Video Friday: The Writing on the Wall
Posted: October 31, 2014 Filed under: Videos | Tags: belting, bettybuckley, broadway, cats, edwindrood, grizabella, stephaniejblock, themysteryofedwindrood, thewritingonthewall, videofriday 2 CommentsHappy Halloween, Broadway fans! Let’s dedicate this Friday’s post to the crazy belting pipes of Betty Buckley. Cats’ original Grizabella also originated the title role in The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 1985 and got to sing the big number, “The Writing on the Wall.” It’s a damn good song with a great build to the closing moments of the show, especially since the first quarter of the number is mostly spoken.
I, for one, during the revival of Drood, was eager for the finale, knowing we would finally get to hear the belting chops of Stephanie J. Block. I imagine the same went for those watching Betty back in the day (in a higher key at that!!).
Here is Betty’s performance. Disclaimer: the video/audio quality is poor (yay old bootlegs); skip ahead to 1:04 to get to the singing part of the number.
And in the 2012 revival, here is Stephanie!
Do you have a favorite?
Becca on Broadway 
OMG, I loved them both. Betty because of her fame, and Stephanie as a new and amazing performer. Thanks Becca!
You’re the best, Kathy! Thanks for reading/listening in.