It's been a year of moving forward, peppered with a few backward glances, for Tony winner Betty Buckley, who can now add award-winning filmmaker to her ever-growing list of accolades.
The film in question is the animated short The Mayfly, Buckley's somewhat autobiographical, moving, and magical tale that follows a lone mayfly who wants nothing more than to revel in music鈥攄espite the protestations of her father.
The animated film, based on Buckley's experience watching a mayfly magically descend into Judy Collins' hair during a Caf茅 Carlyle concert, has been screened at over 20 festivals, becoming a finalist at the London Women Film Festival, the Pasadena Film Festival, and the USA Film Festival while picking up Best Animation at the Lady Filmmakers Festival, and Best of Festival, Best Director, and Best 2D Character Based Animation at the Los Angeles Animation Festival.
The film was also presented at the Tribeca Film Festival, which Buckley relates "was a blast. We had so much fun at the Tribeca. I reconnected with Whoopi Goldberg, who's a friend, and was the curator for the animated short films.鈥y friend Ellen Burstyn also came鈥攁 lot of good friends came to see the movie at Tribeca, and it was great fun to share it with them."
READ: Why Betty Buckley Wanted to Make an Animated Film About a Mayfly
Buckley says she still hopes there will be a Mayfly book, and she's also hoping to secure streaming rights so everyone can watch this tale of Megalyn Mayfly, who "dedicates her life to dance and commits to expressing herself through music." She is also working on future projects with friend Sue Perrotto, who co-produced and directed The Mayfly.
But this legend is not only creating films, she is also starring in them: the Amanda Kramer-written and directed By Design (which recently debuted at the Sundance Film Festival starring Juliette Lewis, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, and Mamoudou Athie) and Eternity, starring Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, and Barry Primus.
By Design, which was filmed last summer, casts Buckley as Lewis' mother. "I have this great scene with Juliette Lewis that's funny and moving all at the same time," says Buckley. "It was a five-page monologue, essentially, where I just keep talking. And Juliette is in this kind of trance state, she doesn't respond. The scene is based on writer-director Amanda's mother saying, 'Just once, I'd like to have a conversation with you where you don't talk!' It's very funny."
About Eternity, Buckley explains, "I play the older Elizabeth Olsen character opposite Barry Primus, who plays the older Miles Teller character. It's a really original script directed by this wonderful Irish director named David Freyne, and produced by A24 Films. They're releasing it in the fall, so I can't wait to see that movie. The script was really good."
While Buckley's legion of fans look forward to her new films, they can also revel in her live performances, which include a June 28 evening in Cherry Grove for the Fire Island Arts Project and a June 30 concert at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, New York. Buckley will also make her eagerly awaited return to Joe's Pub, the cabaret space located within The Public Theater, for six shows May 15鈥�17.
The annual stint, spotlighting Buckley's masterful work as a singer and storyteller, has become an eagerly anticipated event, where the actress gets a chance to delve into her eclectic collection of songs. She will be joined at the intimate venue by long-time musical director Christian Jacob on piano as well as Tony Marino on bass, Keita Ogawa on drums/percussion, and Jordan Peters on guitar.
"I'm working with Christian on some new material," Buckley explains, "new for me, and new arrangements. We're still in the process of sorting that out, but I seem to be really being drawn to songs that reflect the time we're living through. I was a child of the '60s, and I've been feeling some parallels to that moment of time. The shift in the culture then was enormous as it is now.
"I remember how influenced I was by the music of the 60s and how I wanted to become a part of that cultural shift," Buckley adds. "I want to do my part, currently. I don't want to be overwhelmed. It's all happening so fast, and it's so random and chaotic. The tendency is to become really frantic and stressed. I am working to stay with my meditation practice and the music. I still want to communicate the values that we all know are important, that is compassion, empathy, and connection鈥攋ust being a human being, realizing our connection with all humanity鈥攚ith all of life."
READ: Betty Buckley Shares Heartbreak and Hope in Emotionally Rich Joe鈥檚 Pub Concerts
Buckley pauses before discussing the importance of music, theatre, and all art in such difficult times here and around the world.
"I think it's really important for all of us who are artists, communicators, and storytellers to stay as creative and as active as we can鈥攖o tell stories of inspiration, community, and hope that represent the feeling of connection and love and the oneness of our humanity," she says. "The antithetical movement that's happening, and has been in process for a number of years, is very, very disturbing. It's very stressful for all of us.
