Patti LuPone
(born April 21, 1949) is an American singer and actress, perhaps best known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 musical Evita
, and Mama Rose in "Gypsy", and in her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables
.
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Personal life
LuPone was born in
Northport, New York, the daughter of Angela Louise (née Patti), a college library administrator, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator.
[1] Her great-grand-aunt was the celebrated 19th-century opera singer
Adelina Patti.
[2] Her brother
Robert LuPone is an actor, dancer, and director. Her other brother William LuPone is a teacher. When they were young, they performed on Long Island as the LuPone Trio. She is of
Italian/
Sicilian descent and a graduate of
Northport High School, where she studied under the musical direction of voice coach Esther Scott.
[3] LuPone was part of the first graduating class of
Juilliard's Drama Division.
LuPone married Matthew Johnston on December 12, 1988 on the Vivian Beaumont Stage at Lincoln Center after filming the TV movie
LBJ
. They have one child, Joshua Luke Johnston (b. November 21, 1990). The family resides in
Connecticut.
[4] LuPone also once dated
Kevin Kline.
[5] [6]
Career
Theatre work
{{
#ifexist:Category:Cleanup from March 2008
In 1972
John Houseman formed
The Acting Company, a nationally touring repertory theater company. LuPone's stint with the Acting Company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she was featured in such works as
The Cradle Will Rock
,
The School for Scandal
,
Women Beware Women
,
The Beggar’s Opera
(1973),
The Time of Your Life
,
The Lower Depths
,
The Hostage
,
Next Time I’ll Sing to You
,
Measure for Measure
,
Scapin
,
Edward II
,
The Orchestra
,
Love’s Labours Lost
,
Arms and the Man
,
The Way of the World
, and
The Robber Bridegroom
(1975), for which she received a
Tony Award nomination. She made her Broadway debut in the play
Three Sisters
.
In 1976, producer
David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway original production
The Baker’s Wife
. The production toured at length, but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and closed it out-of-town.
Since 1977, LuPone has been a frequent collaborator with
David Mamet, appearing in his plays
The Woods
(1977),
All Men Are Whores
(1977),
The Blue Hour
(1978)
The Water Engine
(1978),
Edmond
(1982), and
The Old Neighborhood
(Broadway, 1997).
In 1978, she appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of
Studs Terkel's
Working
.
In 1979, LuPone achieved acclaim for her portrayal of
Eva Peron in the American premiere of the
Andrew Lloyd Webber-
Tim Rice musical
Evita
(1979), directed by
Harold Prince. Her much-lauded performance earned LuPone a 1980
Tony Award for leading actress in a musical, among other honors.
In 1983, founding alumni of
The Acting Company reunited for an Off-Broadway revival of
Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical
The Cradle Will Rock
, narrated by their teacher,
John Houseman, with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister. The production premiered at The Acting Company's summer residence at
Chautauqua Institution, toured the United States, including an engagement at the
Highland Park, Illinois' Ravinia Festival in 1984, and played London's West End, where LuPone received an 1985
Olivier Award.
In 1985, she created the part of Fantine in the Royal Shakespeare Company-Cameron Mackintosh production of the musical
Les Misérables
at the Barbican Theatre. In recognition of her
Royal Shakespeare Company debut performance, LuPone was the first American actress to be presented with an
Olivier Award. In 1987, LuPone returned to Broadway to star as Reno Sweeney in the hit Lincoln Center Theater revival of
Anything Goes
.
In 1993, LuPone returned to the West End of London to create the role of
Norma Desmond in the original production of
Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation of
Sunset Boulevard
at the Adelphi Theatre. LuPone was contracted to star in the 1994 Broadway production of
Sunset Boulevard
, but Webber breached the contract when he recast the role. LuPone sued Webber for reneging on the contract. The case was settled out-of-court when Webber paid to LuPone the contractual penalty.
In 1995, LuPone returned to Broadway in a one-woman show,
Patti LuPone on Broadway
, at the Walter Kerr Theatre. For her work, LuPone received an
Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance. In 1996, LuPone was selected by legendary producer
Robert Whitehead to succeed his wife, the legendary
Zoe Caldwell, in the Broadway production of
Terrence McNally's play,
Master Class
. LuPone received rave reviews in New York and took the play to the
West End.
In November 2001, she starred in a
Broadway revival of
Noises Off
, with
Peter Gallagher and
Faith Prince. Ms. LuPone has performed New York concert productions of musicals as including the City Center
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert!
Pal Joey
(1995), with
Peter Gallagher and
Bebe Neuwirth; the Lincoln Center Theater benefit performance of
Annie Get Your Gun
(1998) with Peter Gallagher; the New York Philharmonic performances of
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
(2000) with
George Hearn and
Audra McDonald; the Lincoln Center Theater benefit performance of
Anything Goes
with Howard McGillin; the
Encores! Can-Can
(2004) with
Michael Nouri; the New York Philharmonic
Candide
(2004) with
Kristin Chenoweth and
Paul Groves, broadcast live on PBS Television
Great Performances
; and the Jazz at Lincoln Center "American Songbook" series
Passion
(2005), with
Michael Cerveris and
Audra McDonald, also broadcast live on
Great Performances
.
Since 2001, LuPone has been a regular presence at the
Ravinia Festival. At Ravinia, she starred in a six-year-long series of concert presentations of
Stephen Sondheim musicals begun in honor of his seventieth birthday.
In 2005, LuPone starred as
Mrs. Lovett in
John Doyle’s new Broadway staging of
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
(2005). She was nominated for a
Tony Award for her performance; and won the Golden Icon Award for Best Female Musical Theater Performance, presented by Travolta Family Entertainment.
[7] In August 2006, Ms. LuPone took a three-week vacation from the Broadway revival of
Sweeney Todd
in order to play Rose in
Gypsy
at the Ravinia Festival.
Following the Ravinia
Gypsy
, LuPone and author
Arthur Laurents mended a decade-long rift and she was cast in the City Center
Encores! Summer Stars production he directed. Laurents directed LuPone's version of
Gypsy: A Musical Fable
for a 22 performance run (July 9, 2007 - July 29, 2007) at City Center. This production of
Gypsy
then transferred to Broadway, which opened March 27, 2008 at the
St. James Theatre. LuPone won the
Outer Critics Circle Award,
Drama League Award,
Drama Desk Award, and
Tony Award for her performance in
Gypsy
. It closed on January 11, 2009.
LuPone performs regularly across the country in her solo shows
Matters of the Heart
;
Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda
; and
The Lady With the Torch
which sold out at
Carnegie Hall.
In 2009, likely due to renewed interest in the musical
Les Misérables
caused by
reality television contestant
Susan Boyle, LuPone's 1985 recording of "
I Dreamed a Dream" has reached the
UK Singles Chart [8] as well as the
Billboard
magazine
Hot Digital Songs and
Hot Singles Recurrents charts in the US.
Film & television work
Among LuPone’s film credits are
Witness
,
Just Looking
,
Law & Order
,
The Victim
,
Summer of Sam
(which featured Lupone's one and only on-screen nude scene at the age of fifty),
Driving Miss Daisy
,
King of the Gypsies
,
1941
,
Wise Guys
,
Nancy Savoca's
24 Hour Woman
,
Family Prayers
,
Bad Faith
, and
City by the Sea
. She has also worked with playwright
David Mamet on
The Water Engine
, the critically acclaimed
State and Main
, and
Heist
.
LuPone played Libby Thatcher on the television drama
Life Goes On
, which ran on
ABC from 1989 to 1993. She has twice been nominated for an
Emmy Award for the TV movie
The Song Spinner
, and her guest appearance on
Frasier
. LuPone’s TV career also includes a recurring spot on the last season of HBO’s hit series
Oz
. She had a cameo as herself on a 1998 episode of
Saturday Night Live
hosted by
Kelsey Grammer. She also appeared on the series
Ugly Betty
in 2007 as the mother of Mark St. James (played by
Michael Urie). She played
Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie,
LBJ
. Patti also appeared as herself on a 2005 episode of
Will & Grace
. Lupone guest-starred as Frank's mother on an episode of
30 Rock which aired on March 5, 2009
.
