Patti, Seth, Evita and Provincetown

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

What a fascinating article on Patti and Seth's recent series of concerts in Provincetown. from Playbill.com RC in Austin, Texas
Patti Seth Evita OH MY!

[The Scorpion]

Great story from Seth. Patti's polemical comments keep verging on the plain bizarre though. She seems to have forgotten one of favourite productions she starred in, the recent Sweeney Todd, was directed by a Brit.

[PalJoey]

She seems to have forgotten one of favourite productions she starred in, the recent Sweeney Todd, was directed by a Brit.

Actually, I don't think she's forgotten that at all.

[The Scorpion]

From the article:

"Let's get this out of the way; Americans can't do Shakespeare and the Brits can't do musicals. Over and out!"

[Overkill]

Brits can't do musicals?? Ummm... Andrew Lloyd Webber. Done.

I don't care about her hatred towards him, I'm not even a fan, but to say that Brits can't do musicals, when this man alone has written:

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
CATS
The Phantom of the Opera
Jesus Christ Superstar
Evita
Love Never Dies
By Jeeves

I mean, really?

Or if she's talking of British directors not being able to direct/conceive musicals... that's even stupider.

GRANTED, Americans do musicals BETTER. It originated here, ya know... But to say one nationality isn't good at one form of theatre, and the other one is, "over and out"?... That just makes me lose respect for you as a performer/artist.

[The Scorpion]

From the context of the article, she seems to be referring to directors rather than writers (since she also says the Americans can't do Shakespeare, so she's talking about the direction). I agree to an extent with her past comments about people like Trevor Nunn perhaps treating everything like a Shakespeare play and exposing musicals' flaws rather than covering them up, but considering how much she has said she loved the Sweeney Todd she starred in, which was directed by a Brit (John Doyle), this comment is a bit odd.

[moym471]

I kinda assumed she was speaking about British directors in general, instead of her personal experiences.

[PalJoey]

GRANTED, Americans do musicals BETTER.

Which is exactly her point.

[Overkill]

I didn't see it that way. Because, she says "Brits CAN'T do musicals. Over and out!" She didn't say "Americans do it better, but people like John Doyle and blahblahblah..." Nope. Just so dismissive.

But I definitely see where I took the writer/director thing out of context. My point still stands though, that it's a very egotistical view point... but then again, look who we're talking about here...

[PalJoey]

Did you happen to notice that she simultaneously said that Americans can't do Shakespeare?

Or were you so hell-bent on taking offense that you didn't even read what she said?

[GavestonPS]

Actually, I think she's right. Speaking broadly, of course.

And listing Webber's shows is unlikely to convince me otherwise.