Your thoughts on something Patti said at the stage door...?

So I was at GYPSY Tuesday and it was great. Afterwards I didn't know if I wanted to stage door and set myself up for disappointment, but I did anyway. Though many stars like Rosie O'Donnell, Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Groff, Beth Leavel, and even Tony Yazbeck and Leigh Ann Larkin at GYPSY agreed to let me take photos with them, I could tell by Patti's mood that I shouldn't even ask. I had been warned on here that she doesn't pose for photos, so I wasn't surprised, but something she said to a young man after she finsihed signing my Playbill did surprise me.

Unlike me, this guy, who was probably in his 20's, planned what he was going to say to her as she walked by. He said, "I really want to get into show business and you're my inspiration." She looked him in they eye, something I wish I could say she did to me, and said, "Honey, it ain't pretty."

Then he starts crying after she leaves in her SUV. Now, I can't figure out if he was happy because she looked him in the eye and spoke to him or sad because she crushed his dreams, but it makes ME sad that she would say something like that to someone who obviously adores her. She had a huge revival of a show that was just done on Broadway mounted for her, she won the Tony, and she's currently in the role of a lifetime, yet she says show business "ain't pretty".

Thoughts?

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Updated On: 8/17/08 at 12:58 AM

She told the truth, as simple as that.

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I have probably done over 45 auditions in professional theatre. I have only got 2. It really is not a pretty business like she said. It is hard and she was just telling him the truth so he did not get his hopes up, You have a very small chance of getting to Patti's level in the industry. So that is why she said it.

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I think the young man was overly sensitive. He should know it's a tough business.

It's not like she's making it up.

Patti of all people right now would know that it's no walk in the park.

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ANYONE who is told "You are my inspiration," should say, "Thank you" and demonstrate at least a modicum of humility...even if the second they step into their SUV they have completely forgotten all about it.

Following "Thank you" with "It ain't pretty" or following "It ain't pretty" with "But thank you" works, too.

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I'm sure he said, "you're," actually.

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I wanted to say that it all depends on how she said "honey, it aint pretty." But really...it doesn't. It really was a jarring thing to say. Clearly, the entertainment business is difficult. And everyone knows whether it be theatre, tv, popular music, classical music....the entertainment business is like a shark pool. lol. But when a fan praises you for one quick second, you don't spend the 3 seconds you have to say something to him to shut his dreams down. And to those that say she was just telling the truth, that he was going to get his hopes crushed in the end...thats bull****. There are tons of performers who say all the time that it was when so and so told me to never give up, that i knew i would make it someday. When you are an icon, you are supposed to encourage youth. I'm training to be a pro clarinetist and when I studied with Charles Neidich (the number one solo clarinetist in the world) once and I told him "I want to be like you someday," he told me "You have what it takes and never give up no matter what." Obviously I know the music business is difficult and the chances of getting jobs are equivalent to the chances of becoming a professional basketball player yet he encouraged me powerfully. Idols are supposed to encourage, not discourage.

I love Patti Lupone as a performer...but she's always had her "be-yotch" moments off the stage.

Still, she could have said "Thank you." I mean, it has as many syllables as "Honey," which she could have omitted.

This isn't about "Patti" or any other "celebrity," it's about being a grown-up and graciously accepting a compliment. You can be a "realist" and still say "Thank you."

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It sounds like she was offering a small kindness. After a few years in the business he will look back on that night and marvel.

I won't express an opinion on what she said because I wasn't there to hear her exact words or the tone of her voice or to see whether she was smiling or not. What I will say is this: the fact that, nowadays, an off-hand remark made by a Broadway star can be posted anonymously on the internet and made part of the public record for anyone to read and comment on, kinda proves her point - don't ya think?

Wait-was she looking into his eyes, seeing her own reflection and reacting to seeing herself with "honey it ain't pretty?"

LOL, ppc1979

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