Patti Lupone Daniel Benzali 'Sunset Boulevard' Original 1993 Adelphi Programme

Patti Lupone, Daniel Benzali 'Sunset Boulevard' Original 1993 Adelphi Programme
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Productions[edit]
Original London production[edit]
The original West End production, directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Bob Avian, with costumes from Anthony Powell, opened on 12 July 1993 at the Adelphi Theatre. The cast featured Patti LuPone as Norma Desmond, Kevin Anderson as Joe Gillis, Meredith Braun as Betty Schaefer, and Daniel Benzali as Norma's ex-husband, Max.[13]
Billy Wilder and his wife Audrey were joined by Nancy Olson, who had played Betty Schaefer in the original film, at the opening night performance. Of it, Wilder observed, "The best thing they did was leave the script alone," and of Patti LuPone he exclaimed, "She's a star from the moment she walks on stage".[14]
Reviews were mixed, according to the Associated Press (AP) review summary. That summary quoted, for example, the review by Michael Kuchwara for the AP: "Some reviewers felt Lloyd Webber took the sting out of a cynical tale. 'Wilder's bitter brew has been diluted,' wrote AP Drama Critic Michael Kuchwara. He added: 'When LuPone is off stage, the show sags.'"[15] Frank Rich wrote "Much of the film's plot, dialogue and horror-movie mood are preserved, not to mention clips to illustrate those sequences in which the faded silent-film star, Norma Desmond ...and her kept, young screenwriter, Joe Gillis, ... travel by car. The lyricist, Don Black ..., and the playwright, Christopher Hampton ..., smartly tailor their jokes to the original screenplay's style. At times, even Lloyd Webber gets into the Wilder swing. Both acts open with joltingly angry diatribes about Hollywood, part exposition-packed recitative and part song, in which the surprisingly dark, jazz-accented music, the most interesting I've yet encountered from this composer, meshes perfectly with the cynical lyrics. Anderson makes the sardonic Wilder voice an almost physical presence in Sunset Boulevard, but he is too often drowned out by both LuPone's Broadway belt and mechanical efforts of Lloyd Webber and his director, Trevor Nunn, to stamp the proven formulas of Phantom and Les Miz on even an intimate tale. At odd moments, the mammoth set advances like a glacier toward the audience or retreats, or, most dramatically, rises partly up into the flies, actors in tow."[13]
With associate director Andrew MacBean, the show closed for three weeks, re-opening on 19 April 1994, revamped to follow the Los Angeles production, with a second official "opening". The revamped musical had a new song, "Every Movie's a Circus", a new set, and new stars, Betty Buckley and John Barrowman. Anita Louise Combe took over the role of Betty Schaeffer and, as a result of her performance, was invited to play the role in the original Canadian Premiere production in Toronto the following year. [16] Michael Bauer, who had originally played DeMille, replaced Benzali as Max, a role he played until the end of the London run (and subsequently on the UK tour and in the BBC concert). Buckley and the production garnered rave reviews. David Lister of The Independent, for example wrote: "The show looked an improvement on the one that got decidedly mixed reviews last summer."[16]
Betty Buckley went on to replace Glenn Close as Norma in the second year of the Broadway production. Elaine Paige, who had filled in when Buckley was ill in 1994, took over the part in the West End in May 1995[17] before joining the Broadway production for the end of its run between 1996 and 1997. Petula Clark filled in for Paige during her holiday in September/October 1995, before taking over the role in January 1996[18] when Paige departed for the United States. The last actress to play Norma in London was Rita Moreno, who filled in for a vacationing Clark in September and October 1996. John Barrowman played Joe until 1995, when he was replaced by Alexander Hanson. Graham Bickley played the role for the final year of the London run.
The show closed on 5 April 1997 after 1,530 performances.[19]
Patti LuPone
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Patti LuPone
LuPone in 2014
Born April 21, 1949 (age 74)
Northport, New York, U.S.
Education Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupation(s) Actress, singer
Years active 1970–present
Spouse Matthew Johnston
​
​(m. 1988)​
Children 1
Relatives Robert LuPone (brother)
Adelina Patti (great-great aunt)
Website pattilupone.net
Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theatre. After starting her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972 she soon gained acclaim for her leading performances on the Broadway and West End stage. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, and two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame.[1][2]
She made her Broadway debut in Three Sisters in 1973. She went on to receive three Tony Awards; two for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles as Eva Perón in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita in 1980, and Rose in Gypsy in 2008 and one for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Joanne in Stephen Sondheim's Company in 2022.[3] Her other Tony-nominated roles were in The Robber Bridegroom in 1975, Anything Goes in 1988, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 2006, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown in 2010, and War Paint in 2017.
