Patti LuPone - Why I'm difficult

When Topol did Fiddler on the Roof, he demanded a private phone line to Israel.

She's such a cunt. A beloved cunt, but still a cunt.

I wonder if all those demands reduces her salary? Say they were going to pay her $15,000 per week, and she asks for a nutritionist, do they downscale and pay her only $12,000 per week to cover the costs of the nutritionist?

I personally saw her whine to the prop gal on Law & Order “Do I really need this heavy briefcase?” The prop gal said “Yeah, you’re playing an attorney so you use what you’re given.” Prop gal walked away muttering “Cunt.”

Patti is one of those people who have no filter. A few years ago, she did an interview with the New York Times and she was bitching up and down about Evita. She couldn't have hated it that much because she did the show for two years on Broadway.

R5 Here it is

“That’s gotten me in trouble my whole life,” she says, icing her knee, another injury for going full throttle onstage. “As a woman in a business, we’re not supposed to say how we feel. But I wouldn’t be me, nor would I be able to live with myself, if I didn’t.”

While LuPone has a reputation for being a bitch, I haven't heard many concrete stories of her being really bitchy.

R4's story isn't her being a bitch. Every actor asks the same sort of questions.

Even though she’s difficult, she still seems nice and funny. She’s a typical Italian-American woman.

If she didn't deliver the goods (either at the box office or onstage or both), no one would deal with her. She may a pain in the ass but she is electric on stage. Even if she shouldn't have put on that accent in "War Paint."

If she wasn't worth it, they wouldn't meet her demands.

There is nothing wrong with negotiating a good deal. "If you want me to sell your tickets, this is what it's gonna cost you."

She lacks a pause button. “Because I don’t hold back. Because I have a Sicilian temper. Because I count to 10 — and 10 isn’t enough. I should probably count to 100 and then walk around the block.” She smiles, her mouth as pliant as rubber. “But if I did that, I’d still come back and blow my top.”

Patti LuPone with no makeup

[quote][R5] Here it is

There's an article that goes back farther where she talks about screaming at the stage manager. She had to wear a wool outfit in Evita and she came offstage and started screaming at the SM because there were no fans backstage. The orchestra conductor could hear her screaming and so went out after the performance and bought some fans.

She behaves this way the same reason all divas do--because she's insecure and she wants to test what people will let her get away with.

If she went up against a Joseph Volpe she'd be fired or she'd scale back. But it would take going up against someone with guts.

Patti Lupone "Why do people think I'm a Bitch?" ttt Patti Lupone was profiled on CBS Sunday Morning few years back.

She said she doesn't understand why people think she is a bitch (her word), just because she played one on stage (Evita). Even now, LuPone still endures comments that she is mean.

"How many years later is it? And people say, 'Oh, she's a real bitch.' And it's like well, give me a chance," LuPone says

I adore her, but she is so full of bullshit. She's not a bitch because she makes reasonable demands, expresses herself, or gets things done, or because of unfair rumors. She's a bitch because she has clearly cultivated being a bitch, simply for the pure purpose of being bitchy at literally every opportunity. That takes constant seeking, practice and dedication. It isn't accidental or coincidental in any way. And in her case it isn't sexism. A man would be called a bitch for the shit she says and does too. It might be her premier cultivated talent among others.

R7, are you fucking kidding? No, they don’t. Actors are aware of who they’re playing and what sort of props they’ll need to handle/carry.

Patsy delivers. If she wants to demand, demand away, Patsy

The problem is that she knows how to be a bitch and then switch to victim. Yes, she got shafted with the US version of Sunset Boulevard. But she's not the first and won't be the last. There have been several actors and actresses who were fired in Broadway previews. You don't hear them bitch about it for 20 years.

I don't think any of her demands are unreasonable, especially for someone of her stature and age. At this point, she demands as much respect as she can get, because she's been on stage forever and has given some truly brilliant performances. I can't even imagine what it must be like to have to play Evita or Norma or Rose for 8 shows a week. Talk about exhausting. Stage actors really never get the props they deserve. It's hard fucking work, but I will say it's far more exciting than film work. Have you ever been on a film set? Boooooooring. You're lucky if you shoot 1 or 2 scenes a day. It's a lot of starting and stopping. It's hard to get into character and stay there, but they have the luxury of so much downtime in between takes and lighting setups. It's like every day is a tech rehearsal on stage.

