Reviews

IRVING – Betty Buckley always ends her concerts with her signature song from Cats, "Memory." On Wednesday she gave Lyric Stage's audience her entire memoirs.

Milton Hinnant / DMN

Broadway diva Betty Buckley wowed the Lyric Stage audience with songs and stories from a life in theater.

Fort Worth's own Broadway legend took the stage at the Irving Arts Center's Dupree Theater on Wednesday to celebrate Lyric's 15th anniversary. The diva generally prefers to mix jazz numbers and other standards into her shows, but recently she has been acceding to fans' and producers' wishes by doing a whole evening of songs from her Broadway past.

On this occasion, Lyric founding producer Steven Jones asked his star to tell stories about her illustrious career, as well. After a start 15 minutes late, the concert went on a full three hours – rather too much of a good thing.

Ms. Buckley began wowing Broadway audiences in 1969, at age 21. Miraculously, she hasn't lost a beat – or her belted high notes – in the years since. From the moment she took the stage with a song from Sunset Boulevard, "As If We Never Said Goodbye," you knew that Ms. Buckley still has the knack of creating a whole imaginary world within the scope of three choruses and the intervening verses.

Her show is called By Request, and the audience was invited to submit suggestions in writing before the curtain. You get your request, though, only if you know the singer's career well enough to guess her repertoire. Those who wanted something new or different were duly put to shame for their ignorance.

Enough fervent fans filled the house to ensure that somebody would ask for the songs Ms. Buckley wanted to sing. The star's accompanist, Seth Rudetsky, must be counted among the true believers. A Broadway celebrity in his own right, the writer-performer-musician told a few stories of his own and showed some footage from Ms. Buckley's past, including a Miss America pageant and some clips from her first movie, Carrie.

The great thing about the show is that it gives the audience an opportunity to hear the star in a truly intimate space. Every word, every nuance comes through. The concert repeats on Thursday and Friday, but if you don't have a ticket already, you're out of luck. Wednesday's show was standing room only, and the other two performances are already sold out.