#1
Posted: 3/29/08 at 2:54pm
Buried in the lengthy Gypsy review thread was a "discussion" of the whether LuPone was supposed to do Gypsy at the Donmar and I came across this old Show People issue from 2003 with an article about Mendes and Gypsy. It says that 6 or so years ago, "Mendes had first thought of reviving the musical at the Donmar with Julia McKenzie the putative star, until he and Laurents jointly decided that London's premiere studio-sized theater was just too small. The article goes on to say that it was Peters' performance of Some People at her Carnegie Hall concert in 1996 that cemented Laurents idea of having Peters play Rose, an idea that "began percolating as far back as 1987 with Peters bravura turn as the witch in Into the Woods."
By 2000, when Laurents was running around promoting his autobiography, it was already being reported that Peters would be starring in a full-scale revival in London directed by Mendes so I don't know how LuPone could have gotten a letter saying she wasn't approved in 2003 unless she was inquiring about being a replacement.
The Times article that Moljul referenced doesn't actually mention LuPone at all. It says, "Roughly five years ago Mr. Laurents talked to Mr. Mendes about directing the revival, and Mr. Mendes said he was surprised by the idea of casting Ms. Peters as Rose.
'My first reaction was, 'How old is she?' ' Mr. Mendes said, thinking Ms. Peters too young for the role. 'And Arthur said, 'Older than she looks.' '
Obviously everything worked itself out in the end and if LuPone was bitter then, she should have no reason not to be a happy camper now.
By 2000, when Laurents was running around promoting his autobiography, it was already being reported that Peters would be starring in a full-scale revival in London directed by Mendes so I don't know how LuPone could have gotten a letter saying she wasn't approved in 2003 unless she was inquiring about being a replacement.
The Times article that Moljul referenced doesn't actually mention LuPone at all. It says, "Roughly five years ago Mr. Laurents talked to Mr. Mendes about directing the revival, and Mr. Mendes said he was surprised by the idea of casting Ms. Peters as Rose.
'My first reaction was, 'How old is she?' ' Mr. Mendes said, thinking Ms. Peters too young for the role. 'And Arthur said, 'Older than she looks.' '
Obviously everything worked itself out in the end and if LuPone was bitter then, she should have no reason not to be a happy camper now.
