Customer Reviews

Patti LuPone: A Memoir

5 star:		(32)
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3 star:		(1)
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The extravagantly talented Patti Lupone shows that she is as sparkling a memoirist (with Digby Diehl as collaborator) as she is an actress. If you love theater, acting, or Patti Lupone herself, you need to buy this book - and get it ON AUDIO. Lupone doesn't simply read the memoir, she PERFORMS it, and as in her best stage, TV and movie performances, she will move you to tears and laughter. She shares the good, the bad and the ugly from a career that started when she performed as a child with her brothers, and spans some of the high points of the Broadway and London stages. She also settles a few scores (Andrew Lloyd Webber, ahem) and provides insights into the art and craft of theater. A fascinating memoir from an American treasure, and a great audiobook experience.

I really really loved this bio. Read it cover to cover in one sitting. I have only known her work through recording, until I saw her in Sweeney in 2005 and Gypsy in 2008. BRAVA on making this book so entertaining. I didn't find her a downer at all. I think she has had a really rocky road and I heard her story told with grace and style. It gives the readers hope for laughter and good friends to help find the silver lining when you are down. She also does an excellent job on giving her side of the story without being crass, or disrespectful to other people invovled in the situation. I appreciated that.

A well told story that is very entertaining and well worth the money!

I love Patti. Love her! I looked forward to reading this memoir, fully understanding "memoir" means remembered, i.e., it was going to be carefully told and not completely factual, perhaps ... but there's more left out than put in! I'm completely willing to forgive Patti's foibles, but she won't admit to them. So it was an interesting read, because I'm already a fan; but overall it was also a let-down, because I know things about her, as a fan will, that she glossed over or skipped entirely and it made me wonder what I *didn't* know that she also skipped. Much too short for such a fabulous, intrigue-packed life. A used copy will suffice, or borrow or lend your copy.

What a wonderful read!!! Patti wrote this bio the same way she performs on stage...she gave her all

& I think those of us fortunate enough to have seen her dazzle us with her performance knew she held nothing

back & we were a party to something very very special. In her very honest book she left nothing out & the reader

is privy to life behind the curtain. Its not all applause & awards & the difficult times make for a very

interesting & very quick read.

Throughout the book I felt she was talking to me-not at me, as many bios seem to do-but telling me a

very interesting story that included not only the high points of a star's life, but that there were also many

low points over the years. She does a very good job in writing about the bumps in her career & how they took

their toll on her...both personally & professionally. When I finished the book, one of my thoughts was that

she was able to overcome thse setbacks & difficulties & somehow she never quit & she managed to become a stronger &

maybe a better person for it. In these difficult times it is something we all can do if we try.

I have been fortunate enough to have seen Patti perform in a many different venues & roles & walked away from

them all amazed at her enormous talent & almost unlimited energy. In Evita one of the songs has the 2 words

"star quality". From that moment on that defined, to me, Patti LuPone. She has a star quality that can't be learned

or practiced. Its just there & very few performers have it. Her book has that same star quality & it is such an

interesting & quick read that you hate for it to end.

Patti LuPone has a tough act to follow. After appearing as the quintessential Evita, the tarnished Norma Desmond, the bitterly wonderful Mrs. Lovett, and the take-no-prisoner Mama Rose,it's a wonder that LuPone could even manage to come close to one of those iconic characters. Not only does she do it, she does it in spades, in her ultimately fascinating tell-all memoir.

I've been a fan of Ms. LuPone for many years now, entranced by the power of her voice, especially in the aforementioned roles. She dominates the stage with her presence and her pipes, and leaves no stone unturned, nor no note unhit, in any given performance. After reading her recounting of her life, author can be added to the mix. LuPone's book is a fun romp through her life, never dwelling too long on specific events (save her Evita and Norma Desmond stints). Even her bout with breast cancer is discussed and mentioned within the span of a few pages. LuPone is one to tell the details, but never dwell in them.

Because of this, the book is a quick read. Interestingly, the weakest part of the story occurs early in her career, as she talks about her start in show business and the ride through Julliard and several companies before landing some major roles. However, as soon as Peron comes into her life, the book strengthens, and then begins to hit home runs during her ill-fated Sunset Boulevard times. When she wraps up the book with her stories of the revival of Gypsy, my heart ached for two reasons One, I wanted more from writing from her, and second, I wanted to see her performance in Gypsy (I have to settle on You Tube snippets).

One thing I so appreciated was Lupone's honesty, both directed at herself as well as colleagues. She includes bad reviews, moments of diva-ness, and times she was petty and mean. What a rare, refreshing part of a celebrity memoir, that fragile honesty. So perfect for the book. In fact, I began to listen to some of her music as I read, for example, a favorite CD of mine Patti Lupone at Les Mouches

I left the book admiring this theater veteran. Ms. LuPone has a tale to tell, and tell it well, she does.

Since I was 12 years old, I have been fascinated by this woman. Evita was the first Broadway musical I ever saw and I knew the score backwards and forwards within a month of hearing it. Patti's voice was a source of strength for me as a lonesome teenager.

Twice, I have emailed Patti at her website to compliment and congratulate her on performances that literally felt like an out-of-the-body experience; a communion with the Divine. Twice Patti replied with genuine, heartfelt gratitude. I knew I had to buy this audiobook rather than read the text so that I might hear my dear old friend regale me with tales of her amazing and tumultuous life in her inimitable dry, witty way.

