton Foster should be playing her.
She really lost it after about 2016/2017. She doesn't have a mix anymore, it's either whispy head voice or out of tune belt. She's 70 though remember. Very few still have a voice by then.
That's one of the ugliest effing costumes I've ever seen. Betty Buckley is no push over. Ask anyone who ever worked with her. Why she ever agreed to wear that rag, I will never know.
Love Betty Buckley. I am from Texas and attended TCU. Enough said. But this song (to me) is the emotional highpoint of the entire musical. And what I see is a low-energy, sadly disappointing performance from a once terrific singer. Sometimes it is best to know when to say. "Thanks. But get someone younger." If you want to see a great performance of this great song, watch Pearl Bailey!
Just wondering: Did you see both in the Theater? I did and I have to say in their own way both were wonderful. I'm old enough that I got to see the original production shortly after it opened and then I saw her years later in a revival. Always wonderful and always in my mind but when Betty road out on that trolley she she made it her own that evening. I also saw Pearl Baily and Martha Raye and not to push it but there is a wonderful film with Shirley Booth of The Matchmaker. All I'm saying is there are quite a number of great ladies who have play Dolly and done her honor. So did you see both on stage?
@@bostonviewer5430 Thank you for your wise and informed perspective. I can see here that La Buckley brings her many, many hour on the stage, and her professionalism, and her amazing acting talent to this role. (I know she reads the internet about her, so Betty if you're reading this, STOP!) But, obviously, her voice is diminished from what it was in 1984.
@@bostonviewer5430 Thornton Wilder wrote the role for Ruth Gordon, who passed on it in the original play, titled The Merchant of Yonkers, which was a flop, then triumphed in it in the slightly rewritten The Matchmaker (directed properly as a farce by Tyrone Guthrie). One critic described Gordon's Dolly as "a malevolent pixie." This role has been played successfully any number of ways, such is its tremendous scope for both broad comedy and genuine human feeling. Incidentally, I believe that in Matchmaker Wilder describes Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi as being of "an uncertain age." But surely, with Irene Molloy clearly being a youngish widow, Dolly must be of an older generation... older and younger perspectives brought into proximity (and sometimes conflict) is a recurrent theme in so much of Wilder's writing, even in The Matchmaker, which is an adaptation of an older German play; the most notable change was the addition of the character of... Mrs. Levi!
@@treesny Hi Nick. I don't think I ever knew the Matchmaker was a re-write but I did know Ruth Gordon was the original Dolly. I'm sorry there's no video of her in it (too long ago) but there is a wonderful movie with Shirley Booth who really got the role along with a sterling cast of Paul Ford, Shirley MacLaine ,Anthony Perkins and Robert Morse. I've wondered why it was filmed in Black and White in 1958 when everything was in wide screens bursting with color but maybe it does looks better that way. I've seen quite a few of the Dolly starting with the original production and loved them all but Ms. Buckley is the one, for me, who created a character rather than just being charismatic. Thanks for saying Hi with that interesting bit of information.
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Betty was fighting a bad cold when I saw her in Phoenix and was struggling. She fought it into Southern California performances and missed a couple in Orange County as I recall . She’s such a trooper though, even having to incorporate a tissue into every scene as she was so congested. I adore her.
I am so sad that Betty Buckley did not get a chance to give her Dolly to Broadway. What man exquisite performance. If I were in the audience watching this number I would be going crazy!
I was so lucky to see her on tour in Minneapolis. It was such a memorable performance of Dolly. She would have made for an incredible cast recording. It’s not just her singing (or which is fantastic) she does some incredible character work. I honestly wish they would have added back in Love Look in My Window and World Take Me Back. She could have owned them on tour.
She’s the best singer who ever performs this role … her voice is legendary.
@@siegfriedenea Not better than Pearl Bailey or Stresiand for sure.
@@richardmayora1289 streisand had the advantage of being 25 aka too young to be dolly
@@siegfriedenea That and her mannerisms are incredible!!!!
Betty Buckley is a national treasure. An undervalued national treasure. I saw her many years ago when she took over the part of Norma Desmond on Broadway, from Glenn Close. She gave such an amazing and nuanced performance, that she out-shown the part’s originator, Glenn Close. I love Glenn Close as an actress, but unfortunately she portrayed Norma Desmond as such an over-the-top madwoman, that it was hard to have sympathy for her character. Betty’s portrayal was as I said, much more nuanced, so you could see that Norma was living in-and-out of reality, but it made her a much more pathetic, and therefore sympathetic character.
Miss Buckley‘s cabaret performances and recordings are all to be treasured. 💜
Not surprisingly, the best reading of that monologue I’ve ever heard and the best storytelling during that song I’ve ever seen. No one tells a story like BB.
You need to go to the theatre more often...
Betty is superb!! Grateful to have seen her twice as Dolly Levi. Simply amazing.... love her!
I got to see her as Norma Desmond!
Saw her in Louisville, and this scene tore me to pieces. This was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time
Extraordinary! The first time the monologue has brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my cynical old eye. She is wonderful!
Uh, it brought a lump to my throat, too, when I had to throw up.
