Everything's Coming Up Patti!

The month of July is a very busy one for me. Unfortunately, after the Tony's are over, I am going to see the two shows in the biggest race of the year: the Musical Revivals. At the end of the month, I will be seeing South Pacific, thanks to a terrific friend who happens to be in the cast (I know big people in high places ... I feel so cool). Last night, I started the month of theater seeing Gypsy starring Patti LuPone.

Now, I am going to sound hypocritical after I wrote some harsh things about Ms. LuPone in my Tony review, but I have to say her performance sincerely changed my attitude. Though I still think everyone else would agree she's a total bitch. I had a comical moment yesterday when I went up to the House Manager around 6 pm just to confirm that "Ms. LuPone would be going on tonight." The man simply replied dryly, "Yes, the queen will be going on." Obviously, he enjoys his working relationship with Patti.

Her reputation for missing performances was bigger than I thought. The final announcement after turning cell phones off and unwrapping candy was, "Ms. Lupone has injured her foot ..." The crowd gasped! "...and will be performing tonight with isotoners." That was Patti's first roaring applause of the night. It was followed by many others.

Anyway, I can honestly say that Patti's performance (though filled with her consonantless and warbled singing) was superb! It was possibly the greatest musical theater performance I have ever seen in my life. She found a balance to Mama Rose that I have never seen before. She was horrifying, yet so nurturing and loving. She was overbearing, yet found moments to be passive. She was huge, yet found moments to be small. Never has a role been played so perfectly on the stage in front of my eyes.

You almost feel bad the cast members of Gypsy who appear in the opening minutes. While a group of children (Baby June and Baby Louise included) and Uncle Jocko hold an audition, you could feel the audience's tension. Where is Patti? When is she going to enter? Then the roar came! "Sing it out, Louise!" What a beautiful foreshadowing moment that is! It's only the first of so many beautiful moments that writer Arthur Laurents creates in what I would argue is the best book of any musical ever written. This moment for Patti was the first of many loud and long applauses. I timed this one at around 40 seconds.

Mr. Laurents should be given a lot of credit for helping find Patti's vulnerable side, a side not found in many productions, including her last stint on Broadway, John Doyle's Sweeney Todd. Mr. Laurents is a director that is not only unafraid of silence on stage, but cherishes it. Ms. Benanti, as the title character, especially thrives off of Mr. Laurents' quiet moments as we see her entire struggle in her body language. The most memorable moment of this would probably be when she watches her mother reveal her newest dream in "Everything's Coming Up Roses." The look on her face truly supporting Ms. LuPone's acting. We were all terrified by the lyrics and not simply bopping our heads to the old familiar tune.

Mr. Boyd Gaines also gave a terrific performance as the lovable agent Herbie. While there were plenty of opportunities for him to show his talents, he truly gave his all to making Ms. LuPone look better! His struggle between love and show business was apparent throughout, only making Ms. LuPone’s performance more appealing. It was a lesson in how to make your star look better.

Mr. Gaines and Ms. Benanti has a particularly comical moment during “Wherever We Go” when instead of singing the notes of the song in their natural, beautiful voices, they followed the lead of Patti LuPone and trumpeted their way through it. They even mimicked some of her famous facial expressions. It was unclear whether or not it was Mama Rose or Patti LuPone they were having fun with, but either way, it made this simple number a highlight in a practically flawless production.

While the final number, “Rose’s Turn,” is usually a big discovery for the audience, Ms. LuPone foreshadowed it the whole show. It was clear that Mama Rose was not just a stage-mother, but also one that had a “dream” of her own. Her mental breakdown at the end was not sudden but was being built up the entire show, making the number even more brilliant! At the conclusion of the final note, half the audience sprang to their feet and to give her a rousing ovation. The rest of the audience soon followed. During the two-minute standing ovation, Mama Rose (and I’m sure a little Patti) blew kisses and waved at the audience during her proud moment! Patti truly stopped the show!

It was a terrific night of theater and one that will be hard to top! I am curious to see if Lincoln Center’s South Pacific will earn their Tony over this amazing production. I can’t imagine anything being better, but I am eager to see for myself.

Next week will be a trip to see City Center's Encore’s Damn Yankees starring Sean Hayes of Will & Grace fame as the Devil himself and Jane Krakowski of 30 Rock as Lola. I am also eager to see Xanadu’s Cheyenne Jackson as Shoeless Joe Hardy. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be seeing next year’s big Broadway Revival!