Patti Lupone talks about Elena Roger in - Page 2

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 1:16pm

Since when? I would like to see actual proof regarding your statemnt cause the only Elphabas i have ever heard sing a FEW songs from EVITA are Idina and Mandy. But THOSE WERE ONE OR 2 songs. You have no idea if they could sing the show 6-8 times a week on a daily schedule. No, "many of them have" NOT because none of the elphabas ( that i am aware of) Have never been a replacement and/or undestudy for Patti Lupone or Elena roger.

Not that I have any desire to get into it with you, but for the record...

Laurel Harris understudied (and went on at least twice) Eva on Broadway in the last revival, and she's currently the standby for Elphaba on the first national tour.

Lisa Brescia also played the role regionally.

Louise Dearman, who has played both witches in the London production, has also played Eva Peron in the UK.

Julia Murney played Eva Peron in a regional production (in Sacramento, I believe).

This is just off the top of my head. I'm sure if you start going through the myriad numbers of standbys and understudies in the various productions, you'll find many Elphabas have also portrayed Eva Peron in professional productions.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 1:23pm

Thats not enough to back up your statements. Plus, Elphaba and Evita have very different ranges and octaves and notes to hit. Good for Julia and Lisa that they can do it but the Main question is what key are they doing it in? Are they doing it in the original key that patti had to do it in? I know Elena Roger certainly wasn't. I have heard Julia do Evita and i am fairly certain that wasn't the original key.

"You know, once somebody knows you can sing Elphaba, it's like being able to sing Evita"

I have already given you substantial proof on why Just because you can play Elphaba does not mean you can play Evita. That comment has no bearing.

But you are missing the point. The Point is Lupone's Evita is so popular because she brought that emotional intensity and fire that no Eva had done before her. If you listen to the bootleg recordings of her doing it then you will know what i am talking about. Its great that these women can sing the score but i am guessing they are nowhere near the level of Lupone's Eva. Of coure, its all about subjective and some women who perform Eva aren't as ambitious as patti was. For example:

In Buenos Aires Patti would always belt the "AND IF EVER I GO TO FAR" where as Elena Roger and Christine D would always do that part in head voice to save their voice. Patti went 150% percent with that score because she wanted to get the desired effect. Not many women can play Evita 6-8 times a week how Patti played Eva.


Updated On: 6/18/13 at 01:23 PM

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 1:25pm

Adam read my post above this one.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 1:41pm

That interview you posted was FANtastic. About the movie version of Evita "It didn't have the Broadway GUTS". F*CK yeah!

I love how she complains about how difficult the role is yet complains that the keys were changed for the movie! Like, I've heard her say Evita isn't a good show, yet when she talks about the movie she talks about how great the show is. That may seem contradictory, but she can do that. She's Patti freakin LuPone!
Patti

[MusicalBoy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:10pm

Ack, it seems we disagree again...

"Lupone's Evita is so popular because she brought that emotional intensity and fire that no Eva had done before her"

I actually find recordings of Elaine Paige's Eva to be much more stirring and emotional than LuPone's.

Also, when you talk about LuPone belting the highest notes in the score, they were only Pop Gs in A New Argentina and the highest notes in Buenos Aires weren't sustained for more than a millisecond. Don't get me wrong, I love LuPone (more so singing Meadowlark or Sondheim, or anything more recent) and I'm giddily excited to see her in London this weekend, I just can't stand the divine, unrelenting praise of her above all others which does her a disservice.

Also, Elena Roger sang the score in the original key on the cast recording, was this different in the show?

[ABitOnTheSide]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:15pm

"LuPone has a stunning and emotive voice, but Broadway is lousy with these, I'm merely saying she isn't so far above other actresses, as people seem intent on suggesting."

Yet she's been one of the biggest stars of the theater world for over 30 years and is still consistently working, working, working, and her voice and style are not diminishing. She may be Julliard trained, but she's got that star quality that cannot be bought or learned.