For her performances on the West End stage she received three Laurence Olivier Awards, one for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances as Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables and Moll in The Cradle Will Rock in 1985, and the second for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Company in 2019. She was nominated for her role as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard in 1993. She has two Grammy Awards for the recording of the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
On television, she starred in the drama series Life Goes On (1989–1993) and received Emmy Award nominations for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995) and her guest role in the sitcom Frasier (1998). She also had appeared in three Ryan Murphy series, American Horror Story (2013–2014, 2022), Pose (2019), and Hollywood (2020).[4] She also acted in Penny Dreadful (2014–2016) and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2017). Her film roles include 1941 (1979), Witness (1985), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Summer of Sam (1999), State and Main (2000), and Beau Is Afraid (2023).
Early life and training[edit]
LuPone was born on April 21, 1949, in Northport, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Italian-American parents Angela Louise (née Patti), a library administrator at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator and English teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, Long Island.[citation needed] Her great-great aunt was 19th-century Spanish-born Italian opera singer Adelina Patti.[5] Her father's side came from Abruzzo, while her mother's side is Sicilian.[6] Her older brother Robert LuPone was a Tony-nominated actor, dancer, and director who originated the role of Zach, the director, in A Chorus Line.[7] She grew up Roman Catholic.[8]
LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: Group 1),[9] which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers.[10] She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.[11] LuPone has a mezzo-soprano vocal range,[12][13][14] and she is known for her strong/high "Broadway" belt singing voice. In a 2008 interview, she maintained that she was "an actor who sings", and thankful she "had a voice".[15]
Career[edit]
Theatre[edit]
1970s: Early career[edit]
In 1972, LuPone became one of the original members of The Acting Company, formed by John Houseman.[16] The Acting Company is a nationally touring repertory theater company.[17] LuPone's stint with the company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she appeared in many of their productions, such as The Cradle Will Rock, The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Beggar's Opera, The Time of Your Life, The Lower Depths, The Hostage, Next Time I'll Sing to You, Measure for Measure, Scapin, Edward II, The Orchestra, Love's Labours Lost, Arms and the Man, and The Way of the World. She made her Broadway debut in the play The Three Sisters as Irina in 1973.[18] For her work in The Robber Bridegroom (1975) she received her first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.[19] The Acting Company honored LuPone on March 12, 2012, in an event called "Patti's Turn" at the Kaye Playhouse.[20]
In 1976, theater producer David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway production of The Baker's Wife. The production toured at length but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and it closed out of town.[21]
Since 1977, LuPone has frequently collaborated with David Mamet, appearing in his plays The Woods, All Men Are Whores, The Blue Hour, The Water Engine (1978),[22] Edmond and The Old Neighborhood (1997).[23] The New York Times reviewer wrote of LuPone in The Old Neighborhood, "Those who know Ms. LuPone only as a musical comedy star will be stunned by the naturalistic fire she delivers here. As Jolly, a part inspired by Mr. Mamet's real-life sister and his realized female character, Ms. LuPone finds conflicting layers of past and present selves in practically every line. She emerges as both loving matriarch and wounded adolescent, sentimental and devastatingly clear-eyed."[24] In 1978, she appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of Studs Terkel's Working, which ran for only 24 performances.[25]
In 1979, LuPone starred in the original Broadway production of Evita, the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and directed by Harold Prince.[26] Although LuPone was hailed by critics, she has since said that her time in Evita was not an enjoyable one. In a 2007 interview, she stated "Evita was the worst experience of my life," she said. "I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee."[27] Despite the trouble, LuPone won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.[28] It was not until she had reprised the role in a production in Sydney when she had finally enjoyed the part and felt comfortable singing the score.[29] LuPone and her co-star, Mandy Patinkin, remained close friends both on and off the stage.
1980s[edit]
In May 1983, founding alumni of The Acting Company reunited for an off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical The Cradle Will Rock at the American Place Theater. It was narrated by John Houseman with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister.[30] The production premiered at The Acting Company's summer residence at Chautauqua Institution, toured the United States including an engagement at the Highland Park, Illinois' Ravinia Festival in 1984 and played in London's West End.
