Patti LuPone

By: Patti LuPone

Narrated by: Patti LuPone

Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

“I have been incredibly fortunate over the course of my career to have been associated with some extraordinary dramatic and musical productions, and also some rather spectacular disasters. Looking back, I can find gifts and life lessons in every one.”

The legendary Patti LuPone is one of the theatre’s most beloved leading ladies. Now she lays it all bare, sharing the intimate story of her life both onstage and off - through the dizzying highs and darkest lows - with the humor and outspokenness that have become her trademarks.

With illuminating details about the life of a working actor, from inspired costars and demanding directors to her distinct perspective on how she developed and honed her Tony Award–winning performances, Patti LuPone: A Memoir is as inspirational as it is entertaining. And though the title might say “a memoir,” this is ultimately a love letter to the theater by a unique American artist.

With its insightful retrospective of her career-defining turns, both on Broadway and abroad, in Evita, Les Misérables, Anything Goes, Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd, and Gypsy, Patti LuPone: A Memoir reveals the artist’s deeply felt passion for music and the theatre and is, in the end, the compelling and quintessential tale of an exceptional life well lived.

©2010 Patti Lupone (P)2010 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

"Patti LuPone, with honesty and humor, gives a brave and candid account of an astonishingly unique and brilliant performer’s journey to reach Broadway stardom." (Angela Lansbury)

"Anyone who has seen Patti LuPone perform on stage is well aware of her daring, risk-taking artistry. Now she has channeled her considerable talent from the stage to the page and the result is a frank, funny and totally captivating memoir about her life on and off the stage." (Jane Fonda)

"For some rare performers, there is a place beyond commercial success, popularity with audiences, and honors within an industry. A special place where they are both respected and adored--even envied--by other performers for their wealth of talent. These are actors who sing, as opposed to singers who act. They bring an actor’s range of thought about character and truth and psychology. Among them, none has more talent, more courage, and more emotive power than Patti LuPone. When Patti LuPone comes on stage, you don’t always know what will happen, but you know it will be among the greatest work by any stage actress in theatre, ever. Ever. As everyone in our business knows, Patti…is Patti." (Alec Baldwin)

Excellent

This is well written and excellently narrated by LuPone. Fans of her performances, career, and celebrity persona will love it. Fellow actors will probably appreciate it, as she clearly establishes herself as an actor who has paid her dues and is worth her salt. Those who do not enjoy her regularly probably should avoid this, but her fans will enjoy this well crafted glimpse into her life. I couldn't stop listening!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

LuPone's Memoir Hits The High Notes!

Being a fan Patti LuPone I had anticipated this book since Patti had announced she was writing her autobiography a year or so ago, I had intended to only buy the hardcover edition but when Amazon launched Audible.com I thought "what the hell" and bought the audio version too. I'm so glad I did. Patti brings life to her story of her roller-coaster ride of a career--with enough thrilling curves and dips that you'll want to take that ride with her.
Celebrity autobiographies can often be very egocentric reads with the author looking down upon the reader "look what I have done, look where I have been"--in essence, real snooze fests, Fortunately, Ms. LuPone never does that-she speaks to us in that "you see what you get" attitude. Her story is punctuated with painstaking honesty and self-effacing humor peppered with a few well-placed expletives thrown in for good measure. Like many readers I initially bought "Patti LuPone:A Memoir" because I wanted to hear her thoughts on her star-making role in "Evita" to her being unceremoniously dumped from "Sunset Boulevard", but I found every chapter just as interesting as Patti recounts early years on Northport Long Island, through Julliard, her first tastes with success and failure to her landing the coveted role of Evita Peron. Her memoir or rather, she speaks volumes on why she become an actor, her wise and unwise career choices, the thrill of live theatre, the backstage battles, the sacrifice of a personal life, the joy of acting and the love of a live audience all rolled into one big nutshell. If you can't make it to Broadway its nice to know "Patti LuPone: A Memoir" can bring a bit of it to you.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Outstanding

Terrific book. And not just because it's Patti LuPone (though that's a big part of it). It's a very entertaining insider's look into showbusiness. I loved every minute!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Absolutely wonderful!

When I heard Patti LuPone say in an interview that recording the audio version of her memoir had been "fun," I couldn't wait to hear it. Her enthusiastic narration and carefully-crafted narrative make for 8 hours and 30 minutes of pure joy. I smell another Grammy!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Behind the Scenes

Where does Patti LuPone rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Great autobiography. Love it when the author reads it themselves.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Patti LuPone?

