BroadwayGirlNYC Review: Patti LuPone: A Memoir

 

 

P is for Powerhouse, and it's also for Patti LuPone.

I pre-ordered her new autobiography, titled simply Patti LuPone: A Memoir, and read it cover-to-cover without putting it down.  It took me three hours, which flew by. 

The book covers a lifetime of theatrical and personal triumphs - along with a surprising number of heartbreaks, betrayals, and infidelities. 

As any fan of Patti LuPone knows, her resume reads like a list of The Greatest Roles for Women in Musical Theatre: Mama Rose in Gypsy, Nellie Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, Fantine in Les Miserables, and of course Evita.  (The book also covers her significant experience in straight plays, work that was nearly forgotten after she was labeled a "musical theatre actress" during Evita!)

At first glance, it's easy to assume Patti LuPone has had an effortless, enviable career.  Enviable it may be, in retrospect, but there are stories recounted here that were difficult to read, much less (I imagine) live.  Starting with the education she received at Julliard, which might be described as "character building" as difficult experiences often are, Patti's growth as an actress wasn't easy.  She suffered through a long-running (but never "opening") show called The Bakers Wife; endured the silent treatment from Arthur Laurents for decades; and dealt with traumatic treatment from Andrew Lloyd Webber during the London (premiere) run of Sunset Boulevard.

In short, every challenge and pitfall you can imagine in a theatrical career, Patti faced. 

But did she fall?  No.

In addition to a backbone of steel and an unparalleled talent, the book illustrates a drive in Patti that supersedes every test she has faced.  It's easy to see why people around her might call her obstinate, or worse - but it's because she knows her worth and refuses to let anyone devalue her emotionally, psychologically, or professionally.  Admittedly, she takes ownership of certain moments she acted out her anger on the wrong target.  But when there are battles to be fought, giving up doesn't occur this woman.  Patti is a fighter, and she refuses to take lay down for anybody. 

Memoir isn't all stubbornness and battles fought, though.  There is real emotion here.

I am particularly taken with the intensity with which Patti experiences emotions, related to both her successes and her defeats.  (I suppose her range should come as no surprise, since she accesses extreme emotion so expertly on the stage!)

Patti pulls no punches naming names and calling those out who have betrayed her.  She has choice words for her Life Goes On TV husband Bill Smitrovitch, Bakers Wife co-star Chaim Topol, superstar Glenn Close (who took Patti's role in Sunset Boulevard), and especially Andrew Lloyd Webber, who Patti makes sound like perhaps the most evil man in show business.

By the same token, she is beyond generous with her praise for those who have done her right over the course of her lengthy career.  David Mamet, Mandy Patinkin, Kevin Kline (her first love!) and John Houseman are amongst the angels in Patti's life.  She spares no expense in singing (pun intended) their glories.

If I've gotten to know Patti LuPone through her Memoir (and I feel I have), the one word I'd use to describe her is "unapologetic".  In fact, the  closest she comes to making excuses for herself is to remind the reader that she's Sicilian.   She tells of walking off shows when she feels disrespected, and boldly showing up where she isn't wanted just to make a point (closing night of Sunset Boulevard, from which she'd been uncermoniously fired).  She shamelessly describes her extra-large dressing rooms, her rider (list of required items at every performance) and her refusal to work for less than the rate she has deemed appropriate.  I deeply respect the fact that Patti hasn't tiptoed around the ferocity with which she's fought for what she deserves.

The book isn't perfect; it reads as if it was dictated and transcribed (a common practice with celebrity memoirs, especially when a co-author - in this case Digby Diehl - is employed).  I'd have loved to find the writing a little more lyrical, a little less stilted.  There are also a few continuity issues; stories repeated or references made that haven't yet been explained. 

But let's be honest - those likely to read Patti LuPone: A Memoir will do so for the content, not the style.  There is no doubt that this book belongs in the hands of every fan of Patti's, and indeed every theatre fan who wants to know what being an actress is REALLY about, beyond the stagelights and the glory and the excellent reviews.

Patti LuPone: A Memoir is a bold, straight-to-the-point, emotional, and concise retelling of the life that created, and was created by, Broadway's premiere diva. 

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