She is far above and beyond many other Broadway actresses. Patti, Bernadette Peters and Angela Lansbury are three Broadway musical stars who are on a separate tier higher than any other working musical theater actors. Not because they can sing a note, but because they are blessed with a rare innate quality that makes that note sound like a completely different sound than a lesser actor. That's not an opinion, that's a fact. Julia Murney may be able to sing the score to Evita, but she is not Patti LuPone.

You accuse others of suggesting she's unworthy of being put higher up than today's crop of Broadway actresses, but you're also intent on diminishing the qualities that have made her one of the most enormous stars in Broadway history.



Updated On: 6/18/13 at 02:15 PM

[MusicalBoy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:20pm

^ My entire argument has been based on VOCALS. What I'm saying is that, like many other broadway actresses, she is brilliantly talented, but no vocally stronger than many actresses around at the moment. Also there's a much larger crop of actresses with brilliant voices now than there were when LuPone was their age, I attribute this mostly to them all being inspired to rise to her level listening to the Evita Cast album.

All I am saying is this: I love Patti Lupone, but she isn't Jesus!

[ABitOnTheSide]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:28pm

"but no vocally stronger than many actresses around at the moment."

If there were any current actresses outside the three that I mentioned in my previous post, then they would be as successful as Patti LuPone. Patti is not Jesus, duh, but she's in a top tier of performers that is virtually impenetrable in the theater world.

Take for instance the fact that Patti LuPone has 17 major recordings. Eva Peron, Fantine, Norma Desmond, Mrs. Lovett (twice), Reno Sweeney, several solo albums...That's a stellar, almost unheard of resume for a theater actress in a time when theater is not as popular as it once was in the golden age. To compare Patti LuPone to Julia Murney or touring Elphabas is an insult. If Julia Murney had the same star quality as Patti LuPone, we'd be discussing Julia Murney instead of Patti LuPone.

You may as well be saying that Ethel Merman is no better than Christina DiCicco.

Updated On: 6/18/13 at 02:28 PM

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:29pm

"they were only Pop Gs in A New Argentina and the highest notes in Buenos Aires weren't sustained for more than a millisecond"

Are you talking about Patti's version? cause if you are then you are dead wrong. She held out those notes in Buenos Aires for longer than a "millisecond".

They aren't ONLY pop G's. They are incredibly strenuous on the voice and could throw a voice out at any possible moment. I'm guessing you aren't a singer? Lupone has said in interviews that the first G ( or whatever note it was) she has to hit in Buenos AIres would be the first time she could tell if she was going to be on or off that night. Those "millisecond notes" have ended many careers for women.

"I just can't stand the divine, unrelenting praise of her above all others which does her a disservice."

She deserves all the praise she gets. She is a remarkable talent who makes Broadway what it is. No offense to Julia Murney and Lisa but there is reason Patti is a legend and those 2 are not.

[ABitOnTheSide]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:35pm

"Lupone has said in interviews that the first G ( or whatever note it was) she has to hit in Buenos AIres would be the first time she could tell if she was going to be on or off that night."

I think she mentions in interviews that it's the "screw the middle classes" part that was the deciding factor of the performance. It's telling in the montage, when she reprises that line, it's a completely different register. To soar to that same height after 2 hours of vocal torture would be impossible for anyone.

I've known many professional actresses who've played Evita, and they all have horror stories about singing the role. The role is a baptism by fire for any musical theater actress who wants continued success in their careers.

[MusicalBoy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:36pm

Okay, let's do this one at a time.

ABitOnTheSide: I keep saying vocally and you keep talking about her star power as a performer, hence why you're using examples of Angela Lansbury and Bernadette Peters to prove excellent vocals, which seems odd...I would suggest that Jessie Mueller, Sherie Rene Scott, Rachel York and Audra McDonald might have close to the same amount of electricity as a presence onstage, but I agree that LuPone is up there with the best in that respect :)

Broadway guy: Yes, actually they are called pop Gs (nothing to do with pop music, I'm guessing you're not a singer. I am.) And there are plenty of high belted notes in Buenos Aires (no Gs, however) but I was referring to the highest (the 'ver' of "If Ever I go too far" or the 'need' of "If I need a moment's rest"). And again, I love Patti (who is a legend also because she's been around for longer and been given more opportunities in a smaller playing field of actresses) but not as if she's a deity.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:37pm

"she is brilliantly talented, but no vocally stronger than many actresses around at the moment"

The women is in her 60's and is still able to sing the Evita score in the original key LIKE A BOSS. Sorry, But to say she isn't vocally stronger is just delusional. No one is saying she is Jesus but to say Julia Murney is on the same level as Patti Lupone is just asinine. ( No offense to Julia or anything).