^ Agreed 100%.

I saw War Paint last summer (unlike r9, I liked the accent), and by the time her solo finale came around, as Helena Rubinstein confronted mortality and slipping into insignificance, I was left wondering, “How the fuck does she hit this level of resolution, pathos, and humor eight times a week?”

R20 some people dig ditches 12 hours a day for minimum wage with none of these luxuries she gets.

Everything she said about "I deserve it" is exactly why Trump won.

[quote]I can't even imagine what it must be like to have to play Evita or Norma or Rose for 8 shows a week.

Neither can she. She only had to do 6 shows for Evita. The understudy did matinees. (Or was it the standby?)

Fine, r23. You try doing Evita 6 times a week.

She's not a bitch, I've worked with her and she's a consummate professional.

R23 Terri Klausner did Wednesday and Saturday matinees, and LuPone complained that Klausner was hyping an "All About Eve" atmosphere backstage, such as posting her (Klausner) reviews on the bulletin board.

[quote]some people dig ditches 12 hours a day for minimum wage

And some people post "this is why Trump won" on the internet, all day everyday, for free. Regardless of whether it has anything to do with the subject at hand.

R26 the subject was "hard work"

At least she doesn't demand pink rose pedals in the toilet like Miss Streisand.

[quote]You try doing Evita 6 times a week.

I used to sing full voice to the cast album (albeit an octave lower because I'm a guy). Which is more than LuPone did in her later performances. You can even see YouTube clips where she started sing-speaking and screaming the lines (just a little touch of star quality!).

She was also doing a cabaret act downtown at Les Mouches. When that was going on, the joke in NYC was that if you wanted to see Patti LuPone sing Evita, you had to go to Les Mouches (because she wasn't giving it full throttle on Broadway).

"She lacks a pause button."

Have I said too much? There's nothing more I can think of to say to you.

But all you have to do is look at me, then kiss where I release the poo.

I've worked with her, I've socialized with her and I've argued with her. She is a fucking magnificent woman. Not a bitch, just unfiltered. Patti believes that the hard work should show a bit. Something special is going on here, pay attention. She's something else. Of course other performers are just as gifted, but they don't all so fully invest themselves into the success or failure of an enterprise. Patti is not mean spirited or unprofessional at all. She is not looking to make enemies with her directors or costars. But she will be heard. She's funny as fuck too.

Do you think that Bette Midler didn't have a trainer, nutritionist, therapist, masseur, dance coach and vocal doctor available to her every day and night of Hello Dolly? And a fancy dressing room too. As detailed and lovely as Bette's performance was in Dolly, she doesn't do what Patti LuPone does on stage. Patti gives blood. But she trains hard for it. It's about the instrument, love. Patti may just sound like a horn to some of y'all but every note and inflection is designed to be as perfect and dynamic as it can be. That woman knows what she can do and she wants to give it. She doesn't beg for applause and accolades, she earns them.

There's a funny story (theater legend?) about Evita. Apparently, the costume designer and the set designer didn't communicate very well with each other. When they went into dress rehearsal, the white Casa Rosada dress wouldn't fit through the door. I've always imagined Patti trying to get that dress through a tiny door and letting out a string of Sicilian curse words.

[quote] I can't even imagine what it must be like to have to play Evita or Norma or Rose for 8 shows a week. Talk about exhausting.

I have to fight off rape gangs and sift through trash for food scraps.

[quote] by the time her solo finale came around, as Helena Rubinstein confronted mortality and slipping into insignificance, I was left wondering, “How the fuck does she hit this level of resolution, pathos, and humor eight times a week?”

Mary!

Patti deserves everything she gets when it comes to the theater. She is a living legend and is entitled to everything she asks for...none of which are over the top, green m&m shit. She has worked in live theatre professionally since her Juliard days and if she knows what she needs to get the job done, she deserves it. She is far from a diva or a bitch. She loves her fans and she loves her work, but nobody is going to tell her what she does and doesn't need to do her job. Patti will still audition for a job....she is not beneath that. When you are a Broadway star of that level, a few "requests" are not demanding. Patti NEVER calls it in and for anyone to think she is a diva bitch can suck it!

Does she get any sex anymore?

My guess is no.

R36 she is married

Yeah, that doesn’t answer my question, r37.

Did she ever work with Jean Val Splat?

