With All Due Respect to Patti....- Page 3

[iliketheater]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 12:55am

(btw Jazzy, I'm not a huge fan of the score either, but for some reason it didn't bother me as much when I was watching it*)

[Testing1232]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 1:54am

<< Opinions on this topic will vary, Testing1232. Just because a person might disagree with your particular opinion does not mean they are theatrically ignorant. >>

September,

PLEASE show me where I made even the slightest implication of this. I have abslutely no problem at all (obviously... this is a public forum) with anyone that might disagree with me.

I was just stating MY opipion... Just feel that LaChanze gives a more memorable performance.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 2:35am

I honestly feel like Celie is a memorable role, and people confuse that with a memorable performance. I saw La Chanze twice - once the first preview, and the second about a month or so after opening. I found both performances equally good, yet equally forgettable. Whoopi Goldberg gave a memorable performance. Due to the poor writing of the musical, to me, La Chanze's performance can never quite get up there. Great role, amazing story. Suitable performance, mediocre musical.

Posted: 5/29/06 at 10:19am

I can't see Patti L. losing. A beloved Broadway Star giving an acclaimed performance in a legendary role who hasn't won a Tony since 1980 - It's her year. Hell, I would have given her another Tony a few years ago for her astonishing work in David Mamet's THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD and she wasn't even nominated. But I digress - I just loved her in that play.

Posted: 5/29/06 at 10:30am

"I don't think Patti is in dire need of yet another Tony,She respects her art too much to care."

Oh give me a break - She cares!

[Christoph]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 10:37am

Ugh. Sadly I think it is a foregone conclusion that this is LuPone's year to win, although she does not deserve it based on the performance she gave the night I saw ST. I went with a large group of friends and co-workers and many of us were looking forward to seeing her in this role, especially based on the notices. She came out and rushed through many of her numbers in a totally lifeless fashion, as though her mind were on what she would be doing after the show. She briefly came to life during the Little Priest number before returning to zombie mode. Perhaps we would not have noticed as much if the other cast members, especially Manoel Felciano and Michael Cerveris, were not so superior. None of us were the least impressed with her that evening, so I hope that was an exception and not an example of what she contributes every night. Either way, I would never be compelled to see a show based on her being a co-lead. Have not seen La Chanze as yet, but if I had to pick I would favor any of the other three nominees (Rivera, Foster or O'Hara) over the lackluster effort Patti gave on our night. The only good thing I can say about her is that she compelled me to purchase the DVD of the original Sweeney Todd with Angela Lansbury to see what a true professional did with the role.

[mrslovett7]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 10:43am

wonder, I posted that picture heehee, i Lov-ett!!

okay hanway, I'm really rooting for Patti too. I know her role isn't this huge dramatic thing and no she doesn't dance a whole lot but her sublities in that role just make it. she owns that role like no other.

[bella cantato]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 10:54am

I would take what everyone has to say here with a grain of salt. I mean, maybe Patti has all the hype... but with that, there come high expectations which sometimes cause more harm for an actor than good. If LaChanze doesn't win, I do not believe it was a "race" thing; I am going to choose to believe that the Broadway community has surpassed that. However, I think the fact remains that this is going to be an extremely tight race, either way. There certainly are many LaChanze/Patti threads, and fewer about Sutton Foster and Kelli O'Hara who, in any other year, might have been shoe-ins. And Chitta Rivera? A legend!

Basically, I think that this race is far from over, and I don't think it's necessarily just between LaChanze and Patti.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 12:25pm

Rose Sayer, she has been in the business over 30 years and already got her Tony, I doubt her foremost concern is getting another when she has her work to focus on. I get the impression from her that she is one to think of having a good time at the awards rather than being a competitive bitch with other enormously respected individuals.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 12:25pm

