Patti LuPone Sounds Off About Webber, Glenn Close, Sondheim, and COMPANY

Patti LuPone is never one to keep quiet about her opinions. Her recent interview with The Guardian is no exception.

LuPone spilled the tea in this new interview, tackling her relationship with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Glenn Close, how she feels about Stephen Sondheim and Madonna, and who she thinks is a terrible director.

LuPone is the first to admit that she may not be the easiest to work with.

"I am exacting, and I push," she said. "If someone has the talent they have the RIGHT to be temperamental. They complained about Bette Midler when she was doing Dolly, but she wouldn't be exciting if she wasn't temperamental. It's only the ones who don't have the talent and are temperamental who make you say, 'Just get out of here!'"

Switching gears to LuPone's current turn as Joanne in the revival of Company happening in London, she talked about why she took the gig after retiring. Director Marianne Elliott is the first female director LuPone worked with since the 70s.

"We need more female directors and writers," she said.

While it is assumed by many that she has a close relationship to Stephen Sondheim, due to performing in many of his shows, LuPone is quick to set the record straight.

"I don't think I'm Steve's first choice," she says. "I've done so much by now."

She said that at the moment their relationship is good. "We know each other socially, because we live near each other in Connecticut. But I have to be careful with him professionally, because he's exacting."

LuPone's famed feud with Andrew Lloyd Webber is always a topic of conversation. It began when Webber cast LuPone in Sunset Boulevard in London in 1993, and then replaced her with Glenn Close before taking the show to Broadway. LuPone sued Webber over the incident and won $1 million.

"We haven't made up, no. No!" she said. "The poor guy - it seems to me he wants the kind of critical success Stephen Sondheim has."

When talking about the future, LuPone is ready to settle down.

"I want the quiet life," she said, before ranting about how "the Christian right in America is no different from al-Qaida. Print that, because someone needs to say it out loud!"

Read more of the interview at The Guardian.

Company is currently in previews at the Gielgud Theatre with its official opening next week.

The cast of Company is: Rosalie Craig as Bobbie, Patti LuPone as Joanne, Mel Giedroyc as Sarah, Jonathan Bailey as Jamie, George Blagden as PJ,Ashley Campbell as Peter, Richard Fleeshman as Andy, Alex Gaumond as Paul, Richard Henders as David, Ben Lewis as Larry, Daisy Maywood as Susan, Jennifer Saayeng as Jenny, Matthew Seadon-Young as Theo and Gavin Spokes as Harry. Joining them are: Michael Colbourne, Francesca Ellis, Ewan Gillies, Grant Neal and Jaimie Pruden.

At Bobbie's 35th birthday party all her friends are wondering why she isn't married; why she can't find the right man and why she hasn't settled down to have a family. The multi-award winning musical comedy about life, love and marriage includes Stephen Sondheim's iconic songs, The Ladies who Lunch, Being Alive, Side by Side and You Could Drive a Person Crazy.