Can Anya, a brave young woman with no memory of her past, be the sole survivor of the doomed
Romanov family? That’s one of the mysteries in Anastasia, an epic romantic adventure that sweeps
audiences from Imperial Russia to Paris in the 1920s.
72 artsLife | SUMMER 2018
PHOTO BY MATTHEW MURPHY
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performers.
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mously, took on a role originally written for
Ethel Merman and then turned down by
both Merman and Mary Martin — through
revivals and tours that starred Pearl Bailey,
Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters, among
others.
Peters, in fact, is currently starring at the
Schubert Theater in a smash revival, which
NPR has called “the best show of the year.”
Last year, in fact, it won four Tonys, including
Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress in
a Leading Role in a Musical for the Divine
Miss M.
It’s the touring version of this newly staged
production that’s coming to Orlando. And if
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of Channing, Bailey, Peters, or Barbara Strei-
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Buckley.
Buckley, who has been called “The Voice
of Broadway” by New York magazine, may
be best known to general audiences for her
three-year stint on the ABC series Eight Is
Enough, playing Sandra Sue “Abby” Abbott
Bradford from 1977–1981.
But Broadway audiences know her from
her role as Grizabella in the original Broadway
production of Cats, which won her a
Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
in 1983.
Buckley went on to portray the scenerychewing
Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s 1994 musical adaptation of Sunset
Boulevard, winning raves in both New York
and London, where her performance as the
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ivier Award nomination.
Her other Broadway credits include 1776
(1969), Pippin (1973), The Mystery of Edwin
Drood (1985) and Triumph of Love (1997).
She also boasts an array of television and
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�������� �������������������������������� �������� Tender Mercies,
starring Robert Duvall.
Buckley, a 2012 American Theater Hall of
Fame inductee, is also a Grammy-nominated
recording artist, releasing 16 solo albums
of mostly original songs as well as appearing
on the original cast recordings of several