Christoph, this is what I'm talking about in my earlier thread. That zombie like air she had is called a character. That's the choice she made. That's not lackluster. I think a lot of people tend to forget that in THIS production Mrs Lovett is not the role. The role is this mental patient playing Mrs. Lovett, which is why I thought Patti was brilliant. She took the patient that she created and infused it in every ounce of Mrs. Lovett. Just because she was different than Angie AND herself in that concert doesn't mean she was giving a lackluster performance. SHe made a decision along with John Doyle that this is the affliction of her mental patient and as a result Mrs. Lovett had the same affliction. NOtice how even when she's playing a random cymbal in the background she stays consistant. I would think twice before throwing around insults implying she's not a professional because it seems like you missed what it means to be a consummate professional.
Updated On: 5/29/06 at 12:25 PM

Posted: 5/29/06 at 12:36pm

JV92 re Patti LuPone: "She reinvented and reinterpreted a legendary role and did it wondefully. She should win and will win."

If there was any re-inventing and re-interpreting, it's the director's fault. Patti LuPone is just being Patti LuPone, the only thing she's capable of. I hope we get to see her mean-spirited face again at the Tonys when she loses like we did when Joanna Gleason won for Into The Woods.

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 12:50pm

mrslovett7, that was awesome. I love it!

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 12:57pm

Tom14850, you must be a VERY blind and close-minded person if you can't realize Patti recreated the character COMPLETELY.

If you can't realize that her interpretation of the character is TOTALLY different from her concert intepretation of the character, there is a problem.

She is a mental patient telling Mrs Lovett's story. She embodies the character, and does it wonderfully.

If you ask me, you are the mean-spirited person.

[Christoph]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 4:56pm

Jazzysuite82, Why is it that when anyone says they did not like the LuPone performance her defenders come up with an artistic reason for why she seemed like a zombie? No one else in this cast came off that way, so why is she cut any slack on this? She is a premier Broadway performer handed a meaty role in an acclaimed stage play. The end result should not be a total lack of stage presence and the ability to be upstaged by the entire remainder of the cast. By that reasoning, I could sit here and come up with all sorts of "artistic" reasons of why Julia Roberts deadly dull performance in Three Days of Rain was "brilliant" but misunderstood just because some people did not "understand" her high-brow interpretation. Please, let's just agree to disagree on this particular subject.

Posted: 5/29/06 at 8:41pm

By saying Patti cares does not mean I think she's a competitive bitch! I know people who have worked with her and she loves to win awards! And why not? It's great fun. And what if she is competitive? There's nothing wrong with that. It does not however make her a bitch!

I hope I'm wrong! I want LaChanze!!!!! I thought she was glorious!

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 9:30pm

Hello, I am rooting for Miss Patti to win for "Sweeney Todd." I figure her chances are helped immeasurably by the wonderful notices for the show in general. Plus, she has received fantastic notices from the critics. On the other hand, LaChanze has received good reviews for her performance, but her show in general, has not. It will be a close race....but me thinks that Miss Patti LuPone will win the Tony. from Roman in Austin, Texas... the official Patti LuPone FANatic

Updated On: 5/29/06 at 09:30 PM

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 11:13pm

Chistoph, Actually I don't wanna agree to disagree, I'd rather talk about it. I think it's fun. It might be possible that the people who got her performance are defending her because it was a what? An artistic choice. You may ask what? Patti Lupone make an artistic choice? I know it's sooooo crazy to do with a role. Incidentally you must not have been paying much attention to Alexander G.'s portrayl of the Beadle. He was truly a zombie and once again that was his choice.

Here's the thing, I could care less whether you liked her performance or not. I liked it that's all the really matters to me. What isn't fair and what really annoys me is your complete disregard for the fact that she MADE a choice and is actually a talented performer. To say you're going to buy the DVD to see a true professional is a rather ignorant. Now honestly, I hated Alex G as the Beadle. But I won't sit here and say he's not a pro cause I didn't like his choice. I saw his choice and disagreed. That's the only reason I even commented on your post. I mean from the tone of your initial post you seemed to be going to see PATTI LUPONE do Mrs Lovett and it wasn't the huge English operetta performance you were expecting.
Updated On: 5/29/06 at 11:13 PM

[folkyboy]

Posted: 5/30/06 at 12:03am

you're making me want to see The Color Purple now, damn you!