Patti LuPone Headlines New Jersey Symphony's Pops Program Tonight

Two-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone headlines the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's 2012-13 NJSO POPS season finale in Newark and New Brunswick, tonight, June 1 and tomorrow, June 2. The legendary diva, who last appeared with the NJSO in 2009, will perform songs from her latest album, "Far Away Places," backed for the first time by full orchestra. The star of Broadway's Gypsy will also sing signature songs from her illustrious career on stage and screen. Rob Fisher conducts.

"Nowadays Ms. LuPone generates more raw excitement than any other performer on the Broadway and cabaret axis," writes The New York Times, citing the singer's place among "international chanteuses [who] conquered show business with forceful, outsize personalities while playing by their own musical rules."

Performances take place tonight, June 1, (8 pm) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark and Sunday, June 2, (3 pm) at the State Theatre in New Brunswick. The June 2 performance is presented in collaboration with the State Theatre.

Tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org, by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or in person. The NJSO ticket office is located at 60 Park Place, 9th floor, in Newark; tickets are available by phone or in person Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. Tickets are also available, by phone only, on concert-weekend Saturdays, 11 am to 5 pm.

Tickets are also available from the State Theatre ticket office online at www.StateTheatreNJ.org, by phone at 732.246.SHOW (7469) or in person. The State Theatre ticket office is located at 15 Livingston Ave in New Brunswick-hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Wednesday, 11 am to 7 pm; Saturday, 1 to 5 pm, and at least three hours prior to curtain on performance dates unless otherwise specified.

THE PROGRAM

Patti LuPone with Your NJSO

Saturday, June 1, at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Sunday, June 2, at 3 pm | State Theatre in New Brunswick

Patti LuPone, vocalist
Rob Fisher, musical director New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

United is concert sponsor of the June 1 performance. The June 2 performance is presented in collaboration with the State Theatre.

THE ARTISTS:

Patti LuPone, vocalist: Patti LuPone has appeared on New York stages in The Anarchist, An Evening With Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, The Seven Deadly Sins with New York City Ballet, Company and Sweeney Todd with the New York Philharmonic, Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), Gypsy (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards), John Doyle's production of Sweeney Todd, Passion, Candide, Can Can, Noises Off, The Old Neighborhood, Master Class, Patti LuPone on Broadway (Outer Critics Circle Award), Pal Joey, Anything Goes, Oliver!, Accidental Death of An Anarchist, The Woods, Edmond, The Cradle Will Rock, Evita (Tony and Drama Desk Awards), Working, The Water Engine and The Robber Bridegroom (Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations).

In London, she garnered Olivier Awards for Les Miserables (Royal Shakespeare Company world premiere production) and The Cradle Will Rock. She received an Olivier Award nomination for Sunset Boulevard and also appeared in Matters of the Heart and Master Class. Her opera credits include roles in in Jake Heggie's To Hell and Back with San Francisco's Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny for her Los Angeles Opera debut and Regina at The Kennedy Center.

She has appeared in films including City by the Sea, David Mamet's Heist and State and Main, Just Looking, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy and Witness. Television credits include roles on "Ugly Betty," "Will & Grace," "Passion," "Sweeney Todd," "Oz," "Monday Night Mayhem," "Evening at the Pops" (with John Williams and Yo Yo Ma), "Frasier" (Emmy nomination), "Law & Order," "The Water Engine," "L.B.J." and "Life Goes On."

Her recordings include "Patti LuPone Live," "Heatwave" with John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, "Pal Joey," "Matters of the Heart," "Sweeney Todd" with the New York Philharmonic, the 2006 and 2008 Broadway cast recordings of Sweeney Todd and Gypsy, "The Lady With The Torch," "Patti LuPone at Les Mouches" and "Far Away Places." A founding member of the Drama Division of The Juilliard School and of John Houseman's The Acting Company, she is also the author of the New York Times bestselling autobiography "Patti LuPone: A Memoir."

Rob Fisher, musical director: Internationally distinguished artistic director, conductor and pianist Rob Fisher is a leading figure in American music and musical theater. He was founding music director of Encores! (New York City Center) from 1994 to 2005, and he has made numerous recordings including a Grammy Award-winning Chicago cast album. He continues to be a regular guest at Encores! In 2007, Fisher was music director of Hair in Central Park (and music supervisor for its Tony Award-winning 2009 Broadway run) and led the New York Philharmonic's acclaimed revival of My Fair Lady. More recently, he was music supervisor of the Broadway revival of the Tony-winning Anything Goes; he conducted a one-night gala performance of The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall.

Fisher has a long association with New York series. He served as producer and music director for Lincoln Center's American Songbook, creating tributes to the Gershwins, Bernstein and Cole Porter. This season, he presents a program of John Kander songs. Fisher has made nine appearances on the Lyrics & Lyricists series at the 92nd Street Y, usually with his friend Sheldon Harnick as host; they reunite this season to celebrate the influence of W.S. Gilbert.

A regular guest conductor with major U.S. orchestras, Fisher collaborates in concert with Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Victoria Clark, Brian Stokes Mitchell and David Hyde Pierce. He was music director for Garrison Keillor's American Radio Company and remains a frequent guest on "A Prairie Home Companion."

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is comprised of some of the country's finest musicians. The Orchestra is proud to have Jacques Lacombe as its Music Director. Artistic excellence, innovative programming and community engagement are hallmarks of its mission. To best serve the people of New Jersey, the Orchestra brings its programs to seven outstanding venues throughout the state. Education and community engagement programs enrich the listening experience for children and adults alike. Select performances of the NJSO are broadcast regionally and throughout North America.

The State Theatre is a premier nonprofit venue for the performing arts and entertainment. The theater exists to enrich people's lives, contribute to a vital urban environment and build future audiences by presenting the finest performing artists and entertainers and fostering lifetime appreciation for the performing arts through education. The State Theatre's programs are made possible in part by funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and contributions from numerous corporations, foundations and individuals.

To post a comment, you must register and login.