LOS ANGELES 鈥� There鈥檚 busy, and then there鈥檚 Betty Buckley busy.
The veteran singer and actress began the month with four nights of concerts in New York celebrating the release of her new live album, Hope.
Buckley appeared last week on the season finale of The CW鈥檚 Supergirl, and will be back on television screens today as the creepy, complicated grandmother of star Dominic Cooper鈥檚 title character Preacher on AMC.
Buckley has another major gig ahead 鈥� the lead role in a U.S. tour of Hello, Dolly!
Versatile Buckley, 70, is famous for her roles in the 2016 film Split, TV鈥檚 Eight is Enough and Broadway鈥檚 Cats, for which she won a Tony Award.
Her album is an eclectic array of classic standards, jazz, rock, pop and Americana. Without naming U.S. President Donald Trump, Buckley said the album is, in part, a response to the widening divides between people worldwide since the 2016 American presidential election. 鈥淥ur mission is to heal hearts,鈥� Buckley said.
The frenzy of opportunities emerged after a spate of bad luck for Buckley. 鈥淚 was sitting at my ranch in early January, nursing an extended case of bronchitis, and everything started falling apart at the seams,鈥� Buckley recalled, noting she鈥檇 been sick throughout the holiday season, and, worse yet, her well, tractor and heating and cooling system had all bitten the dust.
Instead of being overwhelmed, Buckley tempted the fates. 鈥淚 was like: 鈥榊ou know what? Bring it on, universe.鈥� 鈥�
Then the phone rang. It was an offer for a role as a regular on a TV series that Buckley said she already loved, the supernatural drama Preacher. The character, gleaned from the original comic book series, is the twisted Marie (Gran鈥檓a) L鈥橝ngelle, the grandmother who Cooper鈥檚 character had abandoned long ago because of her ruthlessness.
鈥淏ut he needs me to bring Tulip [his girlfriend] back to life,鈥� Buckley said. 鈥淎nd I have those skills, as a Cajun sorceress. And so that鈥檚 where we open up in Season 3, and we go from crazy to crazier, and wild to wilder. It鈥檚 so much fun.鈥�
Just weeks after getting the offer to do Preacher, Buckley鈥檚 phone rang again. She was offered the tour of Hello, Dolly!
The Jerry Herman musical spins around Dolly Gallagher Levi, a turn-of-the-century New York matchmaker who meddles in the lives of her clients. Carol Channing played the character in the 1964 original Broadway cast. Bette Midler won the Tony Award and broke box-office records with the 2017 Broadway revival.
鈥淲hen I saw Bette Midler do it on Broadway, I was just enchanted,鈥� Buckley said. 鈥淚t was just one of the best things I鈥檝e ever seen in my life.鈥�
Buckley said that she normally immediately has an idea of how she鈥檚 going to approach a role, but not yet with Dolly, as she鈥檚 seen so many other actresses take it on in different ways successfully.
And while Buckley鈥檚 done musical comedy, the bossy, buoyant Levi is a far cry from the darker, more complicated characters for whom she is best known.
鈥淭his is like an incredible antidote,鈥� she said.
鈥淢y catchphrase for the tour is: 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to make America happy again.鈥� 鈥�
