We saw this on Broadway in 1996. I am not a Patti Lupone fan and this play did not change my mind about her. She's always too stagey for my taste. Perhaps the book by Terence McNally was also not to my taste. I am sure I would not have liked it any better with Tyne Dailey who also played it. There was not enough interaction between characters. Just Patti Lupone opining to three opera students on what makes a great opera singer. Based on Maria Callas, it was a big hit. Just not for me.
4 comments:
Patti - I saw small snippets of the Tyne Daley production and I thought she was quite good, although I know what you mean about the interaction among the characters.
I know what you mean about Patti Lupone. She tends to overplay her role. The only time I really liked her performance was in EVITA.
And that one I missed.
Not a huge Patti Lupone fan either, though she was perfectly cast as Mama Rose in GYPSY. (We also saw Tyne Daly in the role.) And yes, EVITA made her a star. We saw it in San Francisco in 1979, a long time ago. Also saw her in the awful (my opinion) SUNSET BOULEVARD in London, and in SWEENEY TODD on Broadway.
Last year we saw AN EVENING WITH PATTI LUPONE & MANDY PATINKIN, another performer I don't love, and it worked surprisingly well. Clearly they are really friends and have real affection for each other. The day we saw them was Mandy's birthday and she made a big deal of it.
We've skipped all versions of MASTER CLASS. Not an opera or a Maria Callas fan.
Jeff M.
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