Patti's At It Again!- Page 3

[Loopin’theloop]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 6:54am

poisonivy2 said: "Although Midler being "temperamental" in Hello Dolly! is news to me. I know she was compensated handsomely for her involvement but I never heard of any tensions in the Hello Dolly! crew. If anything seems like that was one of the tighter Broadway casts of recent years.

ETA: I don't see why Bernadette Peters is inauthentic. Maybe she genuinely appreciates the people she works with. Some people are like that. For instance is Lin Manuel Miranda "inauthentic" because you're not going to get a negative quote about him? Donna Murphy? Kelli O'Hara? I think to survive in the business as long as some of these people have survived one way to do it is to genuinely like the people you work with. Doesn't mean everything is sunshine and roses, but Patti's brand of "candor" is not the only way to authentic."

Bernadette Peters is very, very private but the version of her you have in interviews is pretty much exactly as she is in reality. She’s very much about the work. She has a good sense of humour and she’s kind but she often keeps herself to herself and concentrates on the job. 

[binau]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 7:12am

I just wish she’d be a little less private. Bernadette Peters is both a public persona and performer. She has had among the most amazing career experiences of any Broadway performer and worked with many of the greats, but we don’t really know about them. And we don’t really know about her or her personal life. What keeps her up at night. What are her highs and lows. It’s all “Bernadette Peters” smile and look preserved for decades.

I prefer Patti’s open personally. But of course I respect that if Bernadette doesn’t want to share she doesn’t have to. I just think there is a lot to give - she needs to do a tell all autobiography I think.

Updated On: 10/12/18 at 07:12 AM

[binau]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 7:12am

...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 9:24am

How dare you.

As much as possible, I try to dare with ease, efficiency, honesty and accuracy.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 9:58am

I don't even know if it's just that Bernadette is a private person, because for as open and honest as she is about her professional life, Patti talks relatively little about her personal life.

And to poisonivy's question about whether Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kelli O'Hara or Donna Murphy are authentic and honest even if they don't share their negative opinions, I do think some of them are. I think that Donna Murphy seems like a down-to-earth person whose statements are not run through a PR machine to get sanitized. I don't think LMM is terribly authentic, because the whole "g'morning! g'night!" thing seems like an act to me. (Although full disclosure that I also could not tell if my cousin's wife, who is from old Texas money, was actually that nice or if it was just for show. She's actually that nice.)

I think we all read people differently, and have our own ideas of what constitutes authenticity, but you made a really good point in bringing up some other performers and asking about whether they are also authentic, even if they're not like Patti.

[ABitOnTheSide]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 10:10am

I find it amusing that some people on a liberal theater message board seem to think a woman in 2018 should censor her words.

Worth repeating again and again and again.

 

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 10:13am

JBC3 said: "Celebrities decline to answer questions all the time. She could do so if she wanted to avoid answering. Clearly, she likes playing the part of "tell it like it is" diva."

I don't think she cares what they ask. She agrees to do a certain amount of press to promote something when she's in it, and does it. As long as they mention that she is in Company right now, the rest is irrelevant, she did her bit for the production.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 10:17am

Why is Bernadette Peters often brought up in a Patti thread? I never thought of them as being polar opposites or anything like that. The only time I think of them together outside of grouping Broadway legends is the fact Bernadette got to play Rose first when Patti felt entitled to the role. Thank goodness Patti felt that way though because that was a performance of the ages.

Anyway, I don't think one has to be dishy or mean-spirited to be "real" or "authentic". Not everyone is messy as hard as it is to believe in this community.

[binau]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 10:48am

I think the main reason she was brought up in this thread is because they are both Broadway divas of a similar age but do indeed conduct themselves completely differently in a public/PR/interview context.

But as far as any perceived rivalry - if I recall someone asking Patti about it they don’t really know each other. But although Patti has never said it, surely given her insecurities about her relationship with Sondheim and some of her career interests there must be a tiny bit of envy. Or at least was at times in the past. LuPone tried to replace Bernadette in Sunday but was rejected. According to the NYtimes LuPone thought it was her that was going to play Rose in the Sam Mendes production, but was told she wasn’t “approved casting”. Bernadette was cast. She called Trevor Nunn to play Desiree but was never “called back” - then Bernadette replaced CZJ. She was apparently set to play the witch before Bernadette was but then “negotiations broke down even though [she] said yes”.

In typical Patti style all this info comes from her herself.

Updated On: 10/12/18 at 10:48 AM

[IHeartNY2]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 11:17am

Awfully big ego...does anyone outside of the theater bubble even know who she is? 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 12:53pm

givesmevoice said: "I don't even know if it's just that Bernadette is a private person, because for as open and honest as she is about her professional life, Patti talks relatively little about her personal life.

And to poisonivy'squestion about whether Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kelli O'Hara or Donna Murphy are authentic and honest even if they don't share their negative opinions, I do think some of them are. I think that Donna Murphy seems like a down-to-earth person whose statements are not run through a PR machine to get sanitized. I don't think LMM is terribly authentic, because the whole "g'morning! g'night!" thing seems like an act to me. (Although full disclosure that I also could not tell if my cousin's wife, who is from old Texas money, was actually that nice or if it was just for show. She's actually that nice.)

I think we all read people differently, and have our own ideas of what constitutes authenticity, but you made a really good point in bringing up some other performers and asking about whether they are also authentic, even if they're not like Patti."

See I often read Patti's interviews and don't find it "authentic." It almost feels like a schtick with her familiar targets and rants. As for who's "authentic" it's hard to tell unless you really know the person, but I don't think people who tend to accentuate the positive in interviews are less authentic. As I said it's a tough business and one way to survive in the business is to like what you do and be pleasant and professional to work with. 

[Kad]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 12:57pm

Patti's had a beyond-enviable career for over four decades and is still going strong. She knows what she's doing. The fact that we're discussing an interview of hers again is testament to that.

Updated On: 10/12/18 at 12:57 PM

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 4:16pm

I will always 100% support her right to say what she wants, and express herself in any way she sees fit. She shouldn't be censored. And I applaud her candor. 

I will also say that I (like everyone else on this board) have the same human right to say what I feel, which is that I can't stand her or her ego. I couldn't care less how much talent someone has - I'm never going to be a fan of someone who's unapologetically temperamental and petty and seems to wholly believe that she's better than everyone else. There are plenty of incredibly talented people who are genuinely kind and humble. Stardom is never an excuse for bitchiness. YMMV.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 6:24pm

I love Patti to pieces, and I completely support this interview, but her insecurities with Sondheim always surprise me. Elaine also made very similar comments about Sondheim.

Patti was famously offered the original Witch in Woods and turned it down because she wanted to play Cinderella, and was offered to originate Fosca and turned it down for Sunset Boulevard, making that one of her biggest regrets. Clearly, Sondheim does not dislike her.