Tony Award winning singer and actress Patti LuPone is featured on this week's Associated Press "On Broadway" podcast. In this interview Jane Waldman reports on LuPone's new CD on Ghostlight Records, "Patti PuPone at Les Mouches;" a live recording of the legend's 1980 nightclub act that she performed on Saturdays during her run in "Evita."
LuPone talks about how she juggled her roles on Broadway in "Evita" with her club act at Le Mouches." LuPone says that going to Le Mouches back then " was the thing to do on a Saturday night in New York City." This act, which attracted a who's who of celebrities from the worlds of movies, sports, fashion and entertainment, was taped 18 years ago. The tapes were digitally restored and recently released for the first time.
To listen to the Ap "On Broadway" podcast on Patti LuPone click here.
Hear audio clips of of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" and "Meadowlark," in Jane Waldman's Ap's "On Broadway" podcast; two of the songs on LuPone's CD: "Patti LuPone at Les Mouches." At the time of her performance at Le Mouches, LuPone was on her way to winning a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Peron in "Evita." LuPone's most recent Tony Award, also for Best Actress in a Musical, came this year for her star turn as Madam Rose in "Gypsy."
On November 11th, Ghostlight Records released "Patti LuPone at Les Mouches," a digitally-restored concert recording of LuPone's 1980 solo show. Ghostlight President Kurt Deutsch, along with longtime producing partner Joel Moss and co-producers Ben Rimalower and David Lewis, have culled performances from the venue's original board mixes, and assembled a recording that captures the raw energy and excitement of a once in a lifetime concert event, and a moment in time. Everybody who was anybody was there, from Andy Warhol to Jodie Foster to Stephen Sondheim. It was literally the hottest ticket in town. This music has never been released before, in any format.
Patti LuPone swept the 2008 theatre awards winning the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Actress in a Musical and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance for her performance as Rose in the critically-acclaimed new Broadway production of the classic Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim-Arthur Laurents musical Gypsy, directed by the show's author, Mr. Laurents, currently at the St. James Theatre.
Miss LuPone's recent stage credits include her debut with the Los Angeles Opera in Weill-Brecht's Mahagonny, the world premiere of Jake Heggie's new opera To Hell and Back with San Francisco's Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Mrs. Lovett in John Doyle's award winning Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award nominations – Best Actress in a Musical; Drama League Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre), the title role in Marc Blitzstein's Regina, a musical version of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center, a critically acclaimed performance as Fosca in a concert version of Stephen Sondheim's Passion, which was also broadcast on PBS' Live From Lincoln Center, and a multi-city tour of her theatrical concert Matters of the Heart. She has also performed Matters of the Heart internationally, including runs at Australia's Sydney Festival and London's Donmar Warehouse Theatre. Her CD recording, based on this concert, was named one of 1999's best recordings by both The Times of London and Time Out/New York.
In addition to Matters of the Heart, Miss LuPone also performs two other solo concerts Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda and The Lady With The Torch. She made a triumphant solo concert debut at New York's Carnegie Hall in Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda resulting in a sold-out encore performance, and performs the concert with major symphony orchestras around the country. The Lady With The Torch is the basis for Miss LuPone's latest solo CD, on Ghostlight Records. She also tours in a new concert with her Evita co-star Mandy Patinkin – An Evening With Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin.
Patti LuPone's other recent New York stage appearances include performances as La Mome Pistache in the Encores! production of Cole Porter's musical Can-Can at New York's City Center, as The Old Lady in the New York Philharmonic's concert production of Leonard Bernstein's Candide, and performances on Broadway in the hit revival of Michael Frayn's Noises Off, in David Mamet's The Old Neighborhood, Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning play Master Class and in her own concert Patti LuPone On Broadway, for which she won an Outer Critics Circle Award. Over six consecutive summers, she's appeared in the Ravinia Festival's Sondheim series, starring as Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd, as Desiree in A Little Night Music, Fosca in Passion, Cora Hoover Hooper in Anyone Can Whistle, Rose in Gypsy and was featured in two different roles in Sunday in the Park with George.
After completing her training with the first class of the Drama Division of New York's Juilliard School, she began her career as a founding member of John Houseman's The Acting Company playing a variety of leading roles, both on and off-Broadway and on tour throughout the United States. Her subsequent New York dramatic credits include Dario Fo's Accidental Death of An Anarchist; David Mamet's The Water Engine, Edmond and The Woods and Israel Horovitz' Stage Directions. Miss LuPone's memorable performances on the New York musical stage include Vera Simpson in the Encores! production of Pal Joey, Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes, (1988 Drama Desk Award, Tony nomination, Best Actress in a Musical), The Cradle Will Rock, Nancy in Oliver!, Evita (1980 Tony and Drama Desk Awards- Best Actress in a Musical), Working and Rosamund in The Robber Bridegroon (1976 Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations, Best Featured Actress in a Musical).
In London, she created the role of Fantine in the the RSC production of Les Miserables, a role she subsequently played on the West End. For that performance, as well as the reprise of her performance in the London production of The Cradle Will Rock, she won an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Miss LuPone created the role of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (1994 Olivier nomination, Best Actress in A Musical), and recreated her Broadway performance of Maria Callas in the West End production of Master Class.
Film: City By The Sea, David Mamet's Heist, State and Main; Just Looking, Summer of Sam, The 24 Hour Woman, Family Prayers, Driving Miss Daisy, Witness.
TV: PBS Great Performances The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, "Ugly Betty" Will & Grace (as herself), PBS Great Performances' Candide, Oz , the TNT film Monday Night Mayhem, PBS' Evening At The Pops with John Williams and Yo Yo Ma, Falcone, Bonanno: A Godfather's Story (Showtime); Frasier (1998 Emmy nomination); Law & Order, An Evening with Patti LuPone (PBS), the NBC movie Her Last Chance, Showtime's ACE Award and Emmy nominated The Song Spinner (Daytime Emmy nomination, Best Actress), The Water Engine, L.B.J., AMC's Remember WENN and ABC's Life Goes On.
Recordings include: Sweeney Todd (both the 2006 Broadway revival cast recording and 2000 live performance recording on NY Philharmonic's Special Editions Label); Pal Joey (DRG); Heatwave with John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra (Phillips Classics); Sunset Boulevard (Polygram); Patti LuPone Live (RCA Victor). You can visit Miss LuPone on the worldwide web at www.pattilupone.net.
