According to Billy Masters.com, the English National Orchestra was keen on having Patti LuPone in their upcoming production of "Sunset Boulevard". (The English are smart and have good taste.) However, ALW put his foot down and basically said No Close...no rights. F ALW!
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
As you say the English are smart. If you were the ENO would you want somebody who has played the part in London before, isn't that well known to the general public and wasn't wholeheartedly well reviewed in her previous outing? Or would you want an actress who is really rather famous and won a Tony for playing the role. From word go the talk has been of Close. I think she is the reason the production is happening. I suspect if she'd said no the ENO may well have not proceeded.
This is conjecture I know but at least it is sensible conjecture. For the record, I admire LuPone (her show at The Leicester Square Theatre was thrilling) and I liked her a lot in Sunset Boulevard.However, ENO would have lost their collective mind, if they'd gone with Patti over Glenn.
The columnist in question, Billy Masters, knows a thing or two about the entertainment business. If ENO expressed a "desire" to have Patti LuPone reprise her role as Norma Desmond...it may have been just that. Of course, ALW has the ultimate authority to approve such a high profile role. I actually had a chance to hear Miss Patti sing "AIWNSG" in 1996 during a concert here in Austin. Aside from that PBS special, "An Evening With Patti LuPone", she will not sing that particular song in concert. One can hope.
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
Patti LuPone FANatic said: "I actually had a chance to hear Miss Patti sing "AIWNSG" in 1996 during a concert here in Austin. Aside from that PBS special, "An Evening With Patti LuPone", she will not sing that particular song in concert. One can hope.
You mean aside from when she sang it in London at her show at the Leicester Square Theatre in 2013?
At her London show, she sang "With One Look",not "Everything's As If We Never Said Goodbye". Seth Rudetsky served as the pianist.
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)