R31 thanks, I’ve been her fan for years and she always gives her all

The only thing I've seen Patti LuPone in are Life Goes On and Law and Order.

It sounds like some folks are calling LuPone a bitch because she negotiates a contract to get what she wants and then fills the theater. Hard to imagine why any director would get in the way of that. Or how they would keep their jobs if they did. .

[quote]It sounds like some folks are calling LuPone a bitch because she negotiates a contract to get what she wants and then fills the theater.

No, people say she's a bitch because of the way she acts. Several years ago, there was an article about putting those pedestrian islands in Times Square (which they did). Miss Patti pipes up and says, "How am I going to get to a matinee on time with all those tourists milling around. Am I supposed to say, "Excuse me, I have a show to do?" (Hint: she was against them.) But the point is she has no filter. How many of those tourists milling around in Times Square were going to see her show? But they all need to make way for the diva who is too stupid to allow extra time to get to the theater.

She may come across as a diva but she does take her work seriously. People may laugh about her "Stop taking pictures" rant, but I've always admired her for reminding audiences that theatre is an experience, and to put your phones/food/wrappers/media devices away. It shows respect for the performers and audience alike.

She is a bitter cunt. Notorious ego-maniac. So many don't like working with her. Her talent is screeching at the top of her lungs and she calls that singing.

Yes, the costs of an actors amenities (trainer, trailers, chef, frequent oversleeping) Are taken into account by movie studios When deciding if it is worth it to pay them a certain amount

Why I'm difficult- lets see Pats, you're a crazy bitch who no one likes. You're insanely jealous and lash out whenever you don't get your way. You have zero class. And your talent isn't all that.

I worked with Patti back in the 90s on a tv shoot. She was a hoot. Salty mouthed but a total pleasure and genuinely funny.

Here’s a recent interview with LuPone. She has some interesting things to say about Hal Prince. Supposedly he offered her other roles but she nixed them all as she had no desire to work with him after the way he treated her in “Evita”. I know he offered her “A Doll’s Life” but what else?

She's fug and seems so unpleasant.

R42 - really opposing pedestrian islands in Times Square qualifies her as a bitch? Arrogant, sure. But statements like that hardly get similar ad hominems hurled at a man. For example when Ted Kennedy opposed windmills that ruined his view the far right accused him of being a hypocrite but never called him a bitch, son of a bitch or bastard.

You might want to check your misogyny at the door.

[quote] and then fills the theater.

Not so much.

I want her to die already. She's over. Her place in the sun is finished. Goodbye, bitter cunt, it was a good run, but your time has come.

"I wanna wedding that's HONK HONK and HONK HONK and HONK HONK HONK!"

Before WAR PAINT opened, she and Ebersole gave a Times talks interview about women and the role cosmetics plats into their lives. Patti came across as very thoughtful and smart and Christine came across as a bit of a ditz.

I never heard any reports of backstage butchery between thew two women. They both are serious professionals and were probably grateful to have the gig.

I meant "bitchery" but "butchery" will do.

OMG. R30 that was so DUMB

Every generation gets their Ethel Merman: someone who confuses loud volume with musical talent and totally unable to act as anything but her brassy self, but still somehow mysteriously beloved by certain theater gays.

[quote] You don't hear them bitch about it for 20 years.

20 years!? Amateurs! How about 45 years!

I adore her and have friends who have worked with her. They can't say a bad word about her, but see how her personality type might not be everyone's cup of tea.

Oddly enough worked with both her and Betty Lynn and they were gems to me, absolutely pros and each were generous with time and affection.

*WAS ^

Shut UP, Patti LuPone!

R31 let's get gay married.

When I was in high school, a good friend's Mom worked for the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, or, as I think it was just called then, the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Patti got booked to play a series of concerts at that MASSIVE theatre after some national tour got canceled and my friend's Mom -- knowing what a musical theatre queen I was -- gave us house seats to see her and backstage passes for Patti's "CD signing event".

After her first few number, she asked for house lights to be turned on for a minute and she looked up to that cavernous auditorium and said "holy shit, this place is big!"

At the CD signing, I told her I'd loved her rendition of a song from Annie Get Your Gun -- I think it was "I Got Lost in His Arms" and without missing a beat, she looked me up and down as though to see if she could trust me and leaned in and said, "you know who's doing it? BERNADETTTTE!" I still remember how she almost spat out Bernie's name and hit a hard "t" on her name.

