So happy that Patti and Glenn had a rapprochement- Page 3

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 6:07pm

Bettyboy, I could not be more in agreement with you. Yes, Patti is very talented and yes, I find her book to be a fascinating read but...yeah, I wouldn't invite her over for dinner anytime soon.

[logan2]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 4:07pm

Bettyboy has Buckley in the Norma drag as his avatar. That's what makes his comments really funny.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 4:16pm

And this coming out right at the time that Andrew Lloyd Webber announces that he is doing a musical version of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" with Glenn playing the Joan Crawford role. Oh who will they ever get to play the Bette Davis role?

[sjallyn2]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 7:00pm

I'm always amazed when people say things "with authority" that are simply not true. The situations are both different and similar, but, you are very wrong about what happened. 1st, I am very close with Carole Demas, and Kurt Petersen (the young Love interest) and Teri Ralston (Carole's understudy) and Carol DeGuirre who wrote the Stephen Schwartz Biography, so I know what happened. there were NO auditions, there was a problem with the show and the problem had nothing to do with Carole (who was receiving standing ovations for her work, and rave reviews from the New York and Los Angleles times among many others, when she opened in Los Angeles) The problem was TOPOL who was the bigger star at the time, and had been hired to play the Baker as a kind, sweet man of a certain age ala Tevye, but french. TOPOL did not want to play it that way, he wanted to be strong and hard edged, which was not at all the original concept of the Baker's wife and her dilemma between the sweet older man she married and the hot young guy she fell for. Unable to get Topol to do what they wanted, the producers (David Merrick) decided that their only option was to get a much harder edged Genevieve and so, in typical, miserable show biz fashion, they hired Patti, while Carole was playing the role. This lead to an Actor's equity trial which Carole won. Meanwhile, Patti did go on to replace Carole, as they kept on firing everyone, the director, choreographer, etc. eventually fired Topol too, but by then the damage was done and the show died out of town. Stephen Schwartz, in his published biography stated that Carole Demas was scapegoated.

She is every bit the performer that Patti is, she just has a warmer, sweeter essence, which sometimes hides the power beneath. And indeed her rendition of Meadowlark (among many other songs of hers) has been praised by everyone who hears her including Ann Hampton Calloway, Seth Rudetsky and every reviewer who has come to her shows.

Her career took a decidedly different path from Patti, but she is still very active, performing all over the world in Concerts, Cabaret and wide range of benefit performances for worthy causes.

Being replaced is done by the producers, it is not the actor's "fault" nor do they owe anything to the person who came before them, other than courtesy and understanding that this can be a very painful and brutal business. It is the Producers who owe apologies all around.

Sp Please do not promote "stories" about shows and/or people when you do not know all the facts.
Carole's website

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 7:07pm

Well said.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 7:09pm

sjallyn2, it's been widely publicized that Merrick wanted "Meadowlark" out of the show. Do you know if that was the case when Carole was playing the role or only when Patti took over?

[gossipguy215]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 7:56pm

Carole was amazing (her "Meadowlark", while different than Patti's, is simply wonderful), and I'm sure if the Director/Producers had fired Topol, the love that exits between the two characters would have been there and they would have been able to focus on the real problems: The Book, The Set, and The Orchestrations.

The Book: It was not the strongest thing for a musical, especially when the movie (which had no singing) was great. Merrick thought that the show as too long (despite only running two hours) and thought That "Meadowlark" was too long and got the point across in seven minutes in what could have been done in three (hence the three minute version that was heard in Boston). The song was simply amazing and should never have been cut, in full or part. The weakness of the book led to heavy revisions that left the show with VERY short scenes between the songs by the time it graced Washington (by that time the show ran 100 minutes with the full "Meadowlark"). The show was almost sung-through, the only real scenes were Exposition (after "Chanston") after The Wife leaves (After "Meadowlark") and right before the Finale.

The Set: Served its purpose but, like Sunset Boulevard, moved, but you never knew when. The Cafe would turn during "Gifts of Love" and Patti would have to ignore it, no matter how obvious.

The Orchestrations: BRASS. There was not nearly enough Strings, which you need to invoke a feeling of the French Countryside. The only song that really got this was "Meadowlark" (Especially at the very end, after the long held "And I" when the strings trill and hit the final note - Simply Stephen at his best).

NOW ABOUT "SUNSET BOULEVARD": Patti was fired because of Andrew Loyd Webber, no one else (not the producers). He was so sensitive to bad reception and not only did he revise the show for LA, he lowered the keys for Close (this might not seem like much, but to Patti it was personal as he had refused to lower the keys for "Evita", even though she was killing her voice). After Close got the rave reviews and he wanted her for Broadway (once again for the reviews), He didn't want to be seen as the bad guy so he tried to blame the producers, Paramount, and others that they wanted Close, but they all called BS on him, leaving him to deny that it was him and him alone to choose Close (But we all know it's him).

PS I Personally love both portrayals of Norma, but I though Close went overboard on the crazy (leave it for the end, so it's a shock), and Patti went a little light on it (until she was fired, then she OWNED it). But, if I had to choose a CD, Patti all the time (Close can act, but her singing...)





Updated On: 5/15/13 at 07:56 PM