Patti's At It Again!

[carnzee]

I don't think every Lupone interview needs its own thread, but this one is a doozy. I'm a die-hard Patti lover, but she comes off as down-right bitchy in her comments about Close and Lloyd Webber. Of particular interest are her cryptic remarks about "Steve."



https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/oct/11/print-that-broadway-legend-patti-lupone-sounds-off

[ljay889]

Patti is officially the new Elaine Stritch. Many of us have said this day was slowly approaching. There’s no stopping her from speaking her mind, and I love it.

[adamgreer]

This interview is brilliant and refreshingly honest.  I wish more people had her candor.  It gets dreadfully dull reading interviews from the Bernadette Peters types, where every quote was clearly run through a publicist and contains not a bit of authenticity. 

I'm sure the "haters" will be along soon to complain about her, but doesn't that just kind of prove one of the points she makes?

And yes, she has officially become the new Elaine Stritch.

[ErikJ972]

She sounds like a bitter a**hole. 

As much as she hates Trump, she knows how to act like him.

[SeanD2]

ErikJ972 said: "She sounds like a bitter a**hole.

As much as she hates Trump, she knows how to act like him."

She may be blunt, but she does not act like Trump. Trump is a liar who ripped children from their families, demonizes the concept of a free press, and brags about assaulting women. Patti just expresses her opinions. False equivalency. 

[Kad]

I guess we're doing the Love Patti / Hate Patti thing again. Okay.

[qolbinau]

I love that she calls out the ‘Christian right’ in the USA and compares it to Islamic extremist groups. She is so right.

[Lot666]

"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."

While I admire Ms. LuPone's talent, this statement is representative of the problem I have with her. I feel that Bette Midler was obnoxious at the Tony Awards, and like her, LuPone is obnoxious because she feels she has "the RIGHT to be temperamental". She uses the word "temperamental" as a euphemism for "mean-spirited b*tch". Both she and Ms. Midler seem to feel that their celebrity is an excuse, and even a justification, for relentlessly caustic behavior. While I generally agree with the sociopolitical leanings of both women and applaud their staunch resistance to social injustice and political corruption, I also think one can be talented and famous without being intentionally nasty and abrasive as a matter of course.

[givesmevoice]

I love her. I think she’s brilliant and sassy and right and brave. I want to go to dinner with her and hear her talk for hours.

I would not want to be on her PR team.

[ABitOnTheSide]

What do you expect? She's a theater legend AND a Long Island Sicilian. What a combo!

Love her, love her, love her.

[Miles2Go2]

I expected to hate this interview, but I enjoyed it. The people who she throws shade at all apparently had it coming. She’s not an “easy” person. She’s not a very forgiving person, which may not be very psychologically healthy, but it is her right and seems to be part of the package her personality which has allowed her to reach such artistic heights. If Company transfers to Broadway, I am so there. It would be my first and (and according to her) probably last chance to see her. Also, as a Madonna fan, I’m glad she backed away from another full-on dis. As far as I know, Madonna has never publicly dissed Patti although like Patti, she has her own history of throwing shade at a lot of specific people, just not so much anymore. Interviewers just know it’s easy to to get Patti to say something dish-y by asking about Madge.

[SomethingPeculiar]

Her honesty is refreshing, but I wish she'd drop the anger at Glenn Close. It's not like Glenn maliciously prevented her from playing Norma in the U.S., it was all Webber (though Glenn Close meant a lot more for the box office).

I think Elaine Stritch's memory issues onstage made her more endearing/forgiving when she went off in interviews. (And the fact that she had brushed shoulders with Brando, Noel Coward, Strasberg/Adler, Merman, Richard Rodgers, Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee all before she met Sondheim.) Patti's total sharpness adds to the bitchiness.

This is the first negative anything we've heard about Bette in Dolly, right?

[bdboston]

At least Elaine Stritch was unpredictable. Patti LuPone seems to rant about the same things/people, which gets old to me. I'm all for her speaking her mind, but I'd love to hear what she has to say on other topics.

