SubscribeTonys: Could Patti get slapped by a diva backlash?
Don't assume, like many other Tony pundits, that Patti LuPone will automatically win the best-actress award just because she blasts the roof off the St. James Theater eight times per week.
Yes, she gives a dynamic turn in a show called the greatest in Broadway history by two of the New York Times' reigning sages — Ben Brantley and Frank Rich. But beware: Ethel Merman didn't win for the original production of "Gypsy." And Bernadette Peters recently lost in the role as Momma Rose, too.
Also, consider this: As much of a "legend" as Patti LuPone is at this point in her esteemed career, let's recall that she hasn't won a Tony in 28 years. The only time she ever prevailed was for "Evita" back in 1980. Since then she's lost twice: "Anything Goes" (1988) and "Sweeney Todd" (2006).
Diva-loving award pundits like me often make the mistake of assuming that voters of showbiz awards probably adore those defiant dames with brassy voices (and knuckles sometimes, too) just like we do. But do they?
Perhaps the opposite is true. Voters for these awards work in the industry and may be sick of the giant, bossy egos that often go with these bawdy dames up close. I sometimes think that's why Judy Garland never won an Oscar even when it was obvious that she should've triumphed by universal acclamation for "A Star Is Born" in 1954.
Ethel Merman won a Tony earlier in her career, back in 1951, for "Call Me Madam," but she got a bit too big for her girdle by the time "Gypsy" strutted on Broadway.
That pushy Barbra Streisand lost Tonys twice. The first time was in the supporting slot for "I Can Get It For You Wholesale" in 1962. Her second loss is hugely ironic in terms of showbiz history. When she was nominated in the lead race for "Funny Girl" in 1964, she didn't lose to just anybody. She lost to the gal she'd steal "Hello, Dolly" from when it went to silver screen: Carol Channing. Since that was the last Tony nomination that Streisand earned, Channing's win for "Dolly" on Broadway has thus stopped Streisand from joining the ranks of the select few stars who've pulled off the showbiz award Grand Slam (Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, Tony). Babs won an honorary Tony in 1970, but that, as all award gurus know, doesn't count.
As a newbie in Hollywood, Babs won the Oscar for "Funny Girl," of course, but that was before her hellion reputation caught up with her. Years later, when "Prince of Tides" was nominated for best picture, the academy shockingly snubbed her in the director's race.
Perhaps we got a hint that LuPone might be a tough diva to handle back when she created the role of Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber's original musical stage production of "Sunset Boulevard" in London. Even though she was contracted to assume the role on Broadway next, Lloyd Webber booted her in favor of Glenn Close, who had wowed audiences in Los Angeles.
LuPone got revenge. She sued for breach of contract and got an out-of-court settlement. Sounding like a bit like a real diva, she later told everybody that the sum was big enough to build the "Andrew Lloyd Webber memorial pool" at her home up in Connecticut.
But Close ended up getting the last laugh where it counts: at the Tonys. She won best actress when "Sunset" swept those awards, including best musical, in 1995.
I have no reason to doubt those who insist that LuPone has been a perfect lady while performing in "Gypsy," but let's just say that the odds on that rising, aspiring diva Kelli O'Hara ("South Pacific") might be a little better than you think they are. One possible reason reason: Maybe established divas of the brassy sort inspire less awe over the years among those who work closely with them. Just maybe. Or maybe hot, newer, rising divas are prefered simply because they're newer. Or maybe this whole theory is hokum. Just askin'.
(Photos: Really Useful Company/ Minskoff Theatre)
Nobody here has suggested Patti LuPone has a 2008 Tony award in the bag. For her achievement in "Gypsy," certainly LuPone deserves the Tony award for leading actress in a musical. Although she was seriously miscast as Rose, Bernadette Peters did deserve a Tony award for her achievement. It is incorrect to characterize Marissa Jaret Winokur as a nobody. Winokur was very good in "Hairspray." However, Winokur's achievement was not greater than Peters'. Peters suffered serious and unfair negative press for being ill for certain preview performances of her 2003 "Gypsy." Peters is a dedicated and hard-working professional; the negative buzz was not justified in any way. With regard to "Sunset Blvd.," it was never about new concept. There was no new concept, only some minor tweaking of sets, text, and artwork between London and Los Angeles. The difference was in some key U.S. East Coast reviews. Because Glenn Close received more favorable U.S. East Coast reviews for the Los Angeles production than LuPone did for the London production, Really Useful hired Close for Broadway, breaching LuPone's contract. As a result, Kevin Anderson and Daniel Benzali were denied the opportunity to repeat their roles on Broadway. At least on audio and video recording, LuPone and Anderson were better cast and vastly superior to their L.A.-Broadway successors. Also, Really Useful hired and announced Faye Dunaway as Close's successor in the L.A. production, only to do a similar about-face by terminating her before she performed. Really Useful treatment of Dunaway was as shabby as could be. The "Sunset Blvd." debacle is entirely the fault of Really Useful and the director, not at all LuPone. For her performance in the 2008 "Gypsy" Patti LuPone deserves a Tony award. I hope Tony voters will recognize her achievement and vote for her. It is collectively up to them.
Posted by: ILoveBroadway | April 23, 2008 at 09:51 AM
Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that Lupone was dropped from "Sunset" not because of her "antics" but because the producers wanted a whole new concept altogether.
