Patti is out today- Page 2

[thatgirl712]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 4:38pm

Hope she's not too sick.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 4:44pm

I just got a text from RyToast that it's intermission, he loves Lenora, and we'll hear more later.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 4:48pm

I'm really excited to hear how Lenora did! and I kind of wish I was there.

[antiandrewx]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 4:49pm

Great acting, but she's struggling big time vocally.

I'll report more after the show.

[RyToast1]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 4:49pm

A quick hello! I love Lenora. You can tell she was nervous at first, but she is kicking so much ass. The box office was MAD with angry people wanting their money back. I had to tell a old lady off cuz she was saying she doesn't even like Patti. I was like, then why the f**k did you come? She shut right up!!

Anyhow, I got 2 student rush tickets ORCH B 2 & 4 at 3pm. Loving it!

Oh, and Patti IS the only one out.

More later for real!

And, Everthing's Coming Up Roses gave me chills!!! You know how much I love Patti, but Lenora is totally holding her own!

[antiandrewx]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 6:23pm

Happy to report her second act was very good. She's very different than Patti. Her Roses Turn was truly outstanding. I will write up a longer review later tonight.

Lenora should be very proud of herself.

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 6:27pm

So glad to here.

[BwayLover]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 6:30pm

YAY - Happy to hear. Looking forward to the report!

[RyToast1]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 6:54pm

OK, I have to run out in a minute, but I needed to pop in real quick.


The second act was even more solid than the first. There were a few mistakes or slip ups here and there throughout, but what can you expect? I'm sure she wasn't able to rehearse nearly as much as she would've liked to. Her Rose's Turn was truly unforgettable. It was so authentic...Rose is finally taking her moment to have the spotlight, and I feel that's how Lenora was too...after having stood aside while Patti played the role, she finally got to play Rose on Broadway. I loved her. LOVED HER!!

Everyone else was exceptional as always. This was the first time I had seen the show since it opened. I have a few questions though...
1) The coats that Louise makes out of blankets. They're new, right?
2) The little boys who argue during Baby June & Her Newsboys over whose turn it is. That was new to me.

Also, Lenora wore a different dress for Rose's Turn. It was black with red things at the top and on the sleeves. Eh.



She should feel so so proud of herself. She kicked butt. I'm sure I'll have more to add later!

[RyToast1]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 6:55pm

Oh, and Dorothy Stanley. Didn't like her...at all.

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 7:07pm

I'm so happy to hear how well she did.

Besides ROSE'S TURN were the rest of her costumes the same as Patti's?

How was her singing?

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 7:09pm

woo! I'm glad to hear Lenora was fierce.

how was her chemistry with Boyd?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 7:19pm

Did the audience go crazy after ROSES TURN?

[antiandrewx]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 7:22pm

Same costumes, same wig.

Singing was so/so in most places. There were some vocal issues - she had trouble really belting it out.

Chemistry was solid. Boyd was comforting Lenora on the wings during certain scenes. She was SO nervous. Curtain call was very cute - the entire cast clapped for her onstage at the end.

Laura was the best Ive ever seen her.

Audience did not go wild after Roses Turn, but it got a great response. They seemed to pull the Rose sign up quicker than they do with Patti. And Laura came out faster.

Laura got a lengthy entrance applause.
Updated On: 5/4/08 at 07:22 PM

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 7:27pm

Were there a lot of empty seats?

[MungoGypsy8232]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 7:30pm

Since there are two standbys for the role of Miss Cratchit, how do they split that when Lenora isn't there?

[pippin2]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 8:29pm

Saw the show last night, Patti did not appear to be sick at all. She, Laura, and Boyd were all absolutely fantastic. All three seem to get better and better every time I see it. Leigh Ann sounded fabulous, though I worry that perhaps she's starting to take the dead-pan, over enunciation shtick to a degree where its more distracting than funny. Happy to hear that Lenora did a good job.

[antiandrewx]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 9:12pm

I'm going to preface this by saying that I have seen Patti in Gypsy 10 times so far (not counting City Center - I know, I have problems) so my views of the show would differ from someone who isn't so...used to seeing Patti perform, and the rest of the cast performing with her.

The scene outside the box office before the show was not the scene that one would expect when Patti LuPone calls out of Patti LuPone Gypsy. It shockingly calm. There were many people who were clearly upset that she wasn't there, but the line to get into the theatre was infinitely longer than the refund line. A lot of people did get refunds, but it wasn't a majority by any means.

Inside the theatre, the atmosphere was much different than the other times that I've seen Gypsy. It was quiet, and there wasn't an aura of excitement that there usually is. There were a few pissed off people sitting near me, but other than that, people weren't saying much. Lenora got a semi-entrance applause - some of it was out of pity (to be blunt).

She started out fine. Immediately I knew this would be a different show. Lenora just simply does not have the energy or the stage presence that Patti has. (But really, who does?) It was a different kind of energy coming off of the stage. She was NERVOUS as heck. She didn't flub much in the first few scenes - just a line here or there. Her "Some People" was okay. She didn't win me over vocally. It seemed like every time she was going to belt, she sounded really whiny. There's a lot of power behind her voice, though.

