The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti LuPone

[Luvinbroadway]

Posted: 8/8/08 at 1:44pm

Did anyone read this?

amazon link

[Broadway Baby 2]

Posted: 8/10/08 at 10:36pm

No. Im waiting to hear storys from Patti her self when her book is released. Im so excited for it.

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 8/10/08 at 11:47pm

While also anticipating Patti's autobiography, I really want to read this. I read the excerpt pages on Amazon and loved it.

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 12:06am

I just read the "Search Inside", and they managed to call Patti LuPone.... Patti LaPone IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH!! Not getting this one.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 12:28am

The fact that "Patti LaPone" is in quotes makes me think that she is quoting how the newsmagazine show spelled her name. I doubt it is a typo.

[jaso937]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 1:55am

I read the "look inside" thingy and this lady just seems like a crazed stalker. I of course know nothing about this woman but the first few pages of the book dont shed the best of light on her. I think I'll wait for Patti's book! if you do read this book though, please tell how it is!

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 5:44am

I agree, jaso. I won't be purchasing this book anytime soon....

[BroadwayBelle2]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 8:31am

Yeah I agree with you guys, I'll be waiting for Patti's own book to come out. Can't wait to read that!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 8:35am

Those crazed stalkers are really starting to give us crazed fans a bad name.

[Hamlet2]

Posted: 8/12/08 at 12:27am

Actually the book is funny, sad, and interesting. It doesn't presume to talk about how Patti sees her life (Patti's book), but does provide insight into how she treats her fans. I think that I met the author at a concert and she was cute, smart, funny, and showed a great deal of insight into Patti. I couldn't put the book down. Given that there has been controversary about Patti's treatment of her fans (sometimes very well and often very badly)- this is book provides a very nice description of the latter example. For those who have fallen out - or never received Ms. LuPone's graces it seems almost cathartic. It would be interesting to hear what Patti LuPone thinks about it. I wonder if she realizes that as hard as she works to have fans adore her, when they do, she can be quite uneccesarily cruel.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 3:01pm

I don't know this author and I don't know Patti, so perhaps I should just keep my mouth shut. Yet it seems to me that getting obsessive over a star is a pretty sure way to set yourself up for disappointment (and I speak as one who's done some obsessing in my time). No human being can bear that much scrutiny.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 3:03pm

Well said, MCfan2.

And the sense of obligation that some fans think the star should demonstrate baffles me.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 3:23pm

I didn't know this exsited... Interesting.

For what it's worth, La LuPone was AMAZING to me the two times I've had the pleasure of meeting her: a chance meeting on 42nd a couple of years ago and stage door at GYPSY the first performance after the Tonys... and the previous was of course an out and about-just-happen-to-pass by situation.

[Hamlet2]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 11:19pm

There are different views regarding the connection between the actor and the audience. I see many plays during the course of a year and find that those actors who do have a relationship with the audience add something special to the show. At the same time, I think it is helpful if the actor can appreciate differences in audience members, and how they experience the theatre. People seem to judge both the actor and the audience (aka fan) so harshly that it surprises me. With regard to Patti, I have seen her be wonderful at times, and at others not so wonderful. Clearly she enjoys being adored, and those who show their adoration are giving part of themselves, and as a result are showing their vulnerability. Would we rather have the audience of superficial visitors or those who truly "experience" the actor and the show? Patti has the warmth and intelligence that draws people to her, perhaps those that are more vulnerable. The urge to judge her fans (e.g. this author and others) without the appreciation of their attempts to share and respond in their own way is sad.

[ahmelie]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 11:20pm

I've met the author of this book (at a LuPone concert) and corresponded with her before any of this happened. As far as I could ever tell, she's a wonderful woman. Just thought I might throw that out there.

[cliffarico]

Posted: 8/22/08 at 11:58am

MCFan2 I totally agree with you...
Updated On: 8/22/08 at 11:58 AM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/22/08 at 12:14pm

I agree with Mcfan2 as well.

I absolutley adore LuPone as a performer. But I think she has zero obligation to me when she walks off the stage.

[jv92]

Posted: 8/22/08 at 2:12pm

Not looking forward to reading this. I don't think I will. What I am looking forward to is Patti's response.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 8/22/08 at 8:25pm

Hello. With some trepidation, I sent her an email asking for her opinion about that fan book. At the same time, I mentioned that I'd be buying her "Gypsy" cd and also the "Patti LuPone at Les Mouches" recording. I'm waiting with "an ti ci..... (say it)...pation! from RC in Austin, Texas

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 3:01am

Hello. I have received a response from Miss Patti . The first part is my original email and then her response.

