Betty Buckley jazzes up her schedule

Broadway buffs have cherished Betty Buckley's soulful interpretations of roles in "Cats," "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," and "Sunset Boulevard." Others know the Tony Award-winning actress best for her starring performance in the TV series "Eight Is Enough." But Buckley is also an accomplished jazz singer and teacher, among other things. Tonight she leads a seminar on performance skills at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, and tomorrow she sings at the Regattabar with longtime pianist Kenny Werner.

"I love coming to the Regattabar," Buckley says from her ranch in Texas. "The audiences there are so smart, they're predisposed toward listening to the music with a kind of intensity. They come without any expectations of me as a Broadway diva and really appreciate the musicianship."

Buckley has partnered with Werner for 17 years, releasing several albums with him. She says she and Werner are planning on including some new selections at the Regattabar, possibly from a couple of upcoming releases. "Quintessence," a collection of numbers that includes both show tunes and standards she performed in the American Songbook series at Lincoln Center last February, will be released on Playbill Records in February 2008, and she says "Betty Buckley-1967" will come out later this year. "That's a tape I made for my friends when I was 19 and was never released," she says. "It's great to hear the simplicity of it."

Finding the simple emotional message in songs is a key element of Buckley's seminar. "Artists are heart surgeons, of a kind," she says. "Whether you're a singer, an actor, a writer, or a painter, you use your art form as a vehicle to communicate on a really deep emotional level."

Buckley says she's been teaching song interpretation and performance for 35 years. "Usually I give a two-day intensive course, but I think in this [three-hour] class, people will be able to get the fundamentals. Music can be a force of great magic, but getting there involves some very pragmatic tools of concentration, focus, and meditation."

Buckley says she usually gives the seminar for performers, but the tools she uses can help other people communicate at every level. "People often get nervous and then forgetful when they feel they're under pressure to communicate," Buckley says. "What I try to do is help people change the focus and realize it's not about them."

She may teach others how to relax, but Buckley's schedule doesn't allow much time off for herself. Immediately after the Regattabar performances, she heads to Philadelphia, where she begins shooting "The Happening," a new movie thriller written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense"), also starring Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel.

"I wish I could tell you what it's about," Buckley says, "but I signed a nondisclosure agreement, because you know his work is always filled with mystery and suspense." The day after she finishes shooting, she performs with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra back home in Texas.

"I'm trying to get a few days of downtime on my ranch before I come to Cambridge," she says. "Sometimes I feel like I'm just an old cowgirl who lives this Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde existence," she adds with a laugh. "My life as a concert artist has a certain glamour to it, and is all about personal maintenance, and when I'm back in Texas I'm scruffy and dusty, riding my cutting horses [horses trained to herd cattle], and my mother still reminds me to wash my face and comb my hair."

Buckley's seminar is tonight, 6:30-9:30, at Cambridge Center for Adult Education. $150. 617-547-6789, ccae.org. Buckley and Werner perform at the Regattabar tomorrow, 7:30 and 10 p.m. Tickets: $38. 617-395-7757, regattabarjazz.com.

Manhattan transfers

Boston-area theaters will have a strong presence in New York this fall, with both the Huntington Theatre Company and Merrimack Repertory Theatre represented in co-productions. Theresa Rebeck's "Mauritius," which started with a reading at the Huntington and then had its world premiere in a Huntington production at the Boston Center for the Arts last year, will open in previews at the Manhattan Theatre Club on Thursday. "The 39 Steps," which had a successful London run, comes to the Boston University Theatre Sept. 14 before opening at the Roundabout Theatre Company Dec. 7. And Bob Clyman's biomedical thriller "Secret Order," a Merrimack Rep hit last season, will be remounted off-Broadway at the 59E59 Theaters Nov. 9 through Dec. 9, with Merrimack artistic director Charles Towers returning to direct. The Huntington has been involved with other shows that have moved on to New York, but "Secret Order" is the first in Merrimack's 29-year history to make the move.

Notes

The Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater production of "American Buffalo" has been postponed. The David Mamet play, which will be presented with a cast of black actors, will now run Sept. 19-Oct. 14. Tickets: $29. 866-811-4111, what.org. . . . The musical "Wicked," which runs at the Opera House Wednesday through Nov. 11, will offer a limited number of $25 seats in a day-of-performance lottery. Patrons must appear in person at the Opera House two hours prior to show time, names will be drawn 30 minutes later, and winning patrons are limited to two tickets per person and must pay in cash. . . . Tickets for the Colonial Theatre's upcoming productions of "Sweeney Todd" (Oct. 23-Nov. 4) and "Mamma Mia!" (Nov. 27-Dec. 16) go on sale Sunday. Tickets: $42.50-$91. 617-931-2787, broadwayacrossamerica.com.