She's spectacular, listen to the way she effortlessly crescendos and polishes off the last gorgeous notes of I Love Paris in full voice, vibrato on and then off. Patti's loud but she has crazy technique and prowess. Beautiful tone here too. In the second song she flubs part of it and laughs at herself. That's LuPone. No one is right for every song or show, but she's a virtuosa broad.

She really was superb in Encore's "Can Can".

Mush mush mush mush mush mush mush KNOWS

Mush mush mush GOES.

I love her. She’s not right for all parts and rarely disappears into a role — you’re almost always at least a little aware that you’re watching LuPone be a force of nature — but when she turns it on, she. Turns. It. Out.

*****

Love her

To anyone who complains my mushes doen't scan to Porter's music -- NEITHER DID HERS.

^ yeah, don't not doen't. Sorry. At least I don't do that night after night while demanding top dollar for a notoriously drugged out performance.

R72 What? Who?

Love the clip in R69!

I think R20 summed up my opinion on the situation. And just to add, they can always hire someone else if they think she's too difficult. Let her have her nutritionist and her driver, etc... who cares? And if they said no, then that would be the end of it.

R69 Bravo! How many other actors have said the same? Patti has got lots of problems because of what she says but this one is pne pf the great one.

Heard Miss Patti was gonna perform here in Oz a couple of months ago - so got in and bought tickets almost as soon as they were on sale. She was doing her Don’t Monkey with Broadway show - they released a CD of it a few years back. She did a night in most of the capitals here - Festival Hall in Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney Opera House - here at the Queensland Conservatorium - and one last show in Melbourne after that. Out of memory, I think that’s it on her schedule on her website till she does Company in the West End, September through December...

Anyway: so we saw her last Wednesday night. Clearly we were already fans (a hundred and forty bucks a ticket after all!) - but she did not disappoint.

She’s certainly older - 69! - but she still looks great. And tho she’s 69 - she was in fine voice. The odd, occasional shaky big note - but that is karping.

The sellout crowd was much more diverse than I expected. Huge percentage of gay men and their mothers/beards - but also lots of women - and many more younger people there than expected - but this may have had to do with the choir....

So she did three songs (I think it was three!) that required a back up choir. They used the third year (final year I think!) students at the Conservatorium of music. Must’ve been a couple dozen boys and girls in their early/mid twenties - and expect many of the young ones in the audience might have been their to watch their friends perform - ?

Anyway - as stated - I already loved Lupone - but to see her with these kids was just joyous! She - and they! - were all clearly having a ball together. You could almost sense the awe they had for her - and the encouragement and kind words and real regard she had for them - it was fantastic. She brought them out again to participate in another song in her encore - and then the grins and mugging to the audience by the lot of them brought the house down.

She may demand respect and to be treated with her due as a diva of many years good standing - but don’t let anyone say she doesn’t give back.

It really was the best night. One big positive feedback loop of her feeding off the audience and vice versa. Was a real privilege to see a performer of that calibre in my little provincial (but very pretty!) little burg.

Just wish you guys could have been there too - can you imagine? Mary(s)!

I always chuckle at the idiots who whip out "actors are wimps; ditch diggers are REAL workers" shit.

1) Ditches are mostly dug by machines now.

2) I'd like to sing a ditch digger, or idiots who poo poo the legitimacy and difficulty of acting a role, sing the score to Evita or Anything Goes or...well, anything, 8 times a week.

A 16 hour work week R77.

[quote]That's LuPone.

Pussy

[quote]For example when Ted Kennedy opposed windmills that ruined his view the far right accused him of being a hypocrite but never called him a bitch, son of a bitch or bastard. You might want to check your misogyny at the door.

r50, I don't know about the far right, but I called him a hypocritical, pompous asshole. If you want to argue whether bitch is a worse slur than asshole, so be it. Many people have degraded the Kennedys as cheaters, adulterers, murderers and drunks. So Patti comes out without a lot of damage by being just a bitch.

And the far right doesn't do a lot of name calling. They quietly dismantle Obamacare which Ted Kennedy pushed until he died.

[quote]2) I'd like to sing a ditch digger, or idiots who poo poo the legitimacy and difficulty of acting a role, sing the score to Evita or Anything Goes or...well, anything, 8 times a week.

Patti didn't sing Evita 8 times a week.

