Our Person of the Year: Betty Buckley!

Betty Buckley

All of our nominees for "Person of the Year" are exceptional in their own way, each of them bringing something unique and beautiful to the world of the arts and humanities. However, our winner was clearly the frontrunner—the outstanding and talented Miss Betty Buckley!

Miss Buckley’s multiple-award-winning career on stage and screen has been well-documented. A visit to her Web site will give you a detailed curriculum vitae. Instead, let’s focus on the ethereal nature of Betty Buckley’s influence on our world and culture. As a teacher, she has given dozens of individuals the power that they need to express themselves. What could be a better gift to the world?

Furthermore, her talent has moved and affected thousands upon thousands of people. The integrity of an artist’s work is measured by her ability to bring her audience to a new emotional level. Who could possibly listen to Miss Buckley’s clear voice without becoming overwhelmed by its power and magnificence? More important than all of the awards that she’s won, Betty Buckley’s greatest achievements stay in the hearts of those who have heard her, who have seen her and who have experienced those much-needed moments of brilliance which all of our souls desire.

Our digital age makes the sharing of artistic moments all the easier. If you’d like to bring Betty Buckley into your home this winter, I’d certainly recommend her new album, Bootleg: Boardmixes From the Road which is now available on iTunes. For those of you in the Dallas, Texas area, you’ve got a chance to see Miss Buckley perform in Arsenic and Old Lace at the Dallas Theater Center from February 4 to March 13. I know that I intend to be there.

I leave you with two performances which I think truly sum up Betty Buckley’s artistic triumph. The first is one of her memorable performances of Memory from Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Cats. Recorded as part of the 2006 Kennedy Center Honors tribute to Lloyd-Webber, Miss Buckley delivers the song which made her, “The Voice of Broadway.” As I previously mentioned, I had the pleasure of seeing Betty Buckley perform last year. For her encore, she returned to the stage to sing Memory. I’ve never heard such applause in a theater before.

The second video clip shows a scene from the former AMC program, Remember WENN, in which Miss Buckley guest-starred. This Christmas song, written for the show, is one of my favorites—scintillatingly performed and stirring.

As a fan of her work, I’m proud to name Betty Buckley Stalking the Belle Époque’s first “Person of the Year.” I offer my sincere thanks for all that she’s contributed to the arts and look forward to what she’ll bring next.