Patti almost not Madame Rose?

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 11:03am

I bet this has been discussed many times but I could not find anything about it. Can someone explain to me the whole Arthur Laurents not wanting Patti to play Madame Rose story.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 11:11am

Laurents and LuPone were to do a play together, and she wanted it in her contract that the show would go to NY. Yada yada yada, she bowed out, ultimately killing the show (even though it wasn't a good show, by all accounts), and Laurents placed the blame onto her.

She'd never do Gypsy or any other show written by Artie.

Fast forward 20 years, she does Gypsy to raves at Ravinia, Artie's partner tells him on his death bed to let LuPone do it, they do a run at City Center and the rest, as they say, is history.


Allegedly.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 11:21am

Every time someone talks about Arthur Laurents, he sounds like a real prick.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 11:23am

your timeline/story are a bit off.

It goes back to the Sunset Blvd. debacle. LuPone signed on to do Sunset Blvd. in London with the understanding that she would open the New York production. When she didn't (which is documented elsewhere), she sued ALW, they reached a settlement, end of story.

However, after this, she did not want to start in with a new show unless she was totally guarenteed that she would be able to open the New York production. When Laurents wouldn't agree to that she turned it down. This was apparently publicized enough (or at least she had been attached to it for enough time), that when she pulled out, the already not-so-great show did even worse and didn't make it.

Being the jerk he is, Laurents decided to blame LuPone (instead of himself). When the Sam Mendes revival was in it's early stages, they wanted LuPone to do it, but Laurents, still being pissy said "no way will she do it on Broadway. Or any other piece I've written."

Flash to the Ravinia concert, which being a concert in Chicago allowed her to do it, where she got great reviews, Laurents saw it, and got over himself.

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 11:43am

Finally! I have been wondering the same thing for a while, but was afraid someone would say to use the search feature. That's so interesting about Laurents not wanting her to do any of his work, it really goes to show how amazing LuPone's performance is that it even turned him around. And I'm glad I also now know the motivation behind Patti wanting it in her contract that it would go to NY (SB). Thank you.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 12:20pm

It's one of those "WHEN QUEENS COLLIDE" stories.
If you read Arthur's bio you see he does not think of himself as a prick, but he thinks a lot with his.

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 1:40pm

Did Arthur actually see the Ravinia concert though? I thought that was just a rumor. He has stated that his partner was the one who told him to do it at City Center with LuPone.

[newsieboy23]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 1:44pm

Actually, The Sam Mendes revival had ALWAYS been for Peters, there was never an oppertunity for Lupone (or anyone else) to be considered. Laurent's said this in an interview (I will search for which...)

[RiffIt]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 2:05pm

Patti did have a contract to do Sunset on Broadway - that's how she had a case against Lloyd Webber.

When Laurents' play, Jolson Sings Again, premiered at Seattle Rep in 1995, there was no question that Patti would be guaranteed the NY transfer were it to happen. This wasn't the issue. Patti just decided not to do the show. I'm not sure why. Maybe she didn't like it after all... maybe she didn't want to be in Seattle for months with a young son after just having been in LA and then London for a number of years.

Arthur is lying AND telling the truth when he says Patti was never considered for the Mendes production in that, technically, that casting director and that producer never discussed LuPone with Mendes in the pre-production of the 2003 revival of GYPSY - it was, as Laurents claims, always Bernadette. HOWEVER, Mendes had been everyone's dream choice for GYPSY since his Broadway CABARET (and, of course, American Beauty) and had been courting Patti for Rose since he caught her on stage (in either Master Class or The Old Neighborhood, I forget...). Arthur vetoed the idea repeatedly in the years in between the first murmurs of a Mendes GYPSY, possibly in London first, possibly with Patti (98/99/2000-ish) and the actual announcement of the 2003 revival.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 2:14pm

And apparently Laurents never saw the Ravinia production.

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 3:37pm

And the Sunset Blvd debacle was a case of contract language not being clear. Patti was contracted to do the New York premiere after London, which she and most everyone else assumed would be the US premiere. However, when they decided to put it up in LA first with Glenn Close, then to follow shortly after with Broadway, Patti got upset because she would not be doing the US premiere.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 3:37pm

And, there IS the whole story of how the transfer to Broadway was almost canned when they caught Patti poisoning the real lamb that was to be used for "Little Lamb", but that's all been forgiven, I heard.

[wicked_beast4]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 3:39pm

Hahahaha!!!.... oh, wait, that WASN'T funny.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 3:46pm

Awww, gee, thanks!

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 3:56pm

And the Sunset Blvd debacle was a case of contract language not being clear. Patti was contracted to do the New York premiere after London, which she and most everyone else assumed would be the US premiere. However, when they decided to put it up in LA first with Glenn Close, then to follow shortly after with Broadway, Patti got upset because she would not be doing the US premiere.

right, and then she was unceremoniously dumped, and found out about it from her agent who read it in a gossip column. classy.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 4:45pm

Laurents saw it, and got over himself.

I thought Laurents said that he hated the Ravinia concert? Didn't he even say that he wasn't thrilled with her performance at City Center? The performance he directed.

[NGD2225]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 5:01pm

I heard from Arthur himself, that the casting for City Center came down to Patti & Sarah Palin.

[Patash]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 5:37pm

That's true, the choice was done to Patti or Sarah Palin, and Palin said, "thanks but no thanks".

[Brick]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 9:28pm

Laurents didn't see Ravinia, but saw her in SWEENEY. He said this in the NYTimes article on this whole situation, when GYPSY was at City Center.

And Mendes met Patti when she did Divas At The Donmar in 1999 or 2000.

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 10:30pm

Laurents never said he didn't like her performance at CC. He said he was unhappy with ROSE'S TURN at CC. But that would be the fault of his direction.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 11:04pm

And, she didn't even blink, Patash. She won't then, she won't now.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 11:29pm

Husky--Arthur did not go to Ravinia to see the Gypsy there.