LuPone's lead-in to Rose's Turn - is this really how she was???

[binau]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 4:12am

I have only 'seen' her performance and do enjoy it, but have to laugh when I watch this part over and over again - it is almost like there is a woman doing a parody of LuPone doing Rose's Turn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYsnwawyHrc&t=00m09s

"Here she is boys, here she is world..."

Updated On: 6/21/11 at 04:12 AM

[ABB2357]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 5:25am

Yep, that's it all right.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 6:40am

"After that feast of ham, I won't eat for a week."

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 8:26am

By the time I saw the show, she was whispering "Here she is, boys. Here she is, world," then bellowing "HERE'S ROSE!!!" Her accompanying gestures weren't so wild, either.

And I loved it.

[FrauleinKost]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 8:30am

The reason why the stage is so bare is because she chewed up the scenery and spit out the bones.

[PianoMann]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 8:37am

I saw the second to last performance of Gypsy and certainly do not remember the opening being so manic. I more remember what SweeneyPhanatic recalled, starting with a whisper.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 8:55am

This is what I remember her doing, but, in the theatre in person, it was thrilling.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 9:10am

She certainly deserved that award for Most Actress!

[Q]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 9:33am

Ridiculous.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 9:50am

I saw her three times and she never did it the same way twice. And they were three of the most thrilling performances I've seen in my life.

[sally1112]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:00am

Saw it live- Perfection! Nothing more really to say.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:01am

'She certainly deserved that award for Most Actress!'

THAT is the funniest thing I've read in a VERY looooong time! Brava!

I loved Bernadette Peters as Rose!

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:04am

I have to second Reggie and say that each time I saw her, she was slightly different. And each time it was incredibly thrilling.

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:07am

I saw it in March 2009, she was not so... hyper.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:23am

You had to be there.

If you think you would have been left unmoved, you're wrong.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:32am

I don't dispute the opinions of those who saw her live, night after night, varying her interpretations of lines, phrasing, and emotions. That's a different experience entirely.

But I do look at this tiny little bootleg Youtube video clip and think, "Good Jesus GOD, girl."

Give me Tyne Daly as Rose any day over this mess. She had half the singing ability, but trumped LuPone in all ways other than that.

I also call into question someone who has to alter a performance each time in order to keep it fresh. The real trick is to do it the same way every performance and keep it fresh.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:33am

It was absolutely thrilling to watch in the theater.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:44am

Besty, everyone gets to have their own opinion, of course. I wouldn't dream of trying to dissuade you from preferring Tyne's performance. Tyne was great.

But I take exception to your characterization of how Patti works. You can't say that she "has to" do whatever to "keep it fresh." And you can't say with any authority that doing it the same way every night is preferable.

I've heard both Benanti and Gaines talk about how thrilling it was that Patti kept the performance alive every night by subtle differences; it made them better, or so I understood them to say.

It reminds me of the stories we all heard of Vanessa Redgrave in "Orpheus Descending": some nights she was moved to do the nude scene; some nights she wasn't. She didn't rewrite the play (and nor did Patti). She stayed true to the character and followed her instincts.

So did LuPone.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:52am

"You can't say that she "has to" do whatever to "keep it fresh."

You're right I can't. That was speculation.

And you can't say with any authority that doing it the same way every night is preferable."

Yes, I can. I can say it with the same authority as anyone else offering an opinion of varying performances. That's exactly why directors "lock" a show.

Updated On: 6/21/11 at 10:52 AM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:57am

You can say whatever you want--and I'll always listen :)

Locking a show, to my mind, isn't the same thing as setting an actor's emotional levels in stone. I guess it could mean that, but that's not what I think of.

And again, the three times I saw it, Patti was never out of character or reworking the scene: she just reached varying levels of intensity.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:04am

While I thought she was fantastic, nobody can top Tynes performance for me.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:05am

I have never thought or been involved in a show that has been "locked" by a director solely for the blocking, tempos, and technical stuff.

I also don't for a moment think that Patti is the first, last, or only performer to change up a performance each and every time. And it certainly keeps other actors on their toes, no question about that.

I still think (again my opinion) it's a greater challenge to keep a performance the same each time and manage to make it appear as spontaneous as if it were the first time.

If you change it, it IS spontaneous, if you don't, the spontaneity is "acting."

Updated On: 6/21/11 at 11:05 AM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:08am

The night I saw it, she did the intro in American Sign Language and then they ran supertitles as she pantomimed the rest. It was thrilling.

But seriously, this is one of the major reasons people aren't supposed to film performances like this. (I did have a nervous response when Patti seemed to be looking right at the camera and filmer.) When you rip the scene out the context of the show, and then rip that out of the context of the live performance, it loses any grounding to provide you the perspective you need.

I saw both Tyne and Patti and loved them both. Personally I am trying to transcend the American binary way of thinking. It doesn't have to be either the Beatles OR the Stones.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:11am

Besty, clearly we just have different preferences in this regard.

Or actually, that's not true: You have a clear preference and find one way of working superior. I guess I don't. Doesn't make me right, of course.
Updated On: 6/21/11 at 11:11 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:13am

"But seriously, this is one of the major reasons people aren't supposed to film performances like this."

True enough.

"It doesn't have to be either the Beatles OR the Stones."

Also true. I'm actually mad at myself for playing "Dueling Roses." I've never liked the idea of competitive acting. I do prefer one over the other, in this case, solely based on a crappy clip (well, and several other clips) and the distant memory of seeing Tyne live and being blown away by what she (for all intents and purposes) a non-singer, was able to do.