I saw her in Chicago. I won the ticket lottery and got a front row seat. Hands down one of the best theater experiences of my life.
Did you say you WON it? Or lost?
…what?
@@bnorem09 I was wondering if that 'win' was maybe a loss- or punishment for something you did! She is dreadful.
Betty was wonderful as Dolly. I got to see her from third row center orchestra at Kennedy Center. Standing ovation
As always, a consummate storyteller. Betty gets into my heart like no one else does. Thank you for this lovely little snippet.
So glad I saw Betty in this in Cleveland Ohio shortly after the road tour began. Had seen her in Cats on Broadway twice - 2nd time ONLY because of her. Love Betty Buckley!!!
0:56 wow...top notch! She was magnificent. Wish I could've seen this in person.
I saw her live in Dolly four times and this was my favorite number! Betty gives it everything she has every single time.
FOUR TIMES?!! ARE YOU DEAF?
That was a great monologue.
Absolutely 💖
Ms B sings the words of the song as she was signing them for the 1st time - excellent- love the movement too
Are you people her grandchildren? Can you hear?!!
I've never seen Betty live nor have I ever seen Hello Dolly. I don't know the plot of the musical or the context of this song. But Betty's monologue made me cry. Her delivery was both poignant and hopeful. Then the song made me smile and laugh at its energy and Betty's cheery performance. At 71, Betty still had it. What a treasure she is!
Yeah I don't think she was live here.
It's the musical version of the Thornton Wilder play "The Matchmaker". There is a 1958 movie of "The Matchmaker" staring Shirley Booth, Shirley Maclaine & Anthony Perkins.
@@josephcollins6033
What? Youuuu mamamamean thththat's a gugugughost? ZOINKIE, Scooby! I'm out of here!
@@Nacho-Mamma You idiot. I meant that she is so awful it couldn't be "live", as in she has to be dead to be that bad.
I luckily saw this in Chicago with Betty...wonderful actor/singer, singer/actor...call her whatever. On top of that, I saw the original, original with Merman, Ginger Rogers, Pearl Bailey,,,,, and it's like this was a complete reconstruction.
Thank you for this. I saw this production in Miami and she really made this role her own. It was magical.
Thank you - she's always brilliant!
I have seen that monologue delivered again and again by different Dollys, but Miss Buckley's... it's like I'm hearing it for the first time. What a great actress.
Exactly!!
Agreed, incredible!!!!!
INCOMPARABLE!!!!!!!!
A true broadway diva! Love her.
What a good choice to return to!
YOU'RE BACK!!!
Betty is great!
I can't believe this is the same actress from "Eight is Enough". What an extraordinal talent.
I can’t recall if I’ve been to this video comments. I have seen all the Dolly’s. Flew to NY twice to see the latest. They were good but rushed their lines the entire show. It was frustrating to see but I did like them well enough. There is only one Carol, of course, but Buckley was incredible. The video here does not do her performance justice. She absolutely relished every line. It was a truly magical night in the theater.
I thought she'd be too serious for this but she breathes a breath of fresh air into it
I wouldn't call that fresh air.
Thank you!!
Thank YOU so much for this. I saw her at her last performance in Boston and wished I could have see it again. She was great.
Do you have more video of this performance.
So grateful you've posted this at least. Thanks
Thank You ,Moonfall!!!
Saw her in Boston. Good performance!
Best interpretation of this number. Betty Buckley's acting and singing are superb. I have seen this show live with Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey and this number on film/video with Bette, Bernadette, Ginger, Barbra, and others and I really enjoyed this version..
She is amazing. Always.
May I retract a nasty comment 😢 Miss Betty Buckley brought new dimension--honesty to a show that hadn't seen it.❤
actors and legends retire when they no longer can live up to their previous earlier younger performances, this scene proves that to be highly necessary to keep up standards that often fade with time .memories often blind us to the truth of faded glories.
When was this Show? I hope they bring it to The Broadway Theater in Pitman N.J.
LOOK FOR THE ONE GUY CARRYING THE PLATERS TO FALL AT 6.06 ON THE CARPET BUT REBOUNDED BUT THAT HAS TO BE IMBARASING.
I didn't know Betty Buckley played Dolly Levi. Why wasn't I told that she played Dolly Levi?
Apologies, but I couldn't leave a comment on the Lea Salonga video you recently posted (Meadowlark). It is labeled Sydney 2017. I thought that was from the concert that was filmed for PBS in 2019 (and aired a couple of days ago). Thanks in advance.
Whoops sorry! Ah, the perils of posting vids during the wee hours of the morning! Edited now haha. :-)
Good catch!
I know I am in a minority of one, but I like Streisand's interpretation of the role.
She might be too young but I love her dolly
@@viniciusbarretopereira9081 She was not too young. Most of the actresses playing Dolly are far too old.
You’re not, I prefer hers as well
Not a minority at all. Barbra's Dolly was ebullient, sassy and utterly fabulous. I also saw Miss Betty Lynn during her run as Dolly. I adore Betty Lynn and she can do no wrong as far as I am concerned. Barbra was just 26 and Betty Lynn is 71 here. Both are beyond compare. Dolly obviously can be played by more than one certain age or certain look. Ya know?
