Can someone explain Patti LuPone?- Page 4

[JustABroadwaybaby2]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 12:43am

Bernadette does ROCK.
I have yet to see Patti in a performance, would like to soon.
On a lighter note, did anyone see on PBS the Broadway: The Lost Treasures thing?
It featured many AMAZING performances, and of course, there is Patti in Evita doing "A New Argentina."

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 12:50am

I just find it amusing how people project their own s#@t all over celebrities. How does Patti Lupone convey arrogance while singing. Or even cockiness. I think folks just need to relax and be ok with connecting or not connecting with a certain singer and stop "creating" mythologies about performers.

For the record, I don't think Bernadette sounds like a dying cat. :)

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 12:53am

"Sigh--I just watched "A New Argentina" from the 1980 Tony on the site-that-shall-not-be-named. Such vocal power!"

I know! This is pretty sad but, I usually watch that alone because sometime's I get teary-eyed.Don't judge me.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 12:56am

Becoz, that is so sweet. I don't judge you. I admire you.

[courtnyj]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 1:01am

It's alright becoz_i_knew_you21! Patti takes my breath away! I get a little emotional too sometimes.
Updated On: 8/23/06 at 01:01 AM

[JoizeyActor]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 1:23am

I was obsessed with her voice on the recordings for so long. "A New Argentina" anyone? Dear god. Amazing.

So I attended the tale of Sweeney Todd and I was surprised to find that Patti LuPone was an incredible actress to boot. She didn't do any of the huge loud belts like in Anything Goes or Evita, but I was still enthralled by her throughout the show. Usually I enjoy the performances of Broadway's leading actresses, but I usually leave saying: "Wow, she has an amazing voice." or something along those lines. There acting was always fine and did the job.

But in the case of Patti LuPone, her acting really affected me and really captured me. It's hard to explain, but I just felt like she took it a step above her peers and stood out not only as a wonderful singer, but as a trained actress as well. And that is why I am now a fan for life.

[courtnyj]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 1:26am

Yay Joizey! Welcome to "the club"!
Updated On: 8/23/06 at 01:26 AM

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 1:29am

"How does Patti Lupone convey arrogance while singing. Or even cockiness. I think folks just need to relax and be ok with connecting or not connecting with a certain singer and stop "creating" mythologies about performers."

Well, it's not ilke I'm going around claiming truth for a National Enquirer headline. "UPDATE: PATTI LUPONE SOUNDS ARROGANT!" It's not like that. To me, she has the kind of mannerisms while she's singing that say to me, "Look at me. I can sing. I know I can sing. You wish you could sing like I can." Growing up in theatre, I was always around people who were better than I was, but there were two distinct varieties: those who took the time to help me work and build up my talents, and those who, when I watched them perform, sang because they could. In Patti's singing, I don't feel any passion or personal connection with her, as I do with other performers who have such a voice that I feel like I might be able to even relate to them. To me, her voice is just another voice. It feels remotely hollow. Obviously, she's going to sing because she can sing, but her voice just doesn't capture me.

Hope that's a better justification for my thoughts.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 1:42am

Thank you for explaining that better. I am not a hardcore Patti fan but I have heard her sing several times and I thought she was exceptional. I think many talented singers often do resonate that they believe they are good. I think that is part of the reason they are succesful. They are confident. I think Patti commits 150% to a performance and gets in a "zone" where she taps in and emotes. This may include some slight disconnect since she is channeling her own power and emotion. That is what makes her a diva. Her version of Being Alive trembles with electricity and humanity. It's hard for me to understand how someone couldnt hear that, but I respect that you dont.

[Janelle188]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 2:28am

Okay, I've only read some of the replies, not all of them so forgive me if this has been said, but for a little bit, I kind of wondered the same thing myself.

*ducks* (Don't kill me yet, I'm not done! :) )

However, I had never seen her actually perform. I had only heard recordings. THEN, I saw a performance of hers from Evita. I believe it was the Tony performance, with Mandy Patinkin, and she's absolutely mesmerizing. You can't take your eyes off of her. She has such an amazing presense. So, anyway, that's my reasoning. It kind of makes me think of that scene in "Center Stage" where Peter Gallagher makes a comment about a ballerina who wasn't exactly perfect but that you couldn't look away from when she was onstage. I think that applies.

So, yes. I love Patti Lupone.

:)

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 2:35am

Well, I've only posted one comment about this all. But now I want to say...

I like her. Not love. Not hate. Like. Some of her acting doesn't thrill me, but her voice is quite remarkable.

Just my 2 cents.

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 2:37am

"Okay, tht was uncalled for. If we're not allowed to bash Patti, we shouldn't be allowed to bash Bernadette. "


No one has said not to bash Patti LuPone. If you can bash her without sounding like an idiot, that is.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 2:50am

I have seen Patti's version of Being Alive from the Sondheim tribute. It didn't do anything for me. In my opinion, Bernadette's is the definitive version.

