Seeing La LuPone tonight in Bev Hills

[lovebwy]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 12:37pm

with Seth Rudetsky.

Last time they did this here (Santa Monica) there was a late show and an early show. I went to the early. At the late show, she did Rainbow High AND With One Look. Did not do them at my show. I was actually depressed over it for a few days. (I know, I'm kinda crazy)

Once again tonight there will be a late and early show. This time, though I can ill afford it, I got tickets to BOTH!!

Can't wait.

 

 

 

Posted: 2/14/18 at 12:49pm

Have fun!  Keep us posted.  Has Patti had her hip surgery yet?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 1:11pm

Deena Jones said: "Have fun! Keep us posted. Has Patti had her hip surgery yet?"

Yes. Either her son or her husband (I forget who) tweeted a photo of Patti shortly after the surgery.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 1:12pm

Yup, she did!

[Lot666]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 1:17pm

lovebwy said: "At the late show, she did Rainbow High AND With One Look. Did not do them at my show. I was actually depressed over it for a few days. (I know, I'm kinda crazy)"

I would've been too!

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 1:17pm

Whenever an artist does 2 shows, always go to 2nd show. Not only are they in a better mood having tested the material in that venue but 1st shows have a set end time to allow a break between shows and emptying venue for 2nd show audience. 2nd show can run as long as they want so extra material is always performed.

[Ben_Platt_Out]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 1:23pm

Please take plenty of photos during her performance.  I heard she loves that kind of stuff.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 1:23pm

Yup, Brody! Lesson learned.

I first got tickets to the 9:30pm show tonight. I couldn't afford to get them both at once. Then they sold out. Last night at 7:30 the theater called me to tell me they had a singles (I'd requested to be put on stand-by) for the early show, so I bit the bullet and bought another one!

Also, the early audience last time was TERRIBLE! Lots of elderly folk who didn't seem to really know who Patti was. The later audience had a ton of celebs.

Patti was on-hand yesterday to make a speech at Mandy Patinkin's star on the walk of fame induction. Is it too much to hope he may make a cameo tonight to return the favor? Stay tuned!

 

 

 

Updated On: 2/14/18 at 01:23 PM

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 1:28pm

He may!  In her benefit Deconstructing Patti, she had a number of people on hand do do duets with her.  Raul Esparza (sp?) did a number with her from Evita and she with With One Look as an encore.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 1:32pm

If I get to see her do With One Look, I will absolutely DIE!

[Cat Guy]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 1:47pm

lovebwy said: "Also, the early audience last time was TERRIBLE! Lots of elderly folk who didn't seem to really know who Patti was. The later audience had a ton of celebs."

 

Damned elderly folk!  What right do they have to go out in public and enjoy their lives?  

 

[lovebwy]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 2:34pm

I'm fine with the elderly. I love 'em. I just saying these folks- I think must have been season ticket holders or something. I heard lots of comments beforehand suggesting they didn't really know from Patti, or didn't expect it to be very good. It was just kind of a dead audience though the show.

Trust me, being elderly will happen to me sooner than I think. I know that. I have no problem with them in and of themselves.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 2/14/18 at 6:02pm

adamgreer said: "Deena Jones said: "Have fun! Keep us posted. Has Patti had her hip surgery yet?"

Yes. Either her son or her husband (I forget who) tweeted a photo of Patti shortly after the surgery."

Obviously it’s not my family, but I found that to be in very poor taste. She’s very private about her personal life AND is not on any form of social media. I’d be really surprised if her son asked her if he could post a picture online. (I assume that, like I did with family when my father had surgery, her husband sent their son a picture to let him know that she was okay. I don’t think consent to post online was implied.)

 

PS: I’m no fun at parties. 

PPS: Deconstructing Patti was so fun, and I think she’ll do a great show tonight, lovebway 

[conealpetterson]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 12:09pm

How was the show? Were there any special guests? I was so sad to miss this.

[PepperedShepherd]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 12:58pm

I was at the second show last night.  From what Seth said at the beginning, our audience was much more lively than the earlier one.  Perhaps lovebwy or anyone else who was at both -- lucky souls! -- could comment further.

As for the show: It was glorious. I've seen Patti many times in concert (including twice at the Wallis) but this was by far one of the best.  Even though fewer songs were sung, the banter, the casualness, the humor, and the free-for-all spirit was absolutely infectious.

Songs included:  Everything's Coming Up Roses, Sleepy Man, Anything Goes, Meadowlark, I Dreamed A Dream, Don't Cry For Me Argentina, Trouble, Invisible, Being Alive, and My Way.  But the highlight (for me) was during one of the several encores, when Seth was joined by a friend (didn't catch his name) who sang Magaldi's part -- with Seth doing Che -- in a performance of the whole Eva & Magaldi/Eva Beware of the City/Buenos Aires sequence.

Patti sounded magnificent throughout.  (Though I thought she seemed a little off at the start of Sleepy Man -- her second song -- as soon as Seth joined in on harmony, she locked right in.)  You could tell that even Seth was impressed with what she is still able to accomplish. And the audience ate it up!  I know that I could have easily sat there for another couple hours.

