{"id":211241,"date":"2026-04-27T15:05:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/211241\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T15:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:05:06","slug":"original-cats-leading-lady-betty-buckley-throws-her-own-ball-at-joes-pub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/211241\/","title":{"rendered":"Original Cats Leading Lady Betty Buckley Throws Her Own ‘Ball’ at Joe’s Pub"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past weekend, as Broadway\u00a0was alive with the current revival of Cats: The Jellicle Ball<\/a>, which expertly blends the worlds of Broadway and Ballroom, another expert was sharing her craft downtown at Joe’s Pub. Betty Buckley<\/a>, Broadway’s original, Tony-winning Grizabella, hosted a \u201cball\u201d of her own,\u00a0one defined by masterful\u00a0storytelling, emotional nakedness, and a true connection between audience and artist.<\/p>\n

Buckley\u2014who spent decades solidifying her status as one of the all-time great musical theatre performers, offering riveting performances\u00a0in such musicals as\u00a01776<\/a>, Cats<\/a>, Carrie<\/a>, Song and Dance<\/a>, The Mystery of Edwin Drood<\/a>,\u00a0Sunset Boulevard<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0Triumph of Love<\/a>\u2014opened her April 24\u00a0evening with her show’s sole theatre offering: a buoyant, life-affirming rendition of \u201cI Can See It\u201d from Harvey Schmidt<\/a> and Tom Jones<\/a>‘\u00a0The Fantasticks. Buckley\u2019s steely voice filled the room, as she drew the audience into her world and didn’t let go for the emotional hour that followed.<\/p>\n

Early in the evening, Buckley set the tone not only musically but personally, introducing her musicians with affection and admiration. The Broadway favorite was joined\u00a0by a quartet featuring long-time\u00a0musical director Christian Jacob,\u00a0who got the chance to shine on two\u00a0piano solos; Tony Marino, who\u00a0has been expertly backing Buckley on bass\u00a0for nearly four\u00a0decades; Keita Ogawa on drums and percussion; and Jordan Peters on\u00a0guitar. Throughout the concert, Buckley celebrated their individuality, generously stepping out of\u00a0the spotlight and shifting it to these accomplished musicians.<\/p>\n

James Taylor<\/a>‘s\u00a0\u201cThe Secret of Life\u201d followed; in Buckley\u2019s hands, the song became more than a gentle reflection on the meaning of life;\u00a0it was a beguiling meditation on the beauty of small moments. She lingered on phrases, investing each lyric with truth, making this well-known song feel newly discovered. One of Buckley’s many strengths, in fact, is her ability to provide so many emotional colors that listeners can find their own personal path to a song’s meaning.<\/p>\n

READ: 9 Grizabellas\u2014Including Betty Buckley, Elaine Paige, ‘Tempress’ Chasity Moore\u2014Share Their ‘Memory’s<\/a><\/p>\n

She followed that song with the first of two Mary Chapin Carpenter gems, \u201cCome On Come On,\u201d which Buckley admitted was her favorite song. Indeed, the stage and screen star has performed the tune for years, but here it felt newly unearthed. Her interpretation has only deepened with time, layering experience and reflection into every lyric. As she sang, \u201cTonight I am thinking of someone, 17\u00a0years ago \/\u00a0We rode in his daddy’s car down the river road \/ Come on, come on, it’s getting late now,” her eyes filled with tears, and\u00a0there was unlikely\u00a0anyone in that room who wasn’t thinking of a lost love or missed opportunity. Few performers can revisit material they’ve been performing for decades\u00a0and make it feel even more urgent and immediate.<\/p>\n

Later in the evening, Buckley\u00a0brought a similar emotional depth to Carpenter\u2019s \u201cI Am a\u00a0Town,\u201d\u00a0painting a\u00a0vivid emotional landscape with subtleties in vocals and phrasing. As she came to the song’s conclusion, this writer\u00a0couldn’t help but think of a line from Sunday in the Park With George:\u00a0“I am not hiding behind my canvas\u2014I am living in it.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the most heartfelt segments of the night came when Buckley spoke about the recent loss of her 99-year-old mother, Betty Bob Buckley. The actress shared\u00a0how her late, beloved\u00a0mother\u2014also a singer\u2014would delight Buckley and her siblings when they were children\u00a0by descending the stairs of their split-level Texas\u00a0house\u00a0belting out \u201cVolare.\u201d With a gentle\u00a0smile, Buckley offered her own rendition of the classic\u00a0tune (including a few Italian lyrics),\u00a0inviting the audience to join in on the chorus. It\u00a0was a beautiful exchange, a reminder of music\u2019s communal power, and of Buckley\u2019s generosity as a performer.<\/p>\n

READ: Why Betty Buckley Wanted to Make an Animated Film About a Mayfly<\/a><\/p>\n

But the evening at the intimate Manhattan venue was far from solemn. Buckley brought levity and playfulness to\u00a0Lyle Lovett\u2019s \u201cIf I Had a Boat,\u201d clearly relishing its wit and whimsy. Her between-song patter was equally engaging\u2014sharp, self-aware, and often laugh-out-loud funny. She\u00a0understands pacing not just musically, but emotionally, giving the audience space to breathe between more intense moments.<\/p>\n

Other highlights included the wonderful George Benson and Carpenters hit “This Masquerade” and a fully realized rendition of Susan Werner’s “The Man I Used to Love.” Buckley also scored with a heartfelt take on Sara Bareilles<\/a>‘ “Enough” from the upcoming new musical\u00a0The Interestings\u00a0(Buckley has released a single of the tune<\/a>, which will be also featured on her 19th solo\u00a0recording, due\u00a0July 17 from Palmetto Records).<\/p>\n

The masterful storyteller concluded her evening of song with a stunning rendition of \u201cWoman of Heart and Mind\u201d by Joni Mitchell<\/a>. It was the perfect conclusion: introspective, expansive, and deeply human. <\/p>\n

For her encore, Buckley turned to Fred Rogers\u2019 gentle anthem \u201cWon\u2019t You Be My Neighbor,\u201d but reframed for the present moment. In her hands, the song became less an invitation and more a call to action\u2014a supremely tender plea for empathy in divisive times. There was a spiritual undercurrent to her delivery, transforming the familiar refrain into something closer to \u201clove thy neighbor.\u201d It was one of the evening\u2019s most poignant statements, sending the audience into the night with a sense of connection and responsibility to one another.<\/p>\n

For those lucky enough to be in the sold-out room, the experience was singularly emotional, drawing on the performer’s joys, sorrows, loves, losses, and longing. Joe’s Pub may not have had the costumes or choreography of a Jellicle Ball, but Buckley’s performance was equally magical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This past weekend, as Broadway\u00a0was alive with the current revival of Cats: The Jellicle Ball, which expertly blends…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-211241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}