When the run ended, LuPone remained in London to create the role of Fantine in Cameron Mackintosh's original London production of Les Misérables, in 1985, which premiered at the Barbican Theatre, at that time the London home of the Royal Shakespeare Company.[31] LuPone had previously worked for Mackintosh in a short-lived Broadway revival of Oliver! in 1984, playing Nancy opposite Ron Moody as Fagin.[32] For her work in both The Cradle Will Rock and Les Misérables, LuPone received the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.[33][34]
She returned to Broadway in 1987 to star as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of Cole Porter's Anything Goes. She starred opposite Howard McGillin, and they both received Tony nominations for their performances.[35][36] The Lincoln Center cast reassembled for a one-night-only concert performance of Anything Goes in New York in 2002.[37]
1990s[edit]
In 1993, LuPone returned to London to create the role of Norma Desmond in the original production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard at the Adelphi Theater. There was much anticipation of LuPone appearing in another Lloyd Webber musical, the first since her performance in Evita. Her time in the show was difficult, and she was abruptly fired by Lloyd Webber and replaced by Glenn Close, who opened the show in Los Angeles and eventually on Broadway.[38][39]
In November 1995, LuPone starred in her one-woman show, Patti LuPone on Broadway, at the Walter Kerr Theatre.[40] For her work, she received an Outer Critics Circle Award. The following year, she was selected by producer Robert Whitehead to succeed his wife, Zoe Caldwell in the Broadway production of Terrence McNally's play Master Class, based on the master classes given by operatic diva Maria Callas at Juilliard.[38] LuPone received positive reviews, with Vincent Canby writing "Ms. LuPone really is vulnerable here in a way that wasn't anticipated: she's in the process of creating a role for which she isn't ideally suited, but she's working like a trouper to get it right."[41] She appeared in the play in the West End. In November 2001, she starred in a Broadway revival of Noises Off, with Peter Gallagher and Faith Prince.[42]
LuPone with artist Ken Fallin at The Wall Street Journal's Tony Awards party, which LuPone hosted and at which Fallin's work was auctioned for charity
LuPone has performed in many New York concert productions of musicals including Pal Joey with Peter Gallagher and Bebe Neuwirth, Annie Get Your Gun with Peter Gallagher, Sweeney Todd with George Hearn in both New York and San Francisco, Anything Goes with Howard McGillin, Can-Can with Michael Nouri for City Center Encores!, Candide with Kristin Chenoweth, Passion with Michael Cerveris and Audra McDonald and Gypsy with Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti for City Center Encores!. Her performances in Sweeney Todd, and Candide were recorded and broadcast for PBSs Great Performances and were released on DVD. The concert staging of Passion was televised as part of Live from Lincoln Center.
2000s[edit]
Since 2001, LuPone has been a regular performer at the Chicago Ravinia Festival. She starred in a six-year-long series of concert presentations of Stephen Sondheim musicals, which began in honor of his seventieth birthday. Her roles here have included Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Fosca in Passion, Cora Hoover Hooper in Anyone Can Whistle, Rose in Gypsy and two different roles in Sunday in the Park with George.[43]
She returned to Broadway in October 2005 to star as Mrs. Lovett in John Doyle's new Broadway production of Sweeney Todd. In this radically different interpretation of the musical, the ten actors on stage also served as the show's orchestra, and LuPone played the tuba and orchestra bells as well as performing the score vocally.[44] For her performance, she received a Tony Award nomination as well as Golden Icon Award for Best Female Musical Theater Performance.[45] In August 2006, LuPone took a three-week leave from Sweeney in order to play Rose in Lonny Price's production of Gypsy at Ravinia.[43] Sweeney Todd closed in September 2006.
On February 10, 2007, LuPone starred with Audra McDonald in the Los Angeles Opera production of Kurt Weill's opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny directed by John Doyle.[46] The cast recording of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny was recognized at the 51st Grammy Awards as Best Classical Album and Best Opera Recording in February 2009.[47]
Following the Ravinia Festival production of Gypsy, LuPone and author Arthur Laurents mended a decade-long rift, and she was cast in the City Center Encores! Summer Stars production of the show. Laurents directed LuPone in Gypsy for a 22-performance run (July 9, 2007 – July 29, 2007) at City Center.[48] This production of Gypsy then transferred to Broadway, opening March 27, 2008 at the St. James Theatre.[49] LuPone won the Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama League Award, Drama Desk Award and Tony Award for her performance in Gypsy.[50][51] It closed on January 11, 2009.
2010s[edit]
In August 2010, LuPone appeared in a three-day run of Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun where she played the title role opposite Patrick Cassidy at the Ravinia Festival, directed by Lonny Price.[52] That same year, LuPone created the role of Lucia in the original Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which opened at the Belasco Theater on November 4, 2010, and closed on January 2, 2011 after 23 preview and 69 regular performances. LuPone was nominated for a Tony and Drama Desk, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance.
LuPone's memoir recounting her life and career from childhood onwards, was published in September 2010 titled Patti LuPone: A Memoir.[53][54]
In 2011, LuPone played the role of Joanne in a four-night limited engagement concert production of Stephen Sondheim's musical Company at the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Paul Gemignani. The production starred Neil Patrick Harris as Bobby. H

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