Date: 2008/08/22 Fri AM 06:57:31 EDT
Hello Miss Patti: I'm excited that not one... but two of your recordings will be available soon: "Gypsy" and "Patti LuPone at Le Mouches". I will definitely buy both. I do have one question. Have you heard of... or read the book:

The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti LuPone (Paperback)by Maile Hernandez

I first saw this on the Broadway World forum. I don't think I'll be buying that book. Sounds kind of "iffy". Any thoughts? Thank you and continued best of luck with "Gypsy". Your FANatic, Roman Castillo Jr. in Austin, Texas

Miss Patti's response:
8/22/2008 10:50:20 P.M. Central Daylight Time
Yes, Roman, iffy.
Love, Patti

It's kind of unclear if she just heard of the book or if she actually read the book. from RC in Austin, Texas

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 4:27pm

Patti's email made my day.

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 4:59pm

Hahaha!

I doubt she has read the book.

[Trey C]

Posted: 8/24/08 at 5:25pm

Happy Sunday everyone!

Oh how I love reading the Patti debates on the message boards. There are a couple of staunch camps. I relate to both views. I've met Patti a few times, 2X at the stage door, and a couple of times at after show events. She was exquisitely nice once, cordial twice, and blisteringly mean once. And I don't care. For me she's about the music, the art. ANYONE who says she's overrated, well, I have no response for that for I can't fathom that view.

Unreachable Star.

I bought it. I didn't LOVE it. But I liked it a lot and still read sections of it again and again. It is not a biography of Patti. This is not a question of "waiting for Patti's book to come out instead of buying this one." There will be no competition, no controversy. This book would be more a companion piece to Patti's memoir but not an either/or proposition.

About a quarter of the book deals with this woman's struggles and heartbreak in raising her autistic son who was born a week or so before her mother died of cancer. The rest of the book is a love letter (almost literally) to Patti). That's it. It doesn't trash Patti, it exalts her. It chronicles her adventures in seeing Patti in numerous shows, kind or a Patti Travelogue. She discusses the shows, the venues, highlights other broadway shows she saw, restaurants, hotels, etc. To that extent, I loved it. The autism part, I feel bad for her but I glossed over it. I don't need added depression in my life!!

And here's the thing with me. I CAN'T GET ENOUGH PATTI!!! I have DVDs of everything, I mean EVERYTHING she's ever done on TV. Passion. Sweeney (at SF). Gala for President Clinton, etc., etc. I bought Life Goes On, yes, just to see Patti. I saw Sweeney on Broadway a half dozen times. I've seen Gypsy, both City Center and the St. James performances. I've seen every concert of hers many times. Matters of the Heart. Lady With a Torch. Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda. Seen them all numerous times. I only saw her show with Mandy twice. For me it was just okay, I need more Patti, less Mandy.

Bottom line, I got this book because it's about Patti, plain and simple. And when Patti's memoir comes out, I"ll buy it the moment it's available. AND if anybody else publishes a book even remotely about Patti before or after the publishing of her glorious memoir, I'M BUYING THAT, TOO!!

To defyinggravity07 who criticized the author for misspelling LuPone ("LaPone") yeah, that was a quote, not a mistake or a typo. There is nothing sloppy or half-assed about this author's treatment of Patti.

To those who doubt Patti's read the book, yeah, you're probably right, I doubt she's read it. But she should! It would put a lot of gas in her tank. I've never read anything more complimentary, more loving about Patti than what this author wrote (except for my own stuff!).

Sorry for the diatribe.

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 8/24/08 at 8:15pm

As someone who idolizes Patti Lupone and has met her a couple of times, I can totally understand why Patti is nervous around fans.

Most people don't realize that Broadway actors do sometimes get stalked. Unlike big movie stars, they don't usually have body guards. Patti has a son and a husband. Her first duty is to herself and her family. Patti owes her fans a great performance- not giving a part of herself, posing for photos, or granting autographs. Just because you idolize a performer, it doesn't mean that they should become your best friend.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 8/24/08 at 8:20pm

Wow Trey, you certainly ARE a die-hard fan. "You Arrre Trey... ya arrre!" from RC in Austin, Texas