Patti LuPone Interview Graham Norton Show (Les Miserables Gypsy Evita,Sunset Boulevard)

In this interview from BBC Radio 2 in June 2013 Patti Lupone speaks candidly about Evita, Gypsy, Sunset Boulevard, Les Miserables and many other roles. SEE MORE BELOW - CLICK HERE:
Patti LuPone: www.pattilupone.net
Seth Rudetsky: www.sethtv.com
Graham Norton: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00tw2b9
/ www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/...

[@lamiserehq3031]

Edith Paif was her biggest influence, eh? Well, Patti Lupone was MY biggest influence growing up. The woman basically indirectly taught me how to sing via cast recordings!! I still remember recording myself singing as a child and being horrified by what I heard. I then decided that my vocal "blueprint," if you will, would be Patti Lupone (even if I was a boy). I listened to her carefully and sang along all the time. I didn't want to be a Patti imitator either so I dropped all and any "Patti-isms" that weren't my own. So now I can sing my ass off, belt like mad, and I have a vibrato that can cut glass. And I don't sound like a bad imitation of Lupone. She did it all through the beauty and passion of her voice. I love this lady soooo much!

[@voluntariosasoka]

Great comment...!!!

[@ghostforlife971]

now this may sound rude but i dont mean it to be... but what precisely is a patti - ism?... if you don't mind me asking...

[@tatemitchell1479]

THIS IS ME! But I'm a girl ☺ still Patti has definitely taught me how to perfect my belt, breath control and powerful head voice! My vibrato has improved drastically too!!

[@starvoyager523]

Patti is the ultimate Broadway Star! A true diva. She is absolutely AMAZING! If you can catch her live on stage in a musical.

[@kathealykreates]

Patti Lupone >> one of my all time favourites. I love Graham Norton too. I know this is from 2013, but there are some awesome bits worth hearing about working in the industry... even in 2017! x

[@cameronreeves8166]

She's the best.

[@buzzaki]

I'm a Patti fan and I live here in London (went to see her show with Seth, which was excellent) but I had no idea she was interviewed by Graham Norton on the Beeb. Many thanks for sharin.

[@ACwebseries]

1985.. London.. I missed Cradle Will Rock from jetlag. Next night got a 1/2 priced ticket to Les Miserables. Patti Lupone, Colm Wilkinson.. a truly mind altering experience.

[@tatemitchell1479]

We just never know what fate has in store, but everything happens for a reason!

[@stephenfermoyle4578]

LOVE LOVE LOVE HER

[@idogonen3075]

OMG What a fantastic interview! I would recommend everyone in the world to listen to Patti's audiobook of her own memoir. It was s actually written while she was performing in Gypsy on Broadway. It's wonderful! She spills the beans about so many things! Incidentally, I actually went to one of the performances she did here in London. It's as wacky as she described!

[@4Mr.Crowley2]

Love Patti --great, powerful alto voice full of heart and soul and such incredible, electrifying stage presence. Young Patti as Elphaba would have been amazing (as another poster suggested --love the idea of it). Loving her right now on Penny Dreadful on Showtime -- she is just killing it in an awesome turn as the brilliant Victorian psychiatrist "Dr. Seward." She was on last season, playing a different character, and the audience loved her so much that she was brought back for a new role written for her.

[@DenSanAZ]

I don't understand the cross-outs but that's not what my reply is regarding - I'm agreeing with you and your comments about Penny Dreadful (quite honestly, at 55, I'm ashamedly not familiar with Patti LuPone aside from knowing she's a big Broadway star/legend). I was a huge Penny Dreadful fan (until the last 2 episodes - but that's another topic) but when Patti played The Cut-Witch of Ballantrae Moor in Season 2, I was in total awe of Patti and her incredible talent - her performance of Joan Clayton was beyond any possible word to describe it. I was thrilled to hear she would be back in Season 3 as a different character, even more thrilled (SPOILER ALERT) when there was still a piece of Joan Clayton in her, as Joan was a very distant relative (she was almost 200 years old when she was burned - close to that). Anyway, Patti's performance as Dr. Seward also didn't disappoint , except that there just wasn't enough of her. "A Blade of Grass" was the best episode of any season (aside from "The Nightcomers"). I was horribly upset that the show ended after 3 seasons (and with such a horrible story end)).

[@keithmontgomery9664]

Big fan. Thank you Pantowriter for posting.

[@karimmostafa6937]

And of course I’d find you here. 😂❤️

[@Gwion98]

I just want a Patti LuPone-Imelda Staunton meet-up

[@tatemitchell1479]

I NEED THIS OMG

[@user-hb9hb7gi7j]

I never had any trouble understanding her when she sings.