Jesus Fucking Christ!

I've worked with her too and she was generous, warm, funny and a complete professional. The only time she would - justifiably - blow up was at someone giving attitude or not doing their job. From my experience, the people who badmouth her always turn out to have never met or worked with her and are operating only on bitchy gossip and bullshit rumors.

Well, the people on this thread who hate Patti LuPone are stuck in their stupid convictions. They tell old jokes about her slurring her consonants, or being a bitch, or blatantly LIE like r29 that she wasn't giving "Full Throttle" at Evita (and you're also lying about it being an open joke that you had to go to Les Mouches to hear her sing Evita, you made that shit up).

But the fact is she is one of the longest reigning and working theater legends of all time and deserves every accolade that she gets. She is a professional, a living legend, and I LOVE that it just burns so many people up that are jealous of her talent and hate her for no reason at all. Datalounge thrives on negativity, and those calling her a "bitter cunt" like r44 are just unhappy people. Furthermore, r44, I've heard nothing but good things from people who've worked with her. What would people who work with YOU say about you, you bitter, bitter cunt?

From the .broadwayworld discussion board about Patti LuPone stories. Two actually stand out, here is the first one

Once a hundred years ago, my best buddy (who was OBSESSED with La LuPone) made me go to some AIDS benefit concert were she was performing.

At the the time my naturally thin friend (talk about Jack Sprat!) was getting over a serious bout of the flu that made him uncommonly thin and gaunt.

Well LuPone sang her song and we knew she would probably leave after her number so he dragged me to the stage door (something I hate doing) and we waited for her to exit.

We were the only ones there as the show was still going on. She came out and my friend stopped her and asked if she would sign his program.

She did without any hesitation, then she looked up at him and suddenly stopped cold.

Her entire manner changed as she took on this pained yet sympathetic expression.

She started talking to him in this odd "it will be all right" tone while gently touching his cheek.

I was completely bewildered.

She then lunged towards him and gave him a big hug. I swear when she turned away I saw a tear in her eye.

When limo pulled away, my friend turned to me and said, "I think she thinks I'm dying."

I buckled over laughing!

From the .broadwayworld discussion board about Patti LuPone stories. Two actually stand out, here is the second one

when i was 12 i became obsessed with the cast album from 'evita' (can you say, "young gay"?). growing up in NJ i had never seen a broadway show, but became obsessed with the OCR that i got from the local library. anyway, i begged my parents for tickets for my 13th birthday.

before i went i wrote to patti to make sure she'd be in the show when i saw it (three months later). i also mentioned that my parents found it odd i was playing evita in my room all the time (they later learned to expect such behavior).

anyway, La LuPone wrote me the sweetest note in reply. she asked me to make sure my tickets were for the Wed night performance, not the matinee, and that if they were for the matinee to send them to her so she could exchange them for the evening performance. she also encouraged my interest in theatre, saying "although she was sure my parents were wonderful, that she felt it was so much better to go through life with passions, interested in *something*, rather than wandering listlessly like many people do".

it was a wonderful note, that i've saved to this day, and wonderful advice that i totally agree with.

say what you will about her, but i will be forever grateful.

Remember the Blackglama ad with Rudy, DV, and Dame Margot? How fabulous would it be for them to do another group shot with Patti, Bern, and Betty Lynn?

Bernadette would never do an ad for fur.

I've always loved Patti and seen her many times, but that Trump comment makes me love her even more.

Betty would never do an ad with Patti and Bernadette.

[quote] 2) I'd like to sing a ditch digger, or idiots who poo poo the legitimacy and difficulty of acting a role, sing the score to Evita or Anything Goes or...well, anything, 8 times a week.

Wow Mary, did you ever tell THEM off!

Stupid complaining weakling ditch diggers!

Here's a 2015 clip of Patti and Kellie Martin being reunited with their "Life Goes On" co-star Chris Burke.

R57 YES

She is LOUD. That is it. Loud and unpleasant. She has no class at all. She IS a bitter cunt. Everything is about her. No one wants to work with her because she's a bitch. She thinks her loud, screeching voice is something special.

Awwww, r91.

