Patti LuPone "Evita" commercial featuring "Rainbow High"

[Miserent]

Posted: 7/26/13 at 4:02pm

I've never seen this before, did they play this a lot on TV? What a neat little video!
Lauren Bacall Her

[Miserent]

Posted: 7/26/13 at 4:05pm

Just found this one too:

I wanna be in an Evita commercial

[Miserent]

Posted: 7/26/13 at 4:05pm

Just found this one too:

I wanna be in an Evita commercial

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 7/26/13 at 4:15pm

Now THAT'S how you sing Rainbow High!!

BTW, Ben Rimalower was at one of the front center tables the night I went to see Patti at 54 Below. He smiled politely throughout the show but a lady near me was crying hysterically when Patti sang Don't Cry For Me Argentina. To hear that voice live is breathtaking. If she had sung Rainbow High I would have been sent to intensive care.

Updated On: 7/26/13 at 04:15 PM

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 7/26/13 at 4:45pm

Even from that small clip, I can imagine how amazing her acting was. I wish I was around for her run.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/26/13 at 5:12pm

The Evita commercial has an interesting evolution.

What I linked below was the commercial that they ran on channel 4 during the 11:00 News. And they ran this commercial nightly for months and months and months. Then when everyone was sick of it, they cut it down to a 30 second spot (cut out the Buenos Aires segment) and then finally down to a 15 second spot with just Patti and Mandy singing.

There was also another commercial that went:

Patti: Don't cry for me Argentina
Mandy: You were supposed to have been immortal, that's all they wanted, not much to ask for.
Patti: The truth is I never left you, all through my wild days, my mad existence, I kept my promise...
then Patti mumbled the last line. I always maintain that she sang to Mandy "You keep your distance." It was a much more dramatic hook than "Don't keep your distance"

They started running the golden head commercial when Patti left.

I've never seen the Rainbow High segment as a tv commercial. Perhaps that is B roll that they played in hotels?
Link

[SNAFU]

Posted: 7/26/13 at 5:17pm

They still aired Patti's commercial after she left. I remember reading an article about the producers getting critism for doing that.

The crystal head comercial always intrigued me. It is very difficult to cast clear anything that size. There was on flaw in it, a trapped air bubble that always drove me mad. You can't make it out on this video.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/26/13 at 5:23pm

"They still aired Patti's commercial after she left. I remember reading an article about the producers getting critism for doing that."

Probably because Patti bitched about it. They were running the commercial with Mandy long after he left the show and that's why you see in some of the ads a disclaimer that says "Original Broadway Cast". I actually think that they were still running the original commercial when Mandy opened in Ragtime the movie.

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 7/26/13 at 5:24pm

If I recall correctly, Patti refused to audition for the Evita movie (in one of its many early stages) and told the producer or director to just view her commercial for the Broadway production.

Using that commercial's lighting and soft lens, maybe Lucy could have done Evita right after she did Mame.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/26/13 at 5:30pm

I miss the 1980s.


link

[The Scorpion]

Posted: 7/28/13 at 8:38pm

Thanks for posting! I'd never seen the Rainbow High one before. Was so glad she performed it in her little concert her in London - that plus Buenos Aires plus With One Look made my night.

[Replacement Cast]

Posted: 7/28/13 at 11:42pm

Those commercials ran all the time! GothamPC, I, too, miss Broadway of the 1980s.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/28/13 at 11:57pm

They aired the Patti/Mandy commercials for the tour too.

[ABitOnTheSide]

Posted: 7/29/13 at 9:31pm

WOW! That crystal head commercial is very dramatic. Some lucky queen probably owns it and has it sitting out on his mantle.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 7/29/13 at 9:55pm

"Probably because Patti bitched about it. "

Probably but I don't think commercial royalties and residuals were then what they are today. zn which case if they were using her image and voice to sell a show she was no longer involved in, she had every right to complain and complain LOUD!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/30/13 at 12:42am

Typically actors do not get residuals from their image being used. If they are a part of an original cast, they sign off on all that stuff. If their agent gets too greedy before the show even opens, they risk losing the part or getting a reputation.

Groff and Michele are on all the SA print materials-they never see a dime. Ripley's eyes are in the N2N logo-never sees a dime. Wicked commercials run with Hilty, Block, Menzel, Cheno, Murney, et al. Wicked contracts ensure they never see a dime.

Back in the 70s maybe you could bitch and get the commercial redone, but nowadays its all contracted. You sign off most of your rights to your image.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 7/30/13 at 1:37am

There were several versions of that commercial. And they all ran dozens and dozens of times each day on New York local stations.

The one most available on youtube is the post Tony Awards one. "That's right Evita! Clap your hands and stamp your feet for winning 9 Tony Awards!"

The ORIGINAL one is harder to find. It's not the one that was posted here by the OP (I never recall seeing Rainbow High) but it DID include the second, more intense "I KEPT MY PROMISE".

I was 9 years old and an avid television watcher. I must have seen these ads a thousand times. I remember the revolving head too. I know that the Patti version ran a very long time, and the head one ran toward the end of the run.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/30/13 at 2:01am

I remember when The Pone was young and exciting.

[blaxx]

Posted: 7/30/13 at 2:08am

She will always be exciting. Or at least never boring.

I hope she gets really old and gets senile-diva fits, those will be classic!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/30/13 at 12:26pm

But my question is why did they go with golden head commercial? Was it just to freshen up the ad campaign?

[SNAFU]

Posted: 7/30/13 at 2:36pm

It was reminiscent of the concept album cover. It is actually a clear head in a yellowish light.
Betty today wouldn't a filmed TV commercial be under the jurisdiction of Sag/Aftra?

[lovebwy]

Posted: 7/30/13 at 4:31pm

At the time I don't think it mattered as much. LuPone wasn't that big a star, so it didn't matter. They kept running it long after she left.

In the case of Sweeney Todd, I can remember them re-filming the ad with Dotty Loudon when she took over for Landsbury.

Also, for Woman of the Year they redid it when Betty Bacall left and Raquel Welch took over.

Also for They're Playing Our Song they re-filmed it with Tony Roberts and Anita Gilette.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/30/13 at 5:11pm

Oh yes, lovebwy, I remember the Raquel Welch commercial. I had forgotten about that.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they used Andrea McArdle's voice on the "Annie" commercial long after she left the show too.

I wish I could get in a time machine and go back and see some of the commercial I remember. There was one for The Drake Hotel. They made it sound so fancy being on Park Avenue.

[kieranbec]

Posted: 7/30/13 at 5:33pm

The first few seconds of the second one were some of the creepiest moments of my life.

Posted: 8/4/13 at 2:04pm

god i remember this.