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

Yep, that's it all right.

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.

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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.

She certainly deserved that award for Most Actress!

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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.

'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!

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

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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.

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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.

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.

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."

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

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