I think she's terrific. She's from a dying breed of true theatre stars. I mean, really - who's this generation's Merman, LuPone, Peters, Buckley, Channing, etc.? Everyone in musical theatre these days is so boring and seem like they were each freshly picked from the chorus line and are still trying to blend in. To be a star, you can't fucking blend in. That's what makes those people interesting and special. Everyone can sing a little, dance a little, and act a little, but none of them are truly spellbinding at any of them and you forget about their serviceable performances 10 minutes after you've left the theater. I can still vividly remember performances from the likes of LuPone several years after I saw them.

R92, you're an unpleasant bitter cunt and nobody wants to work with YOU. Your attitude on this thread says more about you than LuPone. Get bent.

There should also have been a dialect coach for SWEENEY TODD. It's maybe not what she wanted, but it's what she needed.

funny, I was about to write that she lost me when she sat in her limo and let her thugs beat up the poor guy just sitting near the curb at LAX awaiting a ride -- and then realized that was Patti LaBelle (whom I indeed despise), not Lupone. Bitch or not, even Lupone hasn't done anything THAT bad.

There should have been a dialect coach for every show she was in. Even Forbidden Broadway satirized her in Anything Goes.

I was jokin' r89. I'm fairly certain Bern don't wear no mink!

[quote]I was jokin' [R89]. I'm fairly certain Bern don't wear no mink!

I wasn't. Betty is a stuck up bitch.

R95 Ok Patti. Go yell some more.

R12, how is it that she's actually BETTER looking without makeup?

She may be sweet and talented but she's one of the fugliest broads I've ever had the misfortune of laying eyes on!

I did enjoy her in this great song from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, especially the big fake gasp at R57:

[89] There was an ad in Theatre Week sometime in the period between 1988 and 1990 that had a picture with a group of broadway stars from that time period. Included in the photo were Bernadette seated next to Joel Grey, Betty seated next to Michael Rupert and Patti seated next to Mandy Patinkin. (I may be wrong about Patti and Mandy, but definitely Bernadette and Betty were in the picture.) I also think Tony Roberts was in the photo, but don't remember who he was paired with. My guess is that the ad was for Broadway Cares or GMHC. I thought it was a pretty great picture. I'm sure at this point in her career Betty would love to have her picture with Bernadette and Patti.

I don't know how anyone who genuinely loves the theater could see Patti live onstage and not be a huge fan.

💗💗💗💗

R78 Yes. All actors walk in the stage door, put on a costume, say some lines for an hour and a half, and then walk out the door.

It's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO easy!

Not the slightest bit emotionally or mentally (and frequently, physically) taxing to become someone else and create a viable performance night after night for weeks and months.

ANY idiot can do it.

You'd be a GREAT actor by those standards.

I love the idiots proclaiming "Oh, she's a monster to work with and everyone hates her" yet there's been more than one person on this thread chine in, "I've worked with her; she's blunt but terrific to work with!"

Trust DL to have haters bitching about one of the VERY few genuine Broadway stars we have. In the age of bland ingenues and dull juveniles being churned out by the likes of the University of Michigan musical theater program....it might behoove us to actually enjoy the dozen or so actual stars we have who have talent AND charisma and star magnitude. Even the "bitchy" ones.

But, if you enjoy the Sutton Fosters and Kelly O'Haras we currently have, then so be it.

In the fall of 1988 I was a Freshman at Emerson College. I fell in love with my straight roommate, and at the time was heavily closeted.

For Christmas, I gave him a ticket to see Anything Goes with me over at the Vivian Beaumont. And this was only because my English teacher Mrs. Martin in high school had recommended it to me. I didn't know from Patti LuPone.

We were staying at my dad's company's suite at the Dorset Hotel. Was hoping to get lucky.

Well, I had my first gay experience that night, but it wasn't with my roommate and it wasn't sexual. Seeing Patti LuPone in that show was an absolute revelation. I started to take notice during I Get a Kick Out of You. This lady was something. Then, my heart was pounding as she belted out You're the Top with Howard McGillan. And THEN the title number- the end of the first act. Holy fucking shit. This woman COMMANDING the stage in front of rows of tap dancing sailors. It was complete diva worship for me from that moment forward.

Even today at age 48 when I see her, I go crazy. I saw her do the whole "screw the middle classes!" part of Evita. Hearing her sing that live, I could barely sit still in my seat.

I fucking ADORE her, and she can do what no one else can do. At least, no one currently living.

