Loni Ackerman (Evita, Cats, Sunset) Speaks

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 7:19am

I found this charming Loni Ackerman interview on Playbill.com. from RC in Austin, Texas
Loni Ackerman Speaks

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 12:30pm

Thanks for posting this. It was a great read and a fantastic interview.

I saw Loni several times on Broadway 'back-in-the-day'... from the ensemble of ANNIE (at the Alvin Theatre), to headlining in EVITA (at the Broadway Theatre) and CATS (at the Winter Garden Theatre).

[theeatah]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 1:23pm

"basically Gypsy is only one octave. It goes from a C to like a C. Maybe there's a lower B, but there's basically one octave, and that is so much fun to sing."

Is she referring to Rose's Turn?

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 1:24pm

Brody: I wish you had stagedoor pictures from way back then. It would be great if anyone who watched shows from the 70's, 80's 90's and so on would post those classic stagedoor pics. from RC in Austin, Texas

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 1:26pm

Fun read - I always liked her.

Somebody should send Patti the part where she talks about how easy it was for her to sing EVITA and that she wished she could have sung all eight performances a week. :)

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 1:37pm

Yes, great read! And yay for the shout-out to Jeff Buchsbaum- he really is a genius!

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 1:46pm

Brody: I wish you had stagedoor pictures from way back then. It would be great if anyone who watched shows from the 70's, 80's 90's and so on would post those classic stagedoor pics. from RC in Austin, Texas

I've been going to see Broadway shows since I was 7 years old (1972), but just NEVER caught the stagedoor bug. It continues to this day -- I see a show and leave afterwards. Unless I know someone in the show and plan to visit them after the performance, you'll never see me anywhere near a stagedoor. Even then, I just walk in and go directly to their dressing room instead of waiting outside for them with the stagedoor crowd.

I do have stagedoor photos of La Streisand during her FUNNY GIRL run and of La Minnelli during her FLORA THE RED MENACE run. I should post those, huh?

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 3:02pm

I really enjoyed this interview too (and I had only a vague idea of who Loni Ackerman was). So great that she was able to have such an amazing Broadway career and also have a family.

I also found her comment on Evita being easy to sing pretty humorous after listening to Patti's audiobook. Honestly, I think Patti had trouble singing it because she's a mezzo. Those "New Argentina" high notes should not be too terribly difficult for a typical high soprano voice

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 4:29pm

^ Exactly. The thing so extraordinary about LuPone's voice back then was her voice type. It defied the expectations, being able to belt that high for someone who was a mezzo. It came as a surprise when she sang with such rich, darker tones and then jump up so high as well. It was like being shot out of a cannon.

Ackerman is a belty soprano, and one hell of a good one, I might add. But it's a lot easier for her to get out those top notes because of it. But she doesn't have the mezzo sound (darker, richer) in the medium and lower range. Still she sounded great on the whole thing. It was a more comfortable fit.

LuPone is still my favorite singing the role, but Akerman (IMO) was a close second.

EDIT: Here's Loni belting the HELL out of "Rainbow High."
LINK

Updated On: 8/12/11 at 04:29 PM

[newintown]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 4:32pm

Not a word about her famous mother?

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 4:38pm

I doubt most people, even those who frequent these boards, know who Ackerman's mother (Cyma Rubin) is.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 6:29pm

Then they need to read "The Making of 'No, No, Nanette'"! I assume it's out of print, but if one can track down a copy, it's worth it. Cyma Rubin comes off as Cruella de Ville.

What is interesting is that Ackerman seems like little more than a product of nepotism. Obviously, she proved the authors wrong.

***

BTW, I'm surprised at the opinion expressed that Ackerman didn't have a rich lower range. I recently discovered her solo albums and her rich, lower register is precisely what I love about them. Maybe the opinions only applied to Evita or were only meant in comparison to Lupone. I think the solo albums were recorded late in Ackerman's life, so it's also possible her voice deepened over time. Updated On: 8/12/11 at 06:29 PM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 8:07pm

Her recollections of the beautiful and gifted Laurie Beechman broke my heart. She is missed.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 8:23pm

Is this the lady Patti thought was conspiring against her?

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 8:32pm

No, that was Terri Klausner, her alternate.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 10:42pm

This is the insanely talented Terri Klausner who, as mentioned above, was Patti LuPone's alternate during the original run of EVITA. She performed the role of Eva Peron at the matinees while Patti performed the evening performances and yes... the one Patti talks about in her memoir:

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 10:54pm

I need to ask my eternal question in hopes of getting a more concrete answer: why wasn't Terri Klausner the principal Evita? So many accounts of her performance have been great, while Patti struggled with the role early on. Were they worried that Klausner wouldn't be able to sustain the show 6 times a week? Was it just a matter of je nais se quoi? Was Patti putting horse heads in people's beds?


And speaking about Loni Ackerman vs Patti, I have to agree with besty that there is something really exciting about the timbre of Patti's voice on the highest notes. So while it might be technically easier for Ackerman to sing them, I don't find them to be as thrilling.