Patti's Final Broadway Performance as Evita

[CarlosAlberto]

Dude..everyone here knows the actual lyrics...its a joke...remember those? Besides the way Patti attacks and annihilates those lyrics it could be just about anything that hits the listener's ears...which is the whole point of the joke.

[CarlosAlberto]

Dude..everyone here knows the actual lyrics...its a joke...remember those? Besides the way Patti attacks and annihilates those lyrics it could be just about anything that hits the listener's ears...which is the whole point of the joke.

[Gothampc]

If you listen closely, at the 32 second mark, you can hear Andrew Lloyd Webber's whip crack because of all the notes Patti has changed from what was originally written.

[Rainbowhigh23]

@CarlosAlberto

I just watched the video. Aye Dios Mio! That is too funny.

Just thought I'd remind everyone of the eiderdown that you and Ricky snuggle in nightly.

[CarlosAlberto]

LOL@Rainbowhigh23: Its painful to watch that video...but the subtitles are HIGHlarious nontheless. Enrique sends his regards.

[PattiLover]

What Patti does on those recordings is magical...The sheer ferociousness emanating from her is all wrong for the show - but you know what, it works. She does ferocious better than any performer on Broadway since then, and boy, when you hear her snarl "yeeeeeeeeer not decorating..." in Rainbow High she has an impact that could have wiped out the dinosaurs. It's like Evita Peron at a Nascar Race.

You have got to give her props for her sheer audacity. I wish today's crop of Broadway women had her balls. Maybe it was the coke...hey, it was the 80's.

[kevin5]

For anyone who has never heard the OBC with Patti they could think that the current revival of Evita is pretty good, but when you compare the current prioduction with the OBC it is just bad, i loved watching these, thanks for posting. it's ashame there is not a better bootleg circulating, even Lincoln Center's recorded version WITH Patti is not good quality, Hal Prince's staging was sooooooooo great.

[Matt2]

Patti gave such a great performance on the OBC recording of Evita. It made me fall in love with the show. And I assumed, I guess like many others, her live performance was just as incredible. I've read comments from others (in this thread, many from people here who's opinion I value) who say that her live performance paled in comparison to what she did on that recording, and I gotta ask: Why? For those that saw LuPone on the stage, do you know or happen to have a theory as to why her performance on Broadway didn't have the same ferocity and "wow-factor" that her recording performance did? I know that playing the show eight days a week, week after week, month after month, will test any performer's stamina- no matter how good they are. Also, recordings have multiple takes, plenty of chances to get it right. In the theater you get one shot to nail the part- or blow it. I suppose the backstage drama could provide part of the answer, but is that really the reason her performance suffered? For those of you who saw LuPone in the Original Broadway run, why do you think she didn't bring the same power to Evita that she brought to the cast album?

[SNAFU]

The score, if sung as originally written, can shred a singers voice.

[followspot]

True story: EVITA with LuPone was my first Broadway show — on a high school trip in 1980 — and afterward, while everyone was enthusiastically discussing what we'd just experienced, I was too embarrassed to admit that I hadn't understood one word of LuPone's performance. I wasn't even sure it had been in the English language. I later bought the OBC recording and understood every word, which made me feel like even more of a simpleton — until hearing these recordings today. Now I realize the problem wasn't mine after all. Thanks!

[BrodyFosse123]

Lucky for me, I had already almost worn-out the American Premiere Cast Recording 2-LP set by the time I finally saw the show 'live' for the first time in July 1980 so I fully knew what lyrics LuPone was singing. And you're absolutely right about not being able to decipher one word she was singing 'live' on stage.

By the way, Patinkin and Gunton sounded exactly the same on both the recording AND 'live' at the Broadway Theatre.

[CATSNYrevival]

If you listen closely, at the 32 second mark, you can hear Andrew Lloyd Webber's whip crack because of all the notes Patti has changed from what was originally written.

Her way is better. At least SHE make it sound like music!

[bwayphreak234]

I am a HUGE Evita fan. I love Patti LuPone and Elena Roger. I think that they both did wonderful things with the role and added their own take on Eva and really just owned the role.