 

 

Updated On: 2/15/18 at 12:58 PM

[Lot666]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 1:10pm

Nothing from Sunset Boulevard? 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 1:12pm

Did they talk about the supposed 'burying of the hatchet' with Webber?

[lovebwy]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 1:13pm

conealpetterson, I'm so glad you asked!

To quickly answer your question, it was excellent. She was in fine voice, and the conversation was at turns juicy and engaging.  

I'm very glad I went to both shows. The first show had the story about her detente with Andrew Lloyd Webber (I will related that in my next reply here). But the audience was kinda so-so. Judd and Maude Apatow where there, with Leslie Mann. Patti's voice was very, very strong in the first show. And she did the duet Old Fashioned Wedding with Peter Gallagher, who is shockingly handsome at age 62. For the finale of show 1, she did My Way, which I'd never seen her sing before. She OWNS My Way. It is ABOUT her!

The reason I went to two shows was that last time I went to the first show, and she sang Rainbow High AND As If We Never Said Goodbye at the second show! I was heartsick to have missed those. I know that sounds crazy, but I was. So I was hoping to see her sing either of these last night, and went so far as to shoot Seth an email requesting Rainbow High. Those songs didn't happen, but that's ok. I already dealt with missing them five years ago. I have a suspicion that her days of singing those particular two songs are over. I have to figure Seth knows best.

So, show two. The audience was WAY more enthusiastic. That guy that does the gay minstrel show on ABC was there. 3 standing ovations. Thing is, I thiiiiiink during the break between shows, Patti did a little imbibing. And at some point she called for champaign, which her husband dutifully delivered to her on-stage. She was looser. Told about meeting the Merm, and hanging out with Ann Miller. Her voice started to flag a bit. Not BAD, but you could tell it was a bit tired. I can understand why she's saying "no more musicals" 8 shows a week must be murder for her instrument. She can still deliver, absolutely, but I think she's getting to a place in her life where it's more difficult to maintain. Company is actually perfect. One big song a night. Bada bing. Oh she told the whole story about being cast in the new production, she said she's being paid next to nothing, but she loves the director so much she could not say no. She sang Being Alive, which I first saw her sing live 25 years ago at Carnegie Hall. One of the little clues that her voice was a bit tired by that time is that she didn't do that final note (she DID it, but stepped it down) 

So the BEST part, the part where I was fangurling the hardest- for the final number of show two, Seth had an old friend of his come up to do Eva Beware of the City with Patti. I couldn't believe I got to sit there and listen to Patti sing/talk "SCREW the middle classes, I will never ACCEPT them, and they will never DENY me anything again!" And she went straight into Buenos Aires, for which her voice seemed to regain full strength. The audience went NUTS. I could barely keep still in my seat the whole time.

I adore this woman. I think she's better than anybody- Streisand even. The first time I saw her (other than in ubiquitous TV ads for Evita when I was 10 years old) was in Anything Goes. It was December 1988 and I was 18. I invited my freshman roommate (who I had a big crush on), and we stayed in my dad's company's suite at the Dorset. I didn't know anything about Patti LuPone, but my English teacher from senior year told me to see it.

Patti knocked me on my ass that night. Nothing wound up happening in the Dorset, but I still had my first gay experience that night when I saw Patti belt out the title song in front of rows of tap dancing sailors. I've never seen anything like her performance. Never! l I've been obsessed with her since. When I first got to LA, she played the Geffen (1993) and I've seen her multiple times at the Hollywood Bowl, and in Orange Country, and I've traveled to NY to see her on Broadway. I suffered for her during the Sunset Blvd fiasco. I love her in a way I don't love any other performer.

I have a feeling last night *may* be the last time I get to see her perform live. If it was, it was a very fitting ending to my 30 year love affair. She will never know what she meant to me, but I really hope she's afforded some big honor like Kennedy Center or something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated On: 2/15/18 at 01:13 PM

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 1:21pm

Sounds like an amazing night and I don't think we can begrudge a performer of ANY age for sounding a little tired after doing two shows featuring, essentially, ten 11 o'clock numbers each.  That's a lot of vocal weight.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 1:25pm

Right, yes, absolutely. I don't begrudge it in the least. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it, but I did wanna give a straightforward appraisal. It was a pretty magical evening.

We won't see her like again.

 

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 3:24pm

Sean Hayes was there last night also.  A friend of mine has a picture with the two of them together with the caption "SHUT UP PATTI LUPONE"

[bwayboy22]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 3:36pm

But what happened with the detente!?

[lovebwy]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 6:11pm

I'll post the Grammys story tonight! Watch this space.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 11:56pm

Uh, I thought I posted the entire ALW/LuPone/Grammys story here earlier. Did anyone see it? Did it get deleted?

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/16/18 at 12:03am

Could you post the Grammy story again? I'd love to read it.