I'm no longer that lonesome teen; but Ms. LuPone's voice has the same reassuring quality as it did 30 years ago. Her stories are vivid, poignant and often hilarious as they are moving. Any fan of Patti's or of the American theatre owes it to themselves to give this book a listen. She truly does it all for our love!

This really is a memoir and should not be regarded as a biography because it is not one of those all-encompassing tomes that goes into minute detail about LuPone's life from day one. There are snippets of information about family and education here, but the bulk of the book covers Patti LuPone's career with a series of well-written anecdotes about the people who have played major and minor parts in her personal and professional life. She covers an early relationship with actor Kevin Kline, some grizzly characters who were decidedly not a joy to work with, and some wonderful actors who made great opportunities even greater.

In a career that appears to have been peppered with far more positives than negatives, LuPone speaks with amazing candor. I found it really surprising when she discussed the personal dynamic on the tv show LIFE GOES ON. Apparently, she had a good working relationship with the cast with the exception of the man who played her husband, actor Bill Smitrovich.

Talky and honest, this was a very enjoyable view of a life in show business.

I listened to the audio book, read by Patti, which I think is the best way to go. She's a little distanced and seems to be concentrating on enunciation (always an effort for "Flannel Mouth"), but when she gets into a good story, she utterly lets go and it's like listening to her live.

This is very much a stage memoir. It's told show-to-show. You get the high points of her personal life (marriage, having a child), but 95% of it is about theatrical experiences and the people specifically involved. She's very honest. At times you feel like she might have glossed over some dirt (vague allusions to her being a "dirty girl" and such), but when she lets loose she doesn't spare tact. One of my favorite lines is to Andrew Lloyd Webber: "Go sh@t in your hat!" Topol, Paul Sorvino, Bill Smitrovich (her "husband" on Life Goes On) and others get some no-holds-barred choice words from Patti. Delightful dish!

On the other hand, she's kind of a whiner. If you put yourself in the place of an actor, and really think about it, a contract is really all you have to stand by. The industry is HEAVILY regulated by the unions, etc, and it's vital to honor contracts and hold with labor laws to a tee otherwise the whole experience just falls apart. However, even from her own mouth, she makes herself sound petulant and entitled...and spends a LOT of time discussing contract breaches. You just have to remember that this is her life, her profession. She really comes off as a diva, but when you think about it she kind of has to. I just hope other readers think it through and aren't put off by her.

Factual note...she complains that Barbra Streisand recorded "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" before her, and that it was released "for all to hear" before the Evita album. It may be true that Barbra recorded it at some point (though it seems unlikely, since I've never heard of it and it never surfaced on any bootlegs), but even if she did it was certainly never released for all to hear.

In PATTI LUPONE: A MEMOIR, Broadway star Patti LuPone gives an intimate, frank and honest look back on her life and her career.

Having enjoyed her work on Broadway (Anything Goes and Gypsy!) I can attest to the fact that the woman is an extremely talented individual whose magnetism projects across the footlights and captivates even the most difficult of theater-goers.

This same powerful force that she uses to create her magnificent characters (Eva Peron) is evident in her book. Even when she is recreating a role another star has created (such as when she starred as Reno Sweeney/ Maria Callas/ Mama Rose), there is always that LuPone imprint upon the creation so that it shines with originality from all her hard work and talent.

Many reviewers focused on her error in stating that Barbra Streisand had recorded her best numbers from EVITA. Readers: It's a mistake so get over it. The rest of her story is point-on accurate and a fascinating, albeit dark, look into the theater world.

Some might focus on the negative slant that Ms. LuPone places on people whom she does not like (Andrew Lloyd Webber/ her co-star from LIFE GOES ON) but she is being honest, not a hypocrite. She views and rates herself by using the same strict guidelines as she does the others mentioned in her book so let's give her extra points for that. Also, she lavishes praise on those whose work (Arthur Laurents, her co-stars in GYPSY!) warrant such.

PATTI LUPONE: A MEMOIR is a short, easy read but it is also a no-holds-barred look into the complicated and quite heart breaking world of a professional actress. As millions of others have shouted: Bravo Patti.

I'm a big fan of LuPone's, and I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir. Anyone who is interested in the theatre, and especially Broadway, will love the backstage gossip and fascinating behind-the scenes moments.

I do have to say that nothing that LuPone says, however, makes her come off as any less of a diva than she is often pictured in the press--there are tantrums, breaches of contracts, etc. Even though I now understand some of the shennanigans that went on during "Evita" and "Sunset Boulevard", one has to wonder: when there are often disputes on the sets of TV shows, movies, and theatre, can it always be everyone else's fault? In any event, she is not afraid to be honest about those times she was not on her best behavior, either.

LuPone has wonderful words to say for those folks that she holds in great esteem. I think she would be a wonderful, life-long friend, but I would hate to be on her bad side (although that makes for hilarious reading).

I went to YouTube and listened to versions of "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" by LuPone, Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman, and Madonna. LuPone's version was phenomenal, and the best--hands down.

One other comment: thank goodness she has taken a stand against all of those inconsiderate boors who come to the theatre and text on their phone, keep their phones and beepers on, and continue to take pictures of the performers. I LOVE that she got that idiot at "Gypsy" to be thrown out of the theatre. BRAVO!