Oh I'm so with you on this. I know she herself did not have a good experience filming the movie because she felt she was to young for the role, and yes she technically was, but her maturity, intelligence, comic timing, and that glorious voice made it work. She also didn't have a great experience filming along side Walter Mathau whom I truly despise. This was also the film that introduced me to Barbra, so it holds a very special place for me
Anyone else notice the waiter fall at 6:06, poor guy 😬
....and yet the bottle didn't break! ;)
To me always better that both Patti and Bernadette. Just my opinion. x
6:04 Was that fall part of the act? That must have hurt!
3:02
Why she didnt do the show in Broadway?
I imagine the original plan was to have several leading Broadway ladies do the role, much as like what happened in the '60s. But, when Bernadette Peters took over for Bette Midler, the box office for the show suffered. So, the decision was made to close the show on Broadway, and take all those expensive sets and costumes and put them on the road. They decided to ask Betty Buckley, one of the very few "Broadway names" left, to star in it. The short way to answer is that the producers decided that the only reason the show as a hit on Broadway was because of Bette Midler.
@@infotainmentpodcast1427 Yes, that make sense. Bernadette Peters was not so good and she has been doing some rejuvance on her face that was not so successful, as she appeared quite "changed"...Bette was a triumph!
This is amazing, but the problem with most productions of Dolly is that Dolly Levi is supposed to be in her 40s, not her 70s. Bette was too old to play her, so is Betty. Sutton Foster should be playing her.
Dolly should always be played by an older actress. Barbra was way too young.
wow now that makes sense.
What happened to her voice? She can't seem to find her key, and she often flat and then sharp and wobbly.
She really lost it after about 2016/2017. She doesn't have a mix anymore, it's either whispy head voice or out of tune belt. She's 70 though remember. Very few still have a voice by then.
She sounds great!
That's one of the ugliest effing costumes I've ever seen. Betty Buckley is no push over. Ask anyone who ever worked with her. Why she ever agreed to wear that rag, I will never know.
Love Betty Buckley. I am from Texas and attended TCU. Enough said. But this song (to me) is the emotional highpoint of the entire musical. And what I see is a low-energy, sadly disappointing performance from a once terrific singer. Sometimes it is best to know when to say. "Thanks. But get someone younger." If you want to see a great performance of this great song, watch Pearl Bailey!
Not vulernable toc compete with an alligator. No leading lady.
Meh...Bobbi Kotula in my opinion did a much better job of this. Village theater. Issaquah. Sorry but Bobbi was better.
Great monologue...vocal not so great.
Man, how DARE she?! Not even close to the pitches. Tomatoes should have been thrown. How dare she?!!!
Dolly will always be Carol Channing.
RIP
This Actress is totally Miscast.
Just wondering: Did you see both in the Theater? I did and I have to say in their own way both were wonderful. I'm old enough that I got to see the original production shortly after it opened and then I saw her years later in a revival. Always wonderful and always in my mind but when Betty road out on that trolley she she made it her own that evening. I also saw Pearl Baily and Martha Raye and not to push it but there is a wonderful film with Shirley Booth of The Matchmaker. All I'm saying is there are quite a number of great ladies who have play Dolly and done her honor.
So did you see both on stage?
@@bostonviewer5430 Thank you for your wise and informed perspective. I can see here that La Buckley brings her many, many hour on the stage, and her professionalism, and her amazing acting talent to this role. (I know she reads the internet about her, so Betty if you're reading this, STOP!) But, obviously, her voice is diminished from what it was in 1984.
CHanning was just AWFUL as Dolly and everything she did! Simply GHASTLY!!
@@bostonviewer5430 Thornton Wilder wrote the role for Ruth Gordon, who passed on it in the original play, titled The Merchant of Yonkers, which was a flop, then triumphed in it in the slightly rewritten The Matchmaker (directed properly as a farce by Tyrone Guthrie). One critic described Gordon's Dolly as "a malevolent pixie." This role has been played successfully any number of ways, such is its tremendous scope for both broad comedy and genuine human feeling. Incidentally, I believe that in Matchmaker Wilder describes Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi as being of "an uncertain age." But surely, with Irene Molloy clearly being a youngish widow, Dolly must be of an older generation... older and younger perspectives brought into proximity (and sometimes conflict) is a recurrent theme in so much of Wilder's writing, even in The Matchmaker, which is an adaptation of an older German play; the most notable change was the addition of the character of... Mrs. Levi!
@@treesny Hi Nick. I don't think I ever knew the Matchmaker was a re-write but I did know Ruth Gordon was the original Dolly. I'm sorry there's no video of her in it (too long ago) but there is a wonderful movie with Shirley Booth who really got the role along with a sterling cast of Paul Ford, Shirley MacLaine ,Anthony Perkins and Robert Morse. I've wondered why it was filmed in Black and White in 1958 when everything was in wide screens bursting with color but maybe it does looks better that way. I've seen quite a few of the Dolly starting with the original production and loved them all but Ms. Buckley is the one, for me, who created a character rather than just being charismatic.
Thanks for saying Hi with that interesting bit of information.