[@amybaker4654]

Patti is not the first woman to speak about the difficulty of singing ALW scores,Glenn Close said that you have to sing high and it was intimidating.

[@kevinwilson3609]

But one of those women you mention is a singer...the other croaks

[@downtown82]

Leading ladies in my country said ALW hates women. His scores are incredibly difficult.

[@kevinwilson3609]

@@downtown82 what is the connection between writing a difficult score and hating women? His scores showcase female actress-singer and make them stars.

[@michellsmorgcycle4161]

@@kevinwilson3609 There are many great scores that are difficult to sing, but are sungable if you've got the technique. Some of ALW's leading ladies (Evita, Christine Daae in Phantom of the Opera, for two) scores are just inconsiderate and dangerous. I don't think any of the people that have starred as Evita or Christine ever did the standard 8 shows a week. They had to have alternates to take care of a few shows, so they can survive with their vocal cords intact. To compare, Mozart composed many really difficult arias in his operas, but they are not harmful to the voice. He made the high notes count, and he stepped the singers onto them, and he didn't drown them out (in fact, a lot of his difficulties has to do with how he wouldn't mask them with the orchestra, so any slightest mistake would pop out like sore thumb). ALW would just park them on the passagio (the break between head and chest registers) and doesn't help them bridge between the high and the low notes (and the highs and the lows often come in the same number). It's exciting for the audience to hear, but really nasty and unhealthy to the performers to do.

[@kevinwilson3609]

@@michellsmorgcycle4161 then those who can't manage can turn down the role

[@Aarondefyinggravity]

Sbe actually says Evita was his best work. and she is very specific about why ALW's music was bad ... and I think with regards to her jumping at the chance to do Sunset, Actresses have got to work to earn a living you take what you can get

[@PersonalNick]

I can imagine how she may be a bit tarnished towards ALW after Sunset.

[@bettyjojoeharperre-imagina7322]

NIck M Exactly. There's no excuse to fire someone like that. Good god!...

[@davidadams2395]

She thought at the time that the music was bad. I understand how she thought ALW hated women, because the pitch of the score was brutal for a singer. She now considers Evita to be a brilliant work of musical theater.

[@adam4757]

When/ where does she say she considers Evita to be a brilliant work?

[@davidadams2395]

adam4757 She said it in a couple of her other interviews.

[@adam4757]

David Adams Oh. I have only ever heard her badmouth it

[@justinm2697]

adam4757 She talks about Evita in the second half of this interview kzbin.info/www/bejne/enitootjncqCh7c

[@justinm2697]

adam4757 And if you're a Patti fan, this is pretty cool too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eorQi3djbKiDgrs It's a behind the scenes kinda deal......cameras following her around.

[@musicaltheatergeek79]

Patti saying she didn't want the role of 'Eva Peron' and that she thought the score of EVITA was bad sounds insincere. Like she said, at the time, EVITA had been a huge hit in London. There was a lot of hype surrounding the Broadway transfer. The casting of 'Evita' for the American production was a big to-do, as well. Everyone and their mother wanted the role! The fact is, though Patti had received a Featured Actress in a Play Tony nomination for THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM in 1976, she was relatively unknown when she was cast as 'Eva' in 1979. She was definitely not a star and had never led a show before. By this point, she had done a handful of Broadway plays, but she was always in the ensemble. She was a replacement (of a replacement) for the female lead in the out-of-town tryout in Stephen Schwartz' THE BAKER'S WIFE, but that never made it to Broadway. Anyway, like any ambitious, young actress waiting for her big break, I'm pretty sure she was determined to get EVITA despite what she says now. It's the show that made her a star, won her her first Tony, and gave her the opportunity to pick and choose henceforth. She laments about the show being dismissed by critics when it came to America, but I don't like how SHE is dismissive of it now. A lot of it obviously has to do with her bitter falling out with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Understandably, Patti despises the man after he reneged on the SUNSET BOULEVARD contract and gave her bad press, so she's biased against him and his works, even if his masterpiece was a boon to her career and put her on the map. Without EVITA, it's possible that Patti would not have enjoyed her long stage career. It only takes one smash hit to give you leverage in the industry. EVITA was that bargaining chip for her whether she admits it or not. On the other hand, I love how grateful Elaine Paige is to EVITA. To this day. Like Patti, she had spent a decade in the ensemble and chorus line. EVITA then catapulted her to superstardom.

[@kevincody1976]

musicaltheatergeek79 Have you seen her live?

[@kevinwilson3609]

Agree with all of that. Patti is retroactively changing history and her views

[@tatemitchell1479]

I disagree. I think what she had meant to say was that the role intimidated her upon first look, and that she was put off by the hefty score. She likely grew into the role as rehearsals went on. I don't think it's as much "changing history" as much as it is that Patti didn't articulate herself well here. Love her tho! 💖

[@mycatisabastard2361]

Bigger than QE2, in Graham's book lol Fantastic!

