BETTY BUCKLEY "THEN AND NOW" AT FEINSTEIN'S

BETTY BUCKLEY "THEN AND NOW" AT FEINSTEIN'S

FEINSTEIN'S at the Regency Hotel (540 Park Avenue, NYC - 212-339-4095 - http://www.feinsteinsattheregency.com/ ) continues its Spring 2008 season with the return engagement of Tony Award winning singer and actress Betty Buckley. Her show, which runs Tuesdays through Saturdays, February 5th through 24th, will feature selections from Quintessence, her newest CD and Betty Buckley 1967, released last year. Her late shows will be a special program of theater music from her acclaimed career and beyond.

Betty Buckley won a Tony Award for her performance as "Grizabella" in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, a Tony Award nomination for her performance as "Hesione" in Triumph of Love, and an Olivier nomination for her interpretation of "Norma Desmond" in Sunset Boulevard. Her upcoming CD, Quintessence, is a tribute to Buckley's eighteen year working relationship with jazz great Kenny Werner. This album is the pair's ninth album together and is a perfect bookend to the recently released Betty Buckley 1967.

Betty Buckley 1967 features a nineteen year old Buckley in her first ever studio recording. The resulting eleven tracks expose the young abandon and whimsical charisma of a girl who will one day become one of the Great White Way's greatest talents. Conversely, Quintessence, displays the seasoned finesse of a musical virtuoso Æ a performance that travels the artistic landscape of one of today's most distinguished and celebrated performers.

The album opens with a smoky, jazz-infused version of the famous Sergio Mendes and Bergman's collaboration, So Many Stars and concludes with an achingly hushed version of Get Here, the hit song made famous by Oleta Adams. In between is a magical mix of tracks that takes the dramatic range and theatrics of Buckley's voice and infuses it with the jazz influence of her skillful quintet.

Buckley and Werner's unique interpretations of jazz and American standards, eclectic Brazilian songs and musical theatre milestones are a diverse collection of tunes culled from the best of Buckley's critically acclaimed performances. This recording offers trulyæoriginal renditions ofæsongs that the quintet and Buckley perform with aæfresh approach.æThe chemistry and alchemy obviously come from years spent together performing across the nation and around the world.

Buckley is one of four leads in the M. Night Shyamalan's highly anticipated new film The Happening starring Mark Wahlberg to be released in June 2008.

Her film appearances include her debut in Brian de Palma's screen version of Stephen King's Carrie, Bruce Beresford's Tender Mercies, Roman Polanski's Frantic, Woody Allen's Another Woman, and Lawrence Kasden's Wyatt Earp. She played the role of "Suzanne Fitzgerald" in the HBO series Oz, She and starred for as "Abby Bradford" in the hit series Eight is Enough. She had starring roles in the mini-series Roses for the Rich and Evergreen, among many other series guest star appearances.

Ms. Buckley added to her critically acclaimed work the role of "Mama Rose" in the great American musical Gypsy for the renowned Papermill Playhouse. Her other Broadway credits include Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance and the role of "Margaret White" in the cult musical Carrie, for which she was nominated as Best Actress in a Musical by the Outer Critics Circle. She made her Broadway debut creating the role of "Martha Jefferson" in the musical 1776, then performed the roles of "Catherine" in Bob Fosse's Pippin and "Edwin Drood" in the New York Shakespeare Festival's The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In London she starred as "Fran Kubelik" in Promises, Promises, for which she received a nomination from The Evening Standard for Best Actress in a Musical.

She also starred Off-Broadway in A.R. Gurney's new play, Buffalo Gal, Nicky Silver's The Eros Trilogy and Second Stage's Juno's Swans. She has performed the role of "Pirate Jenny" in Three Penny Opera and starred as "Marguerite Gautier" in Tennessee Williams' Camino Real.

Ms. Buckley's CD Stars and the Moon: Live at the Donmar, released by Concord Records, received a Grammy Award nomination. She received two Emmy Award nominations for the After-School Specials "Bobby and Sarah" and "Taking a Stand". She hosted the PBS special "The Women of Tin Pan Alley" and starred in the American Movie Classics' Emmy Award-winning series "Remember WENN." The Bravo network has aired a documentary about her life entitled "Betty Buckley In Concert and In Person."

The show will play the following schedule: Tuesdays through Thursdays at 8:30 pm; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm. There will be no late show on Friday, February 8th and no shows on Thursday, February 21st or Friday, February 22nd. There are additional 8:30 pm performances on Sunday, February 17th; Monday, February 18th; and Sunday, February 24th. Cover charges and minimums vary - call for information.