Flashback Friday: How Did Betty Buckley Prep for Her Tony Win? By Getting Her Act Together and Taking It on the Road

Renée Elise Goldsberry is currently blowing the roof off City Center, starring in five performances of the 1978 hit off-Broadway musical I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road. To celebrate its eagerly anticipated return to the New York stage, we’re remembering Betty Buckley’s stunning performance of “Old Friend” (one of the show’s signature numbers by composer Nancy Ford) on The Mike Douglas Show in 1980.

Following its 1978 premiere at New York’s Public Theater, starring book writer and lyricist Gretchen Cryer as the strong female protagonist Heather Jones, Buckley took the role…on the road…to star in its 1980 Los Angeles production. After watching this performance, it’s no surprise that a Tony Award was in her not-so-distant future — though we don’t think anyone saw the cat suit coming.