PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here- Page 5
PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
#100re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 1:39pm
If she didn't sing that song, the audience would continue to focus on June.
#101re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 1:47pmI adore "Little Lamb" and its function. Sure, I'd never want to hear it out of context, but it fits her perfectly for that moment and transition.
MrMidwest
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/8/05
#102re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 2:31pmGypsy isn't really one of my favorites, but I really had a good time at the performance last night. I didn't think it was perfect, but it was definitely alive with emotion. It was a pretty incredible feeling to be not very far from Ms. LuPone as she made her entrance.
"The gods who nurse this universe think little of mortals' cares. They sit in crowds on exclusive clouds and laugh at our love affairs. I might have had a real romance if they'd given me a chance. I loved him, but he didn't love me. I wanted him, but he didn't want me. Then the gods had a spree and indulged in another whim. Now he loves me, but I don't love him." - Cole Porter
#103re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 2:46pm
It struck me for the first time last night exactly as PJ says--more than simply prove her sensitivity, "Little Lamb" gives the audience the cue to re-direct our attention to Louise.
I agree, also, that after many lines of saccharine sweetness, "I wonder how old I am?", catches us up short and we understand the magnitude of the impact of their upbringing on these girls.
I vote NOT to cut "Little Lamb" from the score...
"They have never understood, and no reason that they should.
But if anybody could . . . " --SS
MrMidwest
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/8/05
#104re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 2:49pmLittle Lamb has always been one of the most moving parts of the score for me.
"The gods who nurse this universe think little of mortals' cares. They sit in crowds on exclusive clouds and laugh at our love affairs. I might have had a real romance if they'd given me a chance. I loved him, but he didn't love me. I wanted him, but he didn't want me. Then the gods had a spree and indulged in another whim. Now he loves me, but I don't love him." - Cole Porter
#105re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 2:57pmI actually love Little Lamb, though they are not Mr. Sondheim's best lyrics. Isnt there a need for the number backstage as well? I seem to remember the set change in the 89 revival was audible over Christa Moore.
"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
NBC
Broadway Star Joined: 6/5/03
#106re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 4:11pmJust wanted to add my two cents...I too wish that Patti was getting a longer run as Rose, because that is a performance I would love to experience again. (And since I saw only the second public performance, it would be a treat to see what she would do with the role over time.) But she sounded superb, and I really liked her take on the part. I wasn't as enamored with all of the directorial choices and supporting cast as some were, but it was a terrific night at the theatre, and I think the Ravinia is a lovely setting for a show, particularly this one. (But dang, those cicadas are loud!)
"I cried during the Frug." - MC
BtMartin25
Featured Actor Joined: 1/4/06
#107re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 4:19pmany more info on the two little girls?
bt
Featured Actor Joined: 12/31/69
#108re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 4:43pmi love LITTLE LAMB too...but then, i'm a total sap.
halyiaganitefiz
Stand-by Joined: 6/23/05
#109re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 6:26pm
I thought "Little Lamb" was sweet... and a needed attention-shift from June and the boys. Especially for someone who has never seen it before (and they do exist!) like me.
Sigh. An unforgettable experience, all things considered. I'm so glad it happened.
americanboy99
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/06
#110re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 8:27pmSo, is she done with Sweeney?
evilNpunk
Understudy Joined: 2/14/06
benrimalower
Swing Joined: 2/23/04
#112re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 10:02pm
In GYPSY, Patti LuPone proves yet again that she is a fabulously dynamic singer with more than a little touch of star quality whose legitimate acting chops far exceed those of most performers in musical theatre. She hasn’t been this perfectly cast since EVITA and is now the definitive Rose. Consequently, GYPSY this weekend was not only nirvana for LuPone fanatics (of which I am proudly one), but, more significantly, a Major Event for all but the staunchest of detractors.
It’s no overstatement to call GYPSY the best musical ever written. The show is so rich and yet so efficient and it so sublimely fuses cutting psychological drama with brassy showmanship, providing ample opportunity for a great star to strut her stuff rising to the demanding challenges of acting and singing Rose.
Like many people, I first experienced GYPSY as a film my grandparents would show me and my sister growing up. We loved the movie, right up there with MY FAIR LADY, THE MUSIC MAN and OKLAHOMA and certainly treasured Rosalind Russell’s performance. However it wasn’t until, as a burgeoning adolescent theatre queen seeing Tyne Daly, that I understood the visceral thrills of a Rose on stage “talking loud.” I remember collecting the CDs with Merman and Lansbury and comparing everyone’s different takes and feeling my cup runneth over with good Roses. Unlike many people I was not disappointed by the Bette Midler version. If Bette didn’t act the role as well as Roz, she certainly turned in a delicious turn, the Divine Miss M as Madame Rose, and quickly became my favorite GYPSY CD (I remember making a “desert island” GYPSY tape featuring mostly Bette, the occasional Ethel and Liza stepping in with her 1991 Radio City Some People…) When Bernadette sang Some People on her quintessential Carnegie Hall album, it surpassed all previous recordings. Before I got to see Bernadette do the rest of the show, I hauled ass to Paper Mill for Betty Buckley which was exciting – very belty and very dramatic, but odd, cold and humorless. Even more of a letdown, I hated the Sam Mendes production with Bernadette, despite all of her charms, too coy to command the show and vocally diminished to say the least. I appreciate a different approach and am a huge fan of La Peters, but Rose is someone who makes other people do things and Bernadette is ultimately a passive presence (that’s why we love her, we want to take care of her). People kept telling me “she was sick” “she’s singing it so much better now” “she’s grown so much” and I went back twice but all three times was sorely disappointed. Really, Broadway? This is the GYPSY revival I get?
