Patti/OZ

[TheaterJunkie]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 7:12pm

I watched the show OZ for the first time the other day and Patti LuPone was in it. It's quite interesting, has anyone else seen it??

[ahmelie]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 7:36pm

Where'd you see it? On HBO? I've been waiting to see those episodes for a while, remember the name?

[TheaterJunkie]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 8:23pm

The whole series of OZ is out on DVD, Patti is on each episode of the final season.

[TheaterJunkie]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 9:44pm

Joel Grey is in it too. He plays a crazy man!

[ahmelie]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 12:18pm

They're actually about to go on On Demand if you have HBO and Comcast. November 5th or something.

Betty Buckley is in theses episodes too, no? Ooooh... I wonder if this is where the rivalry began.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 12:37pm

What kind of character does Patti play?

[Pippin]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 1:57pm

a crazy owner of a meat pie restaraunt.

[catharsis]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 3:19pm

I love that show! Patti is the prison's librarian, and with a semi-love interest. To get an idea of her character...watch it.
The show is full of Broadway people.
Season 6 (The final one) was great. I recommend it, but it's definitely for an adult audience.
Updated On: 10/24/06 at 03:19 PM

[logan0215]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 4:47pm

Is it a show you'd have to have had watched the first 5 seasons of to get? Because I'll NetFlix the 6th season for this :)

[Maile]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 5:05pm

The show is fantastic, and there was a hysterical "musical episode." BD Wong is a regular character and since he's been on Broadway before, he was featured singing. (Great voice!)

Yes, Betty Buckley played one of the inmate's mothers.

One of the producers/directors is Tom Fontana, who is Patti Lupone's cousin.

Another HBO related note: Patti Lupone's brother Robert (?) is Tony Soprano's neighbor (Dr. Cusamano--spelling??)

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 5:30pm

The show used a TON Of Broadway actors, which made sense considering, like Law & Order, it was filmed in the New York area (Jersey). B.D. Wong (Tony winner for M. Butterfly and star of the Pacific Overtures revival), Terry Kinney (co-founder of Chicago's Steppenwolf and a Tony nominee as director and actor), and Rita Moreno were regulars for the entire run of the series.

Betty Buckley was on for two seasons I believe as the mother of two of the inmates and she became the prison music director and staged a show. Patti Lupone was the prison librarian for two seasons. Zelko Ivanek played the Giuliani-esque mayor of the city. Edie Falco was a regular as a prison guard for a couple of seasons before her Sopranos schedule got too heavy

And there were stage vets like Uta Hagen, Charles Dutton, Elaine Stritch, Joel Grey, Milo O'Shea, Dana Ivey, Brian F. O'Byrne, John McMartin, Larry Pine, Nastcia Diaz, Ann Meara, Dylan Baker, Mary Alice, Kathleen Widdoes, Kathryn Meisle, Sean Dugan, R.E. Rodgers and many others who made guest appearances at various times over the years. Great show.

[TheaterJunkie]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 8:21pm

I thought Patti was just on the last season??