Different Patti View
Different Patti View
broadwayjules
Stand-by Joined: 12/1/04
#1Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:06amSo am I the only one out there that doesn't think the sun rises and sets on Patti LuPone?? I actually can't believe that she won the tony, nor that Gypsy was even revived so soon. That's ridiculous. I do like Patti, so the uber-fans can simma down. I just don't think the show should have gone beyond the limited run she was supposed to do or Tony nominated again. I mean what is she doing next, reviving curtains next season?
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#2re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:11am
Patti has a strong belt voice. That's the extent of Patti. Her acting borders on hammy and when she dances it looks like someone is trying to spank her.
Gypsy is a show that requires a strong belt voice, hammy acting and not much dancing. It was the perfect role for LuPone. (The Peters production should have never been done).
#3re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:14am
broadwayjules:
Well, this production also won first ever Tony Awards for the Herbie and Louise/Gypsy, so there was clearly plenty of reason to put on this production beyond Patti, and the critics seem to agree.
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
broadwayjules
Stand-by Joined: 12/1/04
#4re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:20am
But the Peters production WAS done, like 5 minutes ago, so that's moot. Patti may have been suited for the role, but a lot of people are suited for roles they aren't in. She'd probably be good in the Debra Monk role so lets revive Curtains for her when it closes in June.
And thanks for adding something to the thread paljoey
#5re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:23amIm not a big fan of hers, her voice grates on me
MuseOfComedy
Understudy Joined: 12/13/07
#6re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:23am
Who cares. It's here and it's well received, and it's going to stay longer than Bernadette's. The standing ovation after the Tony performance said it all, it's brilliant with these 3 actors.
And LOL, paljoey cracks me up.
#7re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:25am
There was a production of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF the same season as the last production of GYPSY, and here we have a new production of that show this season with an all star cast.
We had MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN last season, having had a production a few years earlier, but last season's production introduced the talent of the marvelous Eve Best, who was nominated for a Tony and won a Drama Desk for her performance, and was nominated again this season for THE HOMECOMING.
It's about the PRODUCTION. Not the show.
This production of GYPSY is nothing like the Mendes production that we had a few seasons ago. So why not revive it?
If you don't like it, then don't buy a ticket.
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
broadwayjules
Stand-by Joined: 12/1/04
#8re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:25amI'm not comparing the production to the Bernadette version, who also got a standing ovation after her Roses Turn at the Tonys. It's the short time span after the last production.
#9re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:27am
Two things I don't understand:
1. Where did the notion come from that a show can be done only every twenty years? There were more or less simultaneous "Sea Gulls" in the West End a couple of years ago, both major productions with major actors, and nobody squawked. We see "La boheme" at the Met pretty much every year, and everyone is excited to see a different soprano take on the role. But in the musical theater--which is, let's face it, not a thriving art form--we're supposed to say "Sorry, 'Gypsy' has been done this decade"?
2. Does it occur to no one to say "Patti LuPone's performance style is not to my taste," rather than shouting definitive negative statements as though they carry any sort of empirical validity?
Curious in NYC
jordangirl
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/1/06
#10re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:28am
I personally find her a bit overrated. That isn't saying she doesn't have her good points. But she is not the primary reason I see Gypsy and she's not the primary reason I recommended it to my family for our group show when they come visit.
(See reginald? Some of us can make our opinions personal without attacking! :) )
LIVE THAT LESSON!!!!!!
#11re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:28amNo not really, it's my opinion and thats how i feel so that's what i typed
MuseOfComedy
Understudy Joined: 12/13/07
#12re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:30am
So when's the most appropriate time to open another revival of a musical? 5 years? 10? If someone else has a concept for it that's different from the last revival, they should be able to mount it.
Also, I know lots of people who saw Gypsy for the first time this time around only because of Patti, and now they love the show, so I'm glad they brought this back with her.
huckleberry22
Chorus Member Joined: 9/20/04
#13re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:32amI don't think it was her decision alone.Clearly, someone thought it was a good idea, and I think the audiences have backed that.Would you turn Arthur Laurents and CO. down if they asked you to star in a role you have always wanted to play? I wouldn't. Hell, I would do it while the other show was still playing, at the theater next door if I had the chance.
#14re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:41am
Reginald, how dare you come in here all reasonable and rain on our parade! 
The West End is having two 'Hamlet's within a year of each other. I strongly suspect they will both be a success. If we get to August next year and one (or both?) has flopped, I'll take back my words. In the meantime, the man raises some excellent points. :3
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#15re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:52am
I've never been a fan of Ms. Lupone's either. I've always found her "singing" to be too close to just "yelling." I'll admit that I did like her Lovett in SWEENEY TODD, but I saw that on opening night and got the feeling that she was being a very good girl indeed, with Sondheim sitting like fifth row center and all.
The clips I'd seen of her in GYPSY seemed to embody what I don't like about her work, just vocal noise without any real sense of any lyrics at all.
And then last night she hit "Everything's Coming Up Roses" out of the park. Wow. I still don't think I'll shell out to see the show, but I've got to admit that she nailed the song on the Tonys.
#16re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:56amRoscoe, there you go! Perfectly rational post.
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#17re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:59amI wouldn't mind a new production of Gypsy every 5 years or so. There are a lot of ladies I'd like to see take a turn as Rose.
#18re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 12:03pmWBAF, I'm glad you pointed out that this was the first year someone won for playing Herbie. I've already read a few things mentioning the fact that Laura was the first to win for Louise, but no mention was made of Boyd being the first to win for Herbie.
#19re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 12:06pm
I still don't think I'll shell out to see the show, but I've got to admit that she nailed the song on the Tonys.
Then, Roscoe, you will be denying yourself one of the great theatrical thrills of your lifetime.
#20re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 12:09pmWhatever anyone thinks of Ms. LuPone - good, bad or indifferent - the fact remains that the women is a powerhouse, with a voice that - thanks to a solid technique - is in better shape than most performers half her age.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#21re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 12:15pmYep, you're the only one. No one has ever even started a thread before saying they weren't a fan of Patti LuPone!
broadwayjim42
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/19/03
#22re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 12:27pm
I look at Patti as one of those forces of nature who constantly straddles the line between genius and outright ham. I found her speech a bit over the top, but this role does fit her like the proverbial glove.
That said, I was just as impressed by Boyd and Laura when I saw the show on May 30...so it isn't all about her.
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#23re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 12:34pm
Even I'll admit that as ambivalent as I am about LuPone, her peformance at the ST. JAMES is one of the most unforgettable things I've ever seen.
Laurents' staged GYPSY the way any book-of-a-musical writer would: with emphasis on the script. That was the revolutionary thing about this production: script and characterization and detail had just as much, if not more, importance as/than the score, perhaps even more.
The result was a tremendously dark, bitingly funny evening featuring the 3 best performances so far this year.
broadwayjules
Stand-by Joined: 12/1/04
#24re: Different Patti View
Posted: 6/16/08 at 12:38pm
""Yep, you're the only one. No one has ever even started a thread before saying they weren't a fan of Patti LuPone!""
Well God forbid! I thought this was a discussion group, not a jump all over someone with a different opinion group. My mistake. Just because a lot of people like her, doesn't mean everyone does. That's why I wrote "different" view in the subject, not "correct" view.
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