[haterobics]

bdboston said: "At least Elaine Stritch was unpredictable. Patti LuPone seems to rant about the same things/people, which gets old to me. I'm all for her speaking her mind, but I'd love to hear what she has to say on other topics."

Well, she is being interviewed, so she is answering their questions?

[fashionguru_23]

God, I love her! So honest, and ballsy!

[bdboston]

Oh, totally agree, haterobics; she's most certainly answering interviewers' questions. But she could easily take her "ballsiness" in a different direction and respond "Oh, I've talked about X to death; moving on."  That would be unpredictable. She seems content with the re-hashing.

[morosco]

"If someone has the talent they have the RIGHT to be temperamental." -Patti LuPone

Okay Patti. Let us talk about rights. Audiences have the right to understand lyrics being sung. I was furious throughout WAR PAINT because the majority of your singing was unintelligible. The fact that you are temperamental is probably partly to blame because everyone associated with the show was likely afraid to bring that fact to your attention.

 

[A Director]

Patti, you're a bore

We've heard this before

For Gahhhd sake, please sit down!

The interview is one giant cliche.

 

[Elegance101]

I think she often rides the line between being unapologetic and brass (both in a good way) and being straight-up petty. Reading this interview, I thought both “yes queen! Speak your mind!” and also “okay, at this point in your life, why do you care about these things?” I get that she’s asked specifically about these people and I love how she doesn’t lie, but was the comment about Glenn trying to shmooze Jon Hamm really necessary? She could’ve clarified that she wasn’t getting dinner with her and moved on.

[Miles2Go2]

morosco said: ""If someone has the talent they have the RIGHT to be temperamental." -Patti LuPone

Okay Patti. Let us talk about rights. Audiences have the right to understand lyrics being sung. I was furious throughout WAR PAINT because the majority of yoursinging was unintelligible. The fact that you are temperamental is probably partly to blame because everyone associated with the show was likely afraid to bring that fact to your attention."

That was the part of the interview that did astonish me:

"If someone has the talent they have the RIGHT to be temperamental." -Patti LuPone

People have talent in many areas that have nothing to do with the arts and they are expected to exhibit emotional control. Are talented people sometimes excused for being temperamental? By all means, but that doesn’t mean they have the RIGHT. I have certain non-theater related talents, but I try to be gracious. So, I would say so do Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Rapp, Norbert Leo Butz, and Michael Urie. Talent is no excuse for acting like an ass. 

 

[A Director]

It must be a heavy burden to play Patti LuPone onstage and off, Mrs. Johnson.

[Niles Silvers]

It's extremely revealing to witness the people on here hiding behind their anonymity bashing someone who actually speaks their mind in the public glare.  

[GottaHaveAGimmick]

Miles2Go2 said: "morosco said: ""If someone has the talent they have the RIGHT to be temperamental." -Patti LuPone

Okay Patti. Let us talk about rights. Audiences have the right to understand lyrics being sung. I was furious throughout WAR PAINT because the majority of yoursinging was unintelligible. The fact that you are temperamental is probably partly to blame because everyone associated with the show was likely afraid to bring that fact to your attention."

That was the part of the interview that did astonish me:

"If someone has the talent they have the RIGHT to be temperamental." -Patti LuPone

Peoplehave talent in many areas that have nothing to do with the arts and they are expected to exhibit emotional control. Are talented people sometimes excused for beingtemperamental? By all means, but that doesn’t mean they have the RIGHT. I have certain non-theater relatedtalents, but I try to be gracious. So, I would say so do Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald, KristinChenoweth, Anthony Rapp, NorbertLeo Butz, and Michael Urie. Talent is no excuse for acting like an ass.

Yes! This!

I'd much prefer working with a humble person who recognizes their talent is a gift rather than someone who thinks their talent makes them better than someone else and excuses bitchy behavior.

 

[greensgreens]

Her final quote is something everyone should be saying and I have had that thought for years. I'm glad someone finally expressed it bluntly and without sugar coating it.

Having it come from Patti was just the cherry on top. I say, be as Elaine Stritch-y as you want - the world needs more of that!

[IdinaBellFoster]

This interview is GOLD. I love this woman so much.