I really enjoyed her acting throughout the first act. Her chemistry with Boyd was solid - but I just felt like, due to her age, it looked different. Like Herbie might not have fallen for Rose like the did. Just something minute, because their overall chemistry did not show that at all. She missed her entrance after the boys give Louise her birthday gifts, so there was like 15 seconds of awkwardness where the boys just kind of jumped around singing happy birthday. She flubbed a line during "Mr. Goldstone" which was actually hilarious. During the first verse, out of nowhere, she said Mr. Eggroll instead of Mr. Goldstone.

Her acting before Everything's Coming Up Roses was absolutely amazing. I actually preferred her line readings to some of Patti's. However, vocally, she just did not match up. She reminded me a lot of Bernadette in many ways - one being that her acting was able to outshine her not so great vocals. She got lost behind the music, too, which kind of ruined the ending. She got way behind and was never able to recover.

Lenora's second act was much better. The scene while she's getting Louise ready was my favorite of hers. It was very different from Patti's. With Patti, Rose is more serious and almost acts as if she knows what she's doing is wrong, but is going to do it no matter what. Lenora's Rose was jumping around, dancing, laughing, smiling during it - it was disturbing. Her Rose was overjoyed by the fact that her daughter was going to be the star for once. Her Dressing Room scene was spot on as well. She wasn't as loud as Patti was, and it was interesting to see how Laura changed the way she read her lines - she didn't yell anything. It worked.

Rose's Turn was outstanding. My favorite part was how she said, "Here's Rose." She said it really softly - it worked REALLY well for her. Her "mama's" were amazing. Every single one of them was different - the end result being heartbreaking. Again she got lost behind the music, but she was able to catch up pretty fast. She got a great response, though no where near the response Patti gets. They seemed to bring the Rose sign up faster and Laura entered pretty quickly.

The look of accomplishment in Lenora's eyes as her entire company clapped for her onstage during her curtain call was a wonderful thing to see. She should absolutely be proud of herself. This was her first time on and she received less than two hours notice that she would be going on.

I'm glad I got to see Lenora as Rose. She gave an amazing performance, and it also reminded me just how incredible Patti is. She show really rests on Patti, and her not being there seemed to impact the entire cast - and not in a negative way, really. There was just something missing on the stage (obviously).

Brava to Lenora for a FABULOUS first performance. I hope she'll get to go on again and get the chance to grow a little in the role.

By the way, the audience wasn't that empty, as I mentioned above. The enthusiasm was extremely low, though. It was a weird show.

[LadyRosecoe]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 9:21pm

Was she perhaps behind on the music because she was taking it slower than Patti does (not to criticize though, she builds up speed and becomes unstoppable and it's wonderful, but fast all the same)?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 9:21pm

Wow, thanks for the detailed review, andrew. I can only imagine how nervous Lenora must have been, I mean when she woke up today she had no idea she'd go on, and then this? That's crazy. The beauty of live theater. Good for her. I'm sure Patti will be back in full force on Tuesday.

[JaredBway]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 9:25pm

I was there as well. I have to agree with most things people are saying. LN did a great job considering this was her first time going on. Her voice was great, yes a bit whiny at times but was still very good. The only time I was unimpressed with her was the last note of everythings coming up roses. she didnt hold it long and it wasnt supported well. she definately held her own and delivered an amazing roses turn. i on the other hand loved dorothy stanley and would really love to see her take a crack at rose. but i dont think that will happen.

[antiandrewx]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 9:25pm

Was she perhaps behind on the music because she was taking it slower than Patti does (not to criticize though, she builds up speed and becomes unstoppable and it's wonderful, but fast all the same)?

Yeah, she definitely was a LOT slower then Patti normally is. Significantly so, and at times, it really ended up hurting her. It also seemed like some of the lyrics she was unsure of, so she went slower to make sure she didn't miss any of them. (I especially noticed this during Some People and Together.) She also messed up a verse during Small World, but recovered well.

Her Rose's Turn dress was UGLY though. All of her other costumes - and her wig - were the same as Patti's. I don't know why they made her wear a different dress for Rose's Turn.

Updated On: 5/4/08 at 09:25 PM

[zooxanthellae]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 9:29pm

thanks so much for posting your review antiandrewx!

congrats to Lenora!

[antiandrewx]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 9:32pm

You're welcome!

In case anyone wanted to see what was posted all over the ENTIRE theatre:


There were people who worked at the theatre walking up and down the line announcing that Patti wasn't there as well.

[kate2]

Posted: 5/4/08 at 9:46pm

My mom and I had tickets for the show today and were looking forward to seeing Patti. I bought the tickets as a mother's day gift for my Mom, and when we got there to see those signs everywhere, we got a refund and bought tickets for the 27th. I was curious to see Lenora, but my mom really wanted to see Patti (so did I), so she suggested that we get the tickets for a later date.