IWTA, Episode 18: Betty Buckley

Betty Buckley is a Tony Award winning actress and singer. Considered the quintessential musical theatre actress, in 1982 she originated the role of Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, which won her a Tony Award and established her reputation as one of Broadway's leading ladies. She went on to play Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, both on Broadway and the West End, and Hesione in Broadway's Triumph of Love. In 2012 she was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

TV viewers know her from the HBO series Oz, Law & Order SVU, and Eight is Enough, for which she was nominated for an Emmy. Her film credits includes M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening, Brian De Palma's Carrie, Roman Polanski's Frantic, Woody Allen's Another Woman, and Tender Mercies which won 2 Academy Awards in 1983.

Betty Buckley has also had a prolific career as a recording artist. To date, she's released 16 albums including the Grammy nominated Stars and the Moon: Live at the Donmar. Her new solo album Ghostlight, produced by her childhood friend T. Bone Burnett has been hailed by fans and critics alike.

In this 2008 conversation, Betty talks about some of her most formative teachers, the impact Bob Fosse had on her as an artist, what it takes to sing one eleven o'clock number after another in concert, and how being an actress is like being a portrait painter.

Also- what does Betty think about being dubbed "the quintessential Broadway leading lady"? Tune in to find out.