DIVA TALK: Betty & Patti's Songs From The 'Heart'
11 Feb 2000
BETTY BUCKLEY
Betty Buckley will return to the Cafe Carlyle this Tuesday, Feb. 15, for a five-week run and will preview songs from her newest CD, Heart to Heart, a collection of love songs that embrace contemporary, traditional and popular tunes. The CD features Buckley and pianist Kenny Werner who offer spare and elegant renditions of "Just the Way You Look Tonight," "How Deep Is the Ocean," "Ruby," "Fire and Rain," Mary Chapin Carpenter's "I Am a Town" plus two compositions penned by the actress herself, "If I Remember You Right" and "Violets." The disc also includes two songs from the recent production of Tennessee Williams' Camino Real in which Buckley starred for the Hartford Stage Company. In the liner notes for the new album, which will be available nationwide on March 28 on the newly formed KO (Knock Out) Productions label, Buckley explains, "The dimension of Heart to Heart is that of oneness. It is the state of longing and love that all of us have in common. It is the place of truth that resides in the heart of every being. It is very sweet and very powerful and to reach this realm one has but to remember that it always exists."
BETTY BUCKLEY Betty Buckley will return to the Cafe Carlyle this Tuesday, Feb. 15, for a five-week run and will preview songs from her newest CD,
Heart to Heart, a collection of love songs that embrace contemporary, traditional and popular tunes. The CD features Buckley and pianist Kenny Werner who offer spare and elegant renditions of "Just the Way You Look Tonight," "How Deep Is the Ocean," "Ruby," "Fire and Rain," Mary Chapin Carpenter's "I Am a Town" plus two compositions penned by the actress herself, "If I Remember You Right" and "Violets." The disc also includes two songs from the recent production of Tennessee Williams'
Camino Real in which Buckley starred for the Hartford Stage Company. In the liner notes for the new album, which will be available nationwide on March 28 on the newly formed KO (Knock Out) Productions label, Buckley explains, "The dimension of
Heart to Heart is that of oneness. It is the state of longing and love that all of us have in common. It is the place of truth that resides in the heart of every being. It is very sweet and very powerful and to reach this realm one has but to remember that it always exists."
More Carlyle info: Buckley and her trio will perform at the famed boite through March 17, Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:45 and 10:45 PM. There is a $60 cover charge, and reservations may be made by calling (212) 741-1600. The Cafe Carlyle is located at 35 East 76th Street.
Also, Betty has once again supported Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS with her signature on a one-of-a-kind bear for the upcoming Broadway Bears III auction. This light-blue bear is dressed in a re-creation of the ornate costume worn by BB in the original Broadway production of Triumph of Love, and that bear is just one of 40 that will be auctioned next week. Broadway Bears III, an annual fundraiser for BC/EFA, is being held on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 8 PM in The Hudson Theatre at Millennium Broadway, 145 W. 44th Street. For further information about the auction and how a fan of Ms. B can be a part of the bidding process -- by either pre-bidding, phone bidding or attending the auction -- please contact Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS at (212) 840-0770. Also, visit their website at www.bcefa.org and click on BROADWAY BEARS (not "Broadway Bares") under EVENTS.
PATTI LuPONE
La LuPone continues to thrill Philadelphia audiences with her Matters of the Heart concert act through Feb. 14 at the Prince Music Theatre. In a recent review for The Philadelphia Inquirer, critic Clifford A. Ridley had this to say about LuPone's one-woman show: "[Matters of the Heart] is LuPone's first visit to Philadelphia in 25 years. I'd suggest you get down to the Prince before another quarter-century rolls by. Not that there's reason to believe LuPone won't still be knocking 'em dead in 2025. The incredible voice may forfeit some of its luster, color and power over the years. But the singer's exquisitely phrased and modulated control of it, her meticulous attention to the sounds and meanings of the words, and her investment of self in everything she sings are attributes that, if anything, will mature with age. . . the evening comprises some two dozen songs about varied aspects of love, including the special bond between parents and children. In LuPone's rendition, each becomes a little work of theater, an emotion distilled . . .This is great singing, pure and simple. . ."
And, tomorrow, Feb. 12, LuPone will sign copies of her newest CD at the Tower Records store on South Broad and Chestnut Streets in Philly. The disc, in fact, was that store's best-selling recording all last week.
LINDA EDER
For those in the New York area who missed Linda Eder's recent, sold-out Carnegie Hall concert, fear no more. Eder will sing at Feinstein's at the Regency (540 Park Avenue), New York's newest cabaret space, from March 14 through 25 (call (212) 339-4095). And, the talented songstress will make a guest appearance on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" on Friday, March 17. I also thought you would enjoy reading excerpts from two other reviews about Eder's divine evening of song on Feb. 2.
Liz Smith in the New York Post:
". . .This statuesque 6-foot beauty first came to attention when she starred as the prostitute Lucy in the long-running Broadway hit, 'Jekyll & Hyde.' After this concert, I think the term diva, as in divine, is called for. What a powerhouse of a voice, what stunning musicality and phrasing, what a great mysterious sense of warmth, what a band under the direction of Jeremy Roberts, and, what a wonderful way to spend an evening . . . One of my favorite moments happened when Linda sang a medley of Broadway songs not usually sung by women: 'If I Were a Rich Man,' 'Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin',' 'Maria,' 'On the Street Where You Live,' and more . . ."
Stephen Holden in The New York Times:
"The twin muses of Garland and Streisand, along with a 12-week winning streak on 'Star Search' and her meeting with composer Frank Wildhorn, whom she married two years ago, have profoundly shaped the sensibility and career of Ms. Eder . . . Ms. Eder delivered a number of showstopping performances that illustrated her crowd-pleasing bigger-is-better point of view. 'The Man That Got Away,' 'I Dreamed a Dream,' 'Someone Like You,' 'What Kind of Fool Am I?,' 'The Man of La Mancha,' 'A New Life' and most of all 'Vienna' . . ."
And, if you're not in NYC, what follows are Eder's other scheduled concert dates:
March 4 at Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ (609) 449-5150
April 13 at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, MA (617) 562-4111
April 15 at the Shubert Theater in New Haven, CT (203) 562-5666
April 25 at the Papermill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ (973) 376-4343
May 6 at the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Benefit in the Westin Galleria Hotel in Houston, TX (713) 334-4400
August 5 at the Wildflower Music Festival in White Mills, PA
August 8 (with Michael Feinstein) at the Mann Performing Arts Center in Philadelphia, PA (215) 336-2000
August 19 at the John Drew Theater of Guild Hall in East Hampton, NY (631) 324-4050
Continued...