Still-Bernadette Peters, who did an amazing job in Gypsy a few years ago, lost out to some nobody. So I wouldn't say that Lupone has it in the bag just yet.
Posted by: Saoirse | April 22, 2008 at 08:49 PM
Gold Derby is entirely wrong to suggest that Patti LuPone is a difficult diva to handle or that she is vengeful. She is neither. She is a hard-working professional. And she is modest, down-to-earth, and relatively unassuming, as anyone who has worked with her will tell you. She is also an incredibly emotionally available, generous, and expressive actor. Surprise: an emotionally expressive actor is emotional. So what? Adult, mature, intelligent emotional expression never hurt anyone, but apparently it scares the heck out of some people. One person’s fear of another’s emotion does not constitute a misdeed by the other. LuPone is simply an incredibly expressive and wonderfully intelligent actress who deserves and would treasure award recognition.
Posted by: ILoveBroadway | April 21, 2008 at 06:46 PM
Bravo iLoveBroadway. Don't forget that Sunset swept the Tonys because there was no competition tat yearat all. I think only 2 scores were even nominated! I saw Patti and she delivers more than one could expect. On the other hand, her "antics" could certainly cost her the award but she deserves it and she knows it!
Posted by: Peter A. | April 21, 2008 at 07:56 AM
ILoveBroadway, yo check it out dawg (me trying to sound like that silly Randy on AI), now I understand, after reading your comment. I woulda been for Kelli O'Hara because of the brightness of her role but your knowledge of the history of the role convinces me that LuPone will be a deserving winner.
Posted by: dude | April 20, 2008 at 02:15 PM
And do not forget that Really Useful Company treated Kevin Anderson and Faye Dunaway at least equally poorly as they treated Patti LuPone. Their treatment of Dunaway, who had been hired to succeed Glenn Close in the Los Angeles "Sunset Blvd.," was particularly heinous and unnecessary.
Posted by: ILoveBroadway | April 20, 2008 at 12:07 AM
What an offensive and irresponsible posting!
First, Patti LuPone is a hard-working and modest professional, and she acts like one. She is a diva in name only, because of her enormous talent and impressive voice.
Second, Broadway theatregoers were denied the opportunity to see LuPone recreate her London role of Norma Desmond in "Sunset Blvd." because the Los Angeles production opened before the Broadway transfer, and received more favorable U.S. reviews than the London one did. Really Useful Company signed a contract that guaranteed LuPone would originate the role of Norma Desmond in London and then play the part in its Broadway premiere, or else she would be justly compensated for the opportunity denied. When Really Useful Company hired Glenn Close to play Desmond on Broadway, it breached LuPone’s contract. LuPone professionally fulfilled her contractual obligations; whereas Really Useful did not.
Third, based on the 1993 world premiere recording and B-roll and home video recordings of her performance, LuPone was phenomenal in "Sunset Blvd.," acting deeply and movingly, and singing exquisitely. On Broadway, Glenn Close’s performance was shallow, disconnected, and unmusical. Close’s successors Betty Buckley and Elaine Paige gave performances that were undeniably superior to Close’s. They sang the role well, and offered interesting interpretations. Paige was of particular interest visually because of her resemblance to Gloria Swanson. However, neither rivaled LuPone. LuPone was the whole package, Broadway musical star, and consummate, classically trained actress.
Fourth, it is for her incredible collaboration with Arthur Laurents that results in an unparalleled interpretation of Rose in “Gypsy” that LuPone deserves an Antoinette Perry (Tony) award for performance by a leading actress in a musical. The part was written for Ethel Merman. I was not around to see Merman’s original, but on the recordings that survive, she is sensational. She was great, and she was the archetype. Merman deserved a Tony award for creating the role. I was not around for Angela Lansbury’s Broadway revival, either, but on the recordings that survive, Lansbury, too, is terrific. She deserved a Tony award and got one. Tyne Daly’s performance was vastly overrated and painfully unmusical. Just try listening to her recording of Rose. Ouch. I would not wish it on you. Bette Midler was good in the CBS television production. Betty Buckley was interesting, but miscast and awkward in the Paper Mill Playhouse revival. Bernadette Peters and Maureen Moore were both miscast as star and standby in the 2003 Broadway revival. Peters is a wonderful performer who used every bit of her charm, charisma and talent, and every trick up her sleeve, to offer a unique and sexy interpretation that was interesting and moving, but ultimately at odds with the material. Moore was an interesting, tough, working-class Rose in a production built for Peters. The seven aforementioned actresses are, or were, in the case of Merman, remarkable talents in many ways. It just so happens that LuPone’s incredible depths of talent on two fronts, as dramatic actress and musical performer, are particularly well-suited to illuminate Rose in “Gypsy” in a way it has not been done before. LuPone was quite good at Ravinia Festival. She was even better at City Center. The two performances were entirely different. LuPone is now giving a new interpretation that is even better than her prior two. Undoubtedly without realizing it, but merely by working organically with her wonderful co-stars and by collaborating with the director (Laurents), LuPone has arrived at an interpretation that is ideal, so simply spot-on as to seem inevitable. It is the Rose of one’s dreams. It is for her incredible interpretation and powerhouse delivery that LuPone’s performance deserves a Broadway cast recording and a Tony award.
Posted by: ILoveBroadway | April 19, 2008 at 11:58 PM