Then came Ravinia. Patti’s performance was so real, so spontaneous, so in-the-moment – like her work in THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD, Patti gave an insightful and deeply emotional inhabitation of a person plagued by family baggage – extremely convincing moments of parental love, human heartbreak and giddy laughter only now infused with that incendiary thrust, the spark of the great Broadway heroines Fanny Brice, Dolly Levi, (dare I add?) Eva Peron. At times, it was as if I’d never seen the show before, I was so on the edge of my seat transfixed by such marvelous acting and then BOOM, Patti explodes into one of those tremendous songs and it’s musical theatre heaven. And that vitality is so compelling; no one could take their eyes off of her. Watching Patti sing “Rose’s Turn”, “Some People”, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”, hell, even “Have An Egg Roll, Mr. Goldstone”, the energy in the room (which is not a room, but a 3000 seat open air pavilion surrounded by acres of picnic-ers) was so intensely focused on Patti, on Rose that if felt like the stage, the orchestra and the audience were all an extension of Patti, like we couldn’t breathe except as one, with her. The same is true of the more intimate moments in the show as well – nobody can mix their voice and croon and caress a ballad, infusing it with emotion, like Patti and “Small World” and “You’ll Never Get Away From Me” both were beautiful, but they also functioned so well as parts of their respective scenes, especially their simply staged, naturalistic buttons - stylish, musical, and iconic, perfect.
Rose’s Turn was everything the night had been building to and more. Patti was all at once maniacally driven and free in the moment of fantasy, joyfully clamoring and so living the catharsis and abandon of the strip tease. And not even Liza (in her insane Rose's Turn in Liza's Back at the Beacon Theatre) mined as much pathos out of the "Mama, Mama, Mama..." Few actors can fill a moment of that size with authenticity – Patti’s breakdown was harrowing, frightening and, finally, thrilling as her monstrous belt soared over the orchestra crashes of the last “For me.” I don’t think you can imagine without having been there the emotional power of Patti sobbing, convulsing into Louise’ arms in the last scene. And then, one last time there’s that humanity and humor when she perks up like a child at the idea of wearing the mink to the party. A sumptuous ending to a sumptuous performance.
I want so badly for this production to move on and receive all the acclaim it deserves (for Patti, clearly, and for Lonny Price’s masterful direction – here’s someone who can make classic musicals work for a contemporary audience without sacrificing what made them great – imagine what he could do with a month of previews and a set). At the same time, if Arthur Laurents is as miserable and as self-sabotaging a train wreck as everyone says he is, maybe it will never happen. I thought of that last night and knew that this is why I love theatre, the fleeting glory of that moment as Patti bowed to our thunderous reveling, and I knew that I will cherish that memory until the day I die.
Updated On: 8/14/06 at 10:02 PM
#113re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 10:42pm
Nicely done.
And yes, the image of Patti's Rose falling in Louise's arms is one I'll remember.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#114re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/14/06 at 11:38pm
benrimalower
your review brought a tear to my eye.
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#115re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/15/06 at 12:14am
benrimalower needs to write more reviews for BWW!
Thank you, Ben!
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
halyiaganitefiz
Stand-by Joined: 6/23/05
#116re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/15/06 at 12:56am
Amen, benrimalower! AMEN!
Good GOD what a night it was. Four days ago and I'm still reeling from it. *shakes head* I also keep coming back to this damn thread because I am so amazed by all the publicity and talk about this... I've never been to something that caused this much stir. :]
#117re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/15/06 at 4:17amThat is a great review. This is one of two theatrical experiences (the other being Barbara Cook at the Met) that I can't even talk about without crying. It was simply amazing. Patti=Love. I hardly breathed.
-jess-
"I think every actor on the stage should have a shirt that says,'believe it or not-I'm doing my best.'" -Alan Rickman
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#118re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/15/06 at 8:21am
I must admit I was chocked up for some time after "Everything's Coming Up Roses".
Oh please, SOMEBODY get this production on CD!!!!!!!!!!
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#119re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/15/06 at 9:01am
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
SeptemberKel
Featured Actor Joined: 8/20/04
#120re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:31amThank you so much for that amazing review, benrimalower. I fully concur with everything you've said. I have never, ever been so transfixed during a performance. It was one of the rarest, most real theatrical experiences I've ever experienced. I am so so happy that I decided to fly out to Chicago for Ravinia. People keep asking me, "How was the show?" There are no adequate words to answer that question. I think I'll point them to benrimalower's review.
"Of course there is the castle - the ruined castle. I find it lovely. Probably because it's ruined, I suppose." - Passion
SueleenGay
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/9/03
#121re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:45amBen, what a wonderfully articulate and moving review. Thank you.
PEACE.
#122re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/15/06 at 11:21am
Whose "Rose's Turn" would have been scarier?
Betty Hutton or Dolores Gray?
SueleenGay
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/9/03
#123re: PATTI AT RAVINIA - please post reviews here
Posted: 8/15/06 at 11:25amI don't know how Betty's "Rose's Turn" would have been, but her "Mr. Goldstone" done at a breakneck speed would have been heaven.
PEACE.
kissmycookie
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/21/04
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