[@jamesalgar9279]

WHY HASN'T PATTI PLAYED MADAME MORRIBLE??

[@jamesalgar9279]

+James Algar Caps were accidental but it seems appropriate here

[@circlenostar]

+James Algar She should play her in the movie

[@jamesalgar9279]

***** i would LOVE to see that!

[@andresfelipe619]

That'd be a walk in the park for her. I'm sure she'll do it at some point. It's a small part considering how immense her talent is but she'd nail it and put a signature stamp if she ever does it.

[@Hairsprayxoxoful]

+James Algar Yes please! I'd love to see that! I'd also love to see a young Patti play Elphaba. If only that were possible!

[@erllive1]

she has often spoke on how tough Evita was and how bad working with ALW was nothing new here

[@turduckenwrath6110]

I NEVER knew she felt that way about Andrew Lloyd Weber- I've been saying it for YEARS and been harshly criticized for it- oh man I feel sooooo vindicated now! I love Ms Luponw even more now!!

[@voluntariosasoka]

Well that was nearly five years ago and she has just sung Don't Cry For Me Argentina at the Grammy's 2018 so I imagine they might have buried the hatchet.

[@turduckenwrath6110]

voluntarios asoka oops- i'll still take it, especially the part about him writing in women's vocal break. Hey, I'll take what I can get at this point 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@scorpioninpink]

@@voluntariosasoka No, if you read her autobiography, she has a memorial for Andrew Lloyd-Webber in her backyard.

[@dohaperson1]

Yes, she has talked and written about the experience overall, but now she's saying the music was bad, yet in other interviews she called it ALW's best score, and if she really thought the music was so awful, why did she jump at the chance of doing Sunset Boulevard--another score she now claims is horrible. I love Patti's singing, but really sometimes she's hard to take.

[@tatemitchell1479]

She never said the music was bad, she said the vocal score was extremely challenging. Those are two different things, but they get conflated through misinterpretation of Patti's opinionated manner. She has said Evita is ALW's best work and she has never gone back on that. All of ALW's scores _are_ a vocal challenge, but that doesn't make them bad musicals. It just makes them a bitch for a performer, so I get why she may have some negative attachments to them.

[@dohaperson1]

Patti is being a little disingenuous here. Now suddenly she didn't like the Evita score and didn't want to do it and thought the music was bad and the experience was horrible. Yet she jumped with both feet to do Sunset Boulevard, choosing it over Passion...yet she claims that ALW's music is horrible blah blah. She rewrites history sometimes to suit her.

[@UmmOopsy]

dohaperson1 I feel like patti likes ALW musicals, however she might not like the man himself since it is said that in Evita and Sunset Boulevard that they had fights

[@pattireinheimer5612]

She’s talked about the music in Evita being difficult and ALW hating women for years.

[@dohaperson1]

@@pattireinheimer5612 The music being difficult and the music being bad are two different things. She made ONE comment in her autobiography that because the music is so difficult, she thought he hated women. She has not said that generally he hates women. Patti is understandably upset about what happened with Sunset but is clearly re-writing history a little.

[@noreexic]

Graham really wants to be English

[@musicaltheatergeek79]

CoCoMoroney how do you mean?

[@noreexic]

musicaltheatergeek79 It was a tease lol. But his accents is very English.

[@sybaritext5822]

If you watch his episode of Who Do You Think You Are? Graham's family actually originates in northern England.

[@tatemitchell1479]

@@sybaritext5822 He was raised in Ireland, so his accent should still be Irish! Whatever, he's not a bad person so it really doesn't matter.

[@EastSide-qc5oy]

Oh wow, you can actually understand the words she’s saying when she talks. Because you sure can’t when she SINGS.

[@kalevala29]

are you kidding me? watch her sing ladies who lunch. it could not be more enunciated.

[@tatemitchell1479]

This woman went to Juilliard for crying out loud! You don't get better vocal training than that! There's just no pleasing some people, they hear what they wanna hear.

[@EastSide-qc5oy]

Rozzie Riley I’m quite familiar with Julliard and the school’s reputation but that doesn’t mean I have to like or appreciate her as a performer. She’s a huge star of the stage but not everyone likes her. I think she has her strengths but is overall highly overrated. (Not to mention she seems like a pretty horrible person with a shitty personality but that’s really another story and not the point.)

[@EastSide-qc5oy]

Rozzie Riley And by the way it is not a matter of hearing what I “want to hear” What a manipulative way to discount those who might disagree with your opinion. It’s not what I want to hear, it’s what I ACTUALLY hear.