From Split to Story Songs, Betty Buckley Is on a Roll

Betty Buckley
(Photo: Scogin Mayo) More than three decades after her Tony-winning performance in Cats, Betty Buckley is savoring a hit movie and a hot new album. On the big screen, the Broadway legend won raves as James McAvoy’s psychologist in M. Night Shyamalan’s smash thriller Split ($172.9 million at the U.S. box office and counting). Meanwhile, her two-disc live album Story Songs is set for release on April 7 from Palmetto Records, with four New York area appearances on tap.

Based on the show of the same name that Buckley debuted at Joe’s Pub last fall, Story Songs includes music from many genres, from musical theater composers Jason Robert Brown, Stephen Schwartz and Rodgers & Hammerstein to songs first recorded by Radiohead, Peter Gabriel and Emmylou Harris. On disc and in concert, she is joined by her longtime musical director and arranger Christian Jacob, a Grammy-nominated jazz pianist.

Buckley’s forthcoming schedule includes concert appearances at the Livermore Performing Arts Center in Livermore, CA (March 3), the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, NJ (March 9) and the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ (March 10). She will also appear at the Roundabout Theater gala (February 28) and the Vineyard Theater gala (March 13).

If you haven't seen Split, get a glimpse of Buckley's work as Dr. Fletcher in the official trailer below.