I just looked up Anything Goes on IBDB because I could have sworn Leslie Uggams had taken over playing Reno by Fall of '88 (not that I didn't believe you, R109; I was just curious when she DID take over) and I noticed that Mitzi Gaynor played Reno on the 2nd leg of the Nat'l tour in the late 80s/early 90s. Shouldn't she have been playing the dowager by then?

R78, there’s much more to stage acting, hell, there’s much more to any work in theatre, than the “2 hours” you witheringly refer to. You’re obviously a Trump voter, and also wipe back to front.

R110 I must have seen one of Patti's final performances in Anything Goes. It was like December 27 1988. I think she'd been married on stage that month. I think maybe her final show was New Years Eve

IBDB says she did it until March of 1989. I was just surprised she stayed with it so long after losing the Tony.

She’s an intense woman and brings her intensity to each and every gig. To some people that means she’s a bitch. To me, it means she cares.

Patti's 'motherfucking' comment about Trump deserves to be played over and over again.

I don’t think it’s been mentioned here, but I loved her turn in Penny Dreadful as the Cut Wife. Almost some throughlines between how she’s perceived and that role.

Winning Olivier. Singing I Dreamed A Dream.

BREAKING!! It’s FINALLY here! Patti’s full Sydmonton performance of Sunset! I’ve wanted to see this since 1992. She nailed it in front of producers Meryl etc and was hired to open the show in London and NY. Broadway never happened and it took more than 2 decaded for Patti to work with ALW again. Patti was robbed. Anyway, somebody just put it to yt (not me!). Enjoy!

R118 - I haven't watched the full performance, but clips have been on YT for years. The With One Look is a stunner.

She's extraordinary in this. And I'd forgotten how beautiful she was when she was young.

R119 It is superb! Based on new full video she was perfect in Sydmonton but something happened on the way to West End, director production technical problems and ALW’s thin skin changed everything and he chose blame it all on LuPone.

I saw it several times with Glenn Close in LA, and they still hadn't worked out the bugs. Can't wait to watch Patti.

Glen Close was a thousand times better in Sunset. She was made for that part. Lupone has a powerful voice but it's not pretty, not to my ear anyway, and her diction/enunciation is ALWAYS straight up New York. It's like the only thing she has going for her is VOLUME.

There were two great Norma Desmonds. Glenn Close was not one of them.

R124 that’s beautiful

1980 Patti in Vogue.

More 1980 Patti in Vogue.

After Dark.....

Vogue, 1980.

The (at the time) ubiquitous....flip

She's quite lovely here.....

love the tears….

Vogue, 1980.

Some day... some day.... they'll be opening it at the LuPone and then they'll knock that down for a condo tower and then I'll have really done it all!

I used to know Patti. Yes, she wears her heart on her sleeve and has no filter. As she says, she's Sicilian. She also has a great sense of humor about herself and takes her work very seriously. During her one woman show on Broadway, she was on vocal rest during almost all of the run. That's pretty dedicated. But she doesn't suffer fools and she'll argue about what she thinks is best for the show or her character and not necessarlily her personally. She is very well liked in the Bway community.

Oh, and she said that after her Sydmington Performance, Merryl came up to her and said, "Nice Part!" (Who's the bitch now!)

Poor Patty, but I really feel bad for Dershowitz

r135: I love the fact during her Times Talk about cosmetics she mentioned that he hated using them when she home. "Without makeup, I look like a real dog!" She is an extremely smart and thoughtful woman. I would have given anything to have attended her May 3 appearance at the Pierpont Morgan Library - I only found out about it a few days later: "Le Conversazioni: Films of My Life" With Patti LuPone and Colum McCann: In celebration of the relationship between art, literature, theater, and film, join Grammy and Tony Award winning actress and singer Patti LuPone (War Paint, Gypsy, Evita), and National Book Award winning author Colum McCann (Thirteen Ways of Looking, TransAtlantic, Let The Great World Spin) in a conversation on the films that have inspired their lives and work. Moderated by Antonio Monda, Artistic Director of Le Conversazioni festival.

When Patti did SWEENEY TODD a few years ago, one of John Doyles conceits was to have the actors sit in a row all the way at the back of the stage when they weren't performing. It was impossible not to be transfixed by Patti. She didn't do any Stritch-shtick of moving around to pull focus, but her charisma kept all attention on her.

Her show with Mandy was brilliant, and very funny. The two displayed much mutual warmth and chemistry.

