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