[9] .
[10]
She has recently come back into the limelight with a gracious tribute, on CBS, to British star
Susan Boyle. LuPone complimented her on her rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream', and pointed out that music isn't just about technique, but also about emotion.
Controversy
LuPone opposes recording, photographs, and other electronic distractions in live theatre. "Where's the elegance?", she asked in a blog post on her official site. "I mean, I'm glad they show up because God knows it's a dying art form and I guess I'm glad they're all comfortable, sleeping, eating and drinking, things they should be doing at home and in a restaurant. But it's just not done in the theatre or shouldn't be." LuPone has been the subject of some controversy due to the bluntness of her statements regarding this matter.
A related incident occurred at the second to last performance of
Gypsy
on January 10, 2009. Agitated at a man taking pictures with the use of flash, she stopped in the middle of "Rose's Turn" and loudly demanded that he be removed from the theatre. "You heard the warning in the beginning, you heard the warning at intermission! Who do you think you are?!" she yelled at him. After he was removed, LuPone restarted her number. The audience applauded her stance.
[11] [12] The event was recorded by another audience member, who released it on
YouTube.
[13] She later claimed that such distractions drive "people in the audience nuts. They can’t concentrate on the stage if, in their peripheral vision, they’re seeing texting, they’re seeing cameras, they’re listening to phone calls. How can we do our job if the audience is distracted?", and also mentioned that "the interesting thing is I’m not the first one that’s done it".
[14]
Reports say LuPone is at work on a
memoir, recounting her life and career from childhood to the present, to be published in 2010.
[15]
Recordings
LuPone recorded a duet with
Seth MacFarlane (in character as
Glenn Quagmire) on the 2005 album
Family Guy: Live In Vegas
. LuPone released a new CD in 2006, of one of her shows
The Lady with the Torch
, on
Sh-K-Boom Records. In December she released bonus tracks for that CD only available on iTunes and the Sh-K-Boom website.
Selected recordings include:
- The Baker’s Wife
(Original cast recording)
- Evita
(Original Broadway cast recording)
- The Cradle Will Rock
(The Acting Company recording)
- Les Misérables
(Original London Cast recording)
- Anything Goes
(New Broadway Cast Recording)
- Heat Wave
(John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
- Patti LuPone Live
(Solo Album)
- Sunset Boulevard
(World Premiere/Original London Cast Recording)
- Matters of the Heart
(Solo Album)
- Sweeney Todd
(New York Philharmonic recording)
- Sweeney Todd
(2005 Broadway Cast recording)
- The Lady with the Torch
(Solo Album)
- The Lady With the Torch...Still Burning
(Solo Album)
- To Hell and Back
(Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra World Premier recording)
- Gypsy (
2008 Broadway Revival Cast Recording'')
- Patti Lupone At Les Mouches
(Live Solo Recording)
References
- Patti LuPone Biography
- Patinkin, LuPone return to stage
- Sex & Moxie: God, That's Good!
- In ‘Gypsy’ Patti LuPone Creates Diva Role She Was Born to Play
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2008/jun/10/pattiluponetopplesethelmer
- http://www.nypost.com/seven/03042008/entertainment/theater/patti_lupone___and_her_attitude___return_
- Patti LuPone & D'Monroe Among Travolta Family Award Winners
- UK Singles Chart info Chartstats.com. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
- http://www.playbill.com/news/article/125486.html
- http://www.playbill.com/news/article/126929.html
- Gypsy - Rose Lee Photographs (Patti's Rant)
- http://voices.kansascity.com/node/3402
- ''Patti LuPone stops 'Gypsy' mid-show to yell at a photographer'' - YouTube video
- http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=14867
- Gypsy Tony Winner LuPone at Work on Memoir