[MusicalBoy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:39pm

^ This shows that she has great vocal technique and stamina, but I would argue so do other actresses, who aren't in their 60s yet, but sing with more power and range than LuPone did at their age.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:42pm

I wasn't saying they aren't G's I was saying that those Notes have a certain Gravity over the performer who sings them 6-8 times a week. Those songs have killed many caree's cause they are just crazy difficult to sing 6 times a week. I never said she was a deity. You keep saying we are calling her that but NO ONE has called her that.

[MusicalBoy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:45pm

eeek, okay I never explicitly said anybody called her a deity, I suggested that you treated her as such with the unyielding praising of her as better than any other performer, and such comments. And I never disagreed with any of the comments you just made about the score of Evita. It is INSANELY difficult, but there are MANY women on broadway with INSANELY capable voices.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:50pm

"This shows that she has great vocal technique and stamina, but I would argue so do other actresses, who aren't in their 60s yet, but sing with more power and range than LuPone did at their age."

Well that just depends on the certain vocal placement of someone. Patti struggled through the score many times cause she couldn't sing it at first. Some actresses who have Played Evita ( like Loni Ackerman) have said they found the score easy cause her voice was just higher than Pattti's voice and was able to hit the notes with a bit more ease, but at the same time Loni didn't have the natural fire that Lupone had Because she got the score easier than patti did. Im sure there are many other actresses who have a bigger ranger than patti but you are trying to lump patti in as this run of the mill talent and that is just absurd. The vocals don't make Patti a legend, Her Spark and Ferociousness is what makes her a legend. No one belts the way Patti can belt. Even at he age she is still a force to be reckon with.

Updated On: 6/18/13 at 02:50 PM

[MusicalBoy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:55pm

^ I have already agreed with most of what you just said, we could save a lot of time debating if you read everything I wrote!

And I am NEVER calling Patti run of the mill, I am saying that like many other broadway actresses (mostly leading ladies and stars themselves, many of the elphabas for example...) she has an excellent voice capable of singing the Evita score, but so do they, it isn't JUST her.

THAT IS ALL I'M SAYING, I LOVE PATTI LUPONE, PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME THIS TIME.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 2:57pm

Broadway guy will now argue with you about whether you've been arguing with him.

[TheLadyoftheWood]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 3:00pm

Can someone tell me what color we should call this debacle?

[all that jazz]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 3:07pm

Rainbow!

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 3:14pm

Okay MusicalBoy I see what you are saying. I think we somehow agree with each other. I wasn't trying to attack you or anything, I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page. I still disagree with some of the stuff you said but meh.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 3:16pm

Can someone tell me what color we should call this debacle?

Raw Umber and Baby Blue are definites, plus who knows what else

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 3:18pm

FLAMING RED

[PositivelyEmerald]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 3:18pm

Not to argue for either side, but just to add to the list we have already...

Glinda's/Elphabas as Eva:

Julia Murney
Lisa Brescia
Christina Decicco
Laurel Harris
Louise Dearman
Anna Eilensfeld
And Caroline Bowman is rumored to be doing it on tour.

Also just randomly found this quote from Ana Gasteyer on the subject

"You know, once somebody knows you can sing Elphaba, it's like being able to sing Evita - people shut up about it already."

[Wynbish]

Posted: 6/18/13 at 3:20pm

I feel like there's a little bit of Thistle, as well.

So, I vote for Raw Umber, Baby Blue, and Thistle