Definitive version? You do realize that the song is intended to be sung by a man, right? How can a concert version done by a woman be more "definitive" than the song sung by the character in the context of the show it was specifically written for? That's like claiming some guy at Don't Tell Mama's version of "And I'm Telling You" is more definitive than Jennifer Holliday's.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 3:21am

Okay, maybe definitive wasn't the right word. Bernadette's is the best version.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 7:27am

I've seen Patti LuPone in nearly everything she's done in the past 25 years, and she truly is nothing less than remarkable. Anyone who saw her in The Cradle Will Rock, singing unmic'd and with only piano accompaniment, you would know how astonishing she can be. (The cast recording is available. Buy it.) She really has proven that she can do almost anything: musical drama, musical comedy, straight plays and some of the most iconic roles in the theatrical canon. I just can't get enough of her.

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 11:25am

Lets not even try to compare Bernadette and Patti. I adore them both, equally for who they are. If we are taking about Patti, for me, she is a force of nature and isn't afriad to say what she feels. That, in it of itself describes Patti.

[camp_actor]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 12:00pm

I like Patti because she is a really good actress. Not mediocre, not okay, NO she's a really good actress. There is a lot of bad or just "adequate" acting in musical theatre and she is definitely an INCREDIBLE actress. Plus she has a very unique voice, maybe not THE best voice, but very good and very unique - her singing for me is just an extension of her acting.


Which brings up the debate, why are there so many musical theatre performers who can't really act? Acting, surely, is the key to good theatre. For me it's more important than the other strands of the triple threat - not that they aren't important in their own way - but an incredible acting performance in a musical brings a show into a different dimension.

[Dame Fanadette]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 12:24pm

I really believe that outside the theatre world most would not know who Patti Lupone is. My parents who make biannual trips to NYC to see shows wouldn't a clue who she is but know and try to see frequently Bernadette Peters. I love Patti but since Evita what has she done that makes her stand out? Sweeney Todd she was amazing but it didn't bring much news around it.

[camp_actor]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 2:05pm

Since when has talent got to do with celebrity?

Patti Lupone is an incredibly gifted actress. You can't say that she's any less great than Bernadette Peters just because more people know who Peters is. That's like saying that Rickie Lee Jones is less talented than Britney. Or Cherry Jones is less talented than, I don't know, Jennifer Lopez.

It's an irrelevant thing to say.

For the record, I also love Bernadette. Both are very talented. But Bernadette has been in numerous films and TV shows, whereas Patti is predominantly a stage actress. Although she has made films, she never made the kind of name for herself outside of theatre that Peters did.

Posted: 8/23/06 at 3:18pm

I admit that.

[moljul]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 3:23pm

Good point, Camp. This is the reason why a Broadway revival of Gypsy (or any show) can be mounted easily with Bernadette and not with Patti. Despite the production not making its money back, Gypsy was extremely financially successful for several months. They had a huge advance and broke box office records several weeks.

Bernadette wisely got herself some national (and international) recognition/exposure early in her career and has continued to build on it through the years. The list of big names she has worked with (whether the project itself was successful and most were) is staggering: George Burns, Bob Hope, Carol Burnett, Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, Robert Preston, Clint Eastwood, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Sonny and Cher (at a time when they were huge), Whitney Houston (hate her but have to admit she is/was big), Burt Reynolds ... The list goes on and on. Even hosting The Muppets in '79 was huge because a lot of people watched that show and she received an Emmy Nomination for her troubles. I don't know Patti's career as well as I know Bernadette's but I don't think Patti can claim that kind of resume. And that is not reflection on her talent or lack there of.

Bernadette said that in the early 70s she had a hard time getting work on Broadway. One of the reasons was her lack of marquee value. She had some great reviews behind her but she was passed over for the real major star roles because she wasn't all that well known. They went for bigger names who had the ability to sell tickets. So she realized she needed to get marquee value and went to CA and got it.

EDIT: Gee I forgot a very important name in those she worked with. Doing 2 movies with and being Steve Martin's girlfriend for 5 years when he had the star value of a rock star didn't hurt much either.


Updated On: 8/23/06 at 03:23 PM

Posted: 8/23/06 at 3:30pm

I really don't have much more to add than what many others have already said on this thread, but I just wanted to put my two cents in. I love Patti Lupone. Her voice is magnificent and has a very special quality to it that is immediately recognizable. I first heard her voice on the original cast recording of "Evita," and I've been following her career ever since. I went to see Patti Lupone in a New York nightclub right after she ended her run in "Evita." She danced on the tables and was handing the microphone around for audience members to sing a few notes. She handed me that mike, and I've been singing ever since! And that's the truth. I have a singing career now because Ms. Lupone handed me a microphone in a nightclub to sing 4 notes.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 4:17pm

Glinda--was that nightclub Les Mouches?

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 5:01pm

By various interviews, etc. I think she is severely stuck up and thinks she is the be all/end all of everything, but she has a great voice and commands the stage.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 5:05pm

Nah. No more than any other diva.