I know Lens triggers the eldergays on here, but I loved the LuPone episode of GIRLS.

That is a lovely rendition, R131. In fact, it may be the best I've ever heard. She sang it not too long ago somewhere--on one of the awards shows, i believe-- and it was just so brash, loud and totally unrestrained that it lost all meaning. This however is stunning. And Lupone does indeed look spectacular.

Age is certainly a bitch . . . but a diet wouldn't kill her. She's considerably overweight now.

R131 she’s beautiful and sings it well, but there’s no climax to that song. The spontaneous, surprise weeping... the unearned standing ovation...that whole number felt paused and unfinished, like a sentence that ends with a comma,

8 shows a week. THat must take amazing focus and stamina. Imagine every show to be as good as the last or better for every new audience.

8 shows a week is much harder than one would think, especially on 2 show days. The energy you burn off feels like the craziest workout of your life. I always sleep like a baby every night when I'm in a show, especially a big musical.

As much as actors try, it's really up to the audience on whether or not it's going to be a wonderful show that night/afternoon. Being an actor myself, there have been times when, 30 minutes into the show, all the jokes that usually get roars have gotten one chuckle way in the back or the musical numbers that have normally gotten tons of applause have gotten a few polite claps, and that's when you check out and start phoning it in. Trust me, every actor does this when an audience is sorta shitty. In my experience, the Friday night audiences are always the worst. It always seems like they don't want to be there no matter if it's a musical, straight play, comedy, or drama.

It's not that you intentionally start mumbling your words or anything, but I'd be lying if I said my fellow actors and I haven't sometimes rushed through a scene and not held for laughs. After all, we knew we weren't going to get any with that night's audience anyway.

R144, interesting take. I forget which stage actor said they lost 10 pounds a week during a musical and had to remember to eat more to make up for it.

[quote]I don't know how anyone who genuinely loves the theater could see Patti live onstage and not be a huge fan.

You didn't see her concert at Lincoln Center. The joke about the Showgirls costume was stupid.

I've sat in the front row for several of her shows, and when she makes eye contact it is riveting. Love her to death. Hell, I even like the Frasier where she played the Greek mother- hammy though she was.

8 shows a week, a total of, oh, 16 hours is just SO draining. Tell that to a coal miner or a ditch digger, or hell, just about anyone else on planet Earth who suffers through a real job.

Shouldn’t that be “ With one look Aaaaaaaaaahlllll Bayyyyyyyyy Maaaaaaaayyyy!

The "16 hour work week" gripe assumes that (a) All shows are only 2 hours long, and (b) The only work that goes into a show is the actual time spent onstage in front of an audience. And the romanticizing of "real jobs" like coal mining is patronizing and obnoxious.

Before limited run of Company in West End Patti toured Australia.

Canberra

Seriously?

Not one mention of Miss Streisand's toilet rose pedals?

If you saw Tyne in GYPSY pre-Broadway, r145, her appearance at the Tonys provided proof positive that the Broadway Musical Workout worked for her......

You definitely do lose weight doing a musical. There's so much energy, plus the constant costume changes, the dancing, etc. It's really a great workout. Plus, to live in NYC for that time means a lot of walking, so that helps, too. Sometimes, you genuinely do forget to eat, especially on matinee days. A lot of performers hate to eat before a show, because of nerves. Really messes with the stomach.

Wasn't it Jan Maxwell that some people were so concerned for during her run in Follies, because she kept losing weight and saying that all she ate was nuts or something for protein? And wasn't there an article about Bernadette Peters saying she has half a Kind bar as a meal?

[quote]Broadway Musical Workout

The REAL Broadway Musical Workout is coffee and cigarettes. Every dancer knows that.

R144 Friday nights are bad, because people are done with the work week and just want to get home already. For me, Saturday nights are worse, as everyone's drunk.

Shut up, Miss Lawson.

Oh please on matinee days Jan Maxwell was probably chauffeured a few blocks to her subsidized Manhattan Plaza digs high above the city to enjoy a 3 course lunch while the homeless chorus boys in rags starved below.

We had other names we used for Ted Kennedy, thank you very much, R50.

I think she was strikingly beautiful in the late 70s-early 80s (around Evita): like Angelica Houston, strong features, big mouth and eyes, quite sexy even.

So here reason is, one can be a total asshole, as long as there is a reason for it?

How about just learning to behave yourself and treat people with dignity.