"So I think my job, as it always has been, is to help people feel better, you know. I used to say to my band, 'We're undercover agents.' We're storytellers who help people, remind people of their own hearts, our connectedness and our humanity. And it might appear to be one thing, an 'entertainment,' but I've always picked songs in the many years that I've worked with Christian that resonate in the moment. The feeling of the show, or what it's kind of built to do, reveals itself. And I really enjoy that process, because it's one of discovery and surprise."
In the past year, major revivals of two Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals that were watershed moments in Buckley's career have also graced New York stages: Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch's Off-Broadway production of Cats: "The Jellicle Ball" and director Jamie Lloyd's minimalist production of Sunset Blvd.
Of Cats, which placed the feline-themed musical into a nightclub ballroom setting with voguing and queer overtones, Buckley enthuses: "Oh, I loved the ballroom production. It was great! I saw their first preview, and I loved it. It was wild. It took me a second to understand what was happening, but then I really got into it. It was really good. The dancing and the singing were amazing, and the audience went nuts. It was really fun."
Buckley also attended the "thrilling" opening night of the Nicole Scherzinger-led revival of Sunset. Though the production did without the opulent sets that Buckley was so used to in the show, it didn't dampen her love for it: "Jamie Lloyd's vision was just unbelievable. When they went out into the street [during the title song], and [Tom Francis] was singing, I'm like, 'Oh, my God!' And then they get the timing just right, and they are back in the theatre. I don't even understand how those filmmakers go down the stairs backwards because those backstage stairways are notoriously difficult, even when you're walking straight!"
One wonders what it's like for Buckley to see other artists playing roles she is synonymous with. In fact, decades later, if one ventures into the Winter Garden for Good Night, and Good Luck, listen closely and you can almost still hear her tremendous, Tony-winning (and still unsurpassed) rendition of "Memory" bouncing off the walls of the theatre. And, she equally scored with her tremendous interpretation of Norma Desmond on both sides of the Atlantic: Buckley was a heartbreakingly vulnerable Norma, a commanding presence, offering a richly layered and achingly seductive take on the fading screen star that masterfully built to a wildly climactic mad scene.
"I really don't do a lot of comparative thinking," Buckley says about watching other artists play Grizabella or Norma. "I guess there's a part of me that's always looking at things with an assessing eye, but I try not to do that. I just want to go to the theatre and enjoy it. Once I understood what was happening with Cats鈥攖hat took me a second to figure out. They're bringing out this album, and I'm like, 'Are they lip syncing?' I couldn't understand what was going on in the very beginning, and then when I figured all that out, I was so excited by what I was seeing. I thought that was really original鈥攖hat the artists made it work for their own purposes in their own political setting. I thought that was great.
"And Sunset, again, stylistically, so paired down, just the black slip鈥擭icole Scherzinger was wonderful鈥攁nd everything. Once you get rid of that notion of the grandeur of the original musical, you go for the ride. I'm a huge Jamie Lloyd fan. I saw his Doll's House, and I saw Cyrano, and I think he's brilliant. I'm fascinated to see how he's going to do anything, with such a fresh vision, and I personally really love stripped-down theatre, where it's just the basics and done with lights and sound design. And their sound guy was out of this world. Like, oh my God, the sound is just clarion. It was so beautiful."
When asked her thoughts about returning to Broadway herself, Buckley answers, "I always think it's just such a huge commitment. I remember when I went to Wicked years ago, I said, 'How do they do that eight times a week?' And my friends reminded me, 'You used to do that!' And I was like, 'Oh right, I did.' I think doing a Broadway show it's so all-consuming: That's all you do is you train every day, vocally, physically.
"When I look at old video footage," Buckley continues, "I always feel like I'm watching this girl or this younger woman that I know really well; she's like a little sister or something. And I know everything that was going on in her life while she was doing that, and I feel, 'Wow, that's amazing.' But I don't particularly think like, 'Oh yeah, I did that. You know?' I have to tell myself, 'That's you, Betty Lynn. I remember. I did that.'"
Yes, Betty Buckley, that was you, and we've been privileged to watch every riveting performance.
For tickets to Buckley's upcoming engagement at Joe's Pub, click .
P.S. Buckley was generous enough to share with 半岛体育 readers her recording of "Last Night I Dreamed," a track from a now-out-of-print 1991 Reader's Digest compilation. Listen below.