Her candid take on those she worked with. Also finding out what kind of personality she is.

Which scene was your favorite?

There were many,

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh allot.

Any additional comments?

Although I love Patti Lupone I sometimes found her articulation a bit irritating.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great Book - Must Listen!

Where does Patti LuPone rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was one of the best audiobooks I've listened to. However, you really must be a huge fan of musical theater for this book to work for you.

What did you like best about this story?

Let's face it, if you know anything about Patti LuPone, I'm sure you've heard about her legendary career and theater antics over the course of her career. In this book, she puts all of those antics in perspective and does a marvelous job showing how her career has progressed into the mega-diva she is today.

Which character – as performed by Patti LuPone – was your favorite?

Patti - herself.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I don't generally listen to books in one sitting, so I really can't answer this question easily. I prefer listening to books while I'm in the car. I can say that listening to Patti definitely made driving considerably more entertaining!

Any additional comments?

If you're a lover of Patti LuPone or the theater, then this is one of the best inside scoops you'll ever read.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Love her!

I already loved Patti LuPone, and this made me love her even more! If you are a performer, this is a must read. She gives such insight to performing that I was crying 10 minutes into the book! And hearing Patti herself tell you the story makes it even better!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

My Favorite Audiobook Experience Ever

Just a great listening experience. I heard Patti when she appeared on KQED radio's "Forum" program in San Francisco. Bought the audiobook that day. I've only seen her once, in "Evita" at the Broadway Theater. Now I wish I'd seen her in everything she writes about.

Her audiobook should be the standard for anybody in the performing arts who plans to write a book and produce an audiobook. Great stories, honest feelings, hilarious profanity here and there, with gigantic affection for theater and for her fellow actors. She's tough on herself frequently, revealing the toll her roles took, but in those stories there is wisdom for others. Her account of vocal problems and their solution should be required reading for young performers.

By the way, back in the 90s, when her website was new, I visited her "Ask Patti" page on a Sunday morning. I asked her a technical question about the great sound quality in the theater when I saw "Evita." Patti replied and answered the question in a only couple of hours. You don't forget kindness like that.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Even better the second time through

Only Patti LuPone could capture the pathos and euphoria of the chapters of her own life. The first time I listened right after purchase, I was listening for facts and details. The second time, I listened for emotion. Her journey, as described by La LuPone herself, is at times harrowing and, at others, exhilarating. Her diction in the narrative passages was precise (almost too precise on some passages) but her asides felt real, loose, conversational. Ms. LuPone is generous with her praise of colleagues and persons who helped her on this journey. Those who were part of her emotional and professional lives where positive and negatives existed, were treated as "grays" rather than one shade or another. Those at the wrong end of her ire should be absolutely clear on her recollection and feelings of her encounters with her; I understood where these people stand with her. Wow.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Brilliant

Riveting from start to finish. I listened to the whole thing in one go because I couldn't make myself stop.

Standard theatrical bio – until Sunset Boulevard…

Where does Patti LuPone rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's a good listen – and essential if you work in, or have any passion for, theatre in general and musical theatre in particular.

What other book might you compare Patti LuPone to, and why?

Seth Rudetsky's Broadway Nights – a novel which plays on the neuroses and obsessions of musical theatre actors for comedy, but which LuPone reveals aren't all that far from the truth.

Which character – as performed by Patti LuPone – was your favourite?

Well, it's an autobiography, so I'd have to say "herself".

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Her recitation of her professional life starts out interesting, but a little dry. And then it gets to her involvement with Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Really Useful Group when she is cast as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. Then the claws come out, the blood pressure raises and you won't believe that any company could act so cavalierly towards its star.

Excellent, brilliant, marvelous!

OK so I admit upfront I am a massive musicals fan so perhaps I was always going to live this - but then if you are not a musicals fan then you wouldn't be considering buying this anyway, right?
This 'memoir' is a story of a truly amazing career on the stage told by Patti herself. In all honesty, I was only aware of Patti as a somewhat legendary diva, someone with a ferocious anger and that is difficult to work with; as Patti addresses herself, this is the pre-conception many have of her. BUT what this book does is give you is a real insight into what an amazing lady this is. Yes she has a temper, but what is clear is that this temper comes from nothing but utter passion for her craft - ACTING - not singing, but ACTING. The singing is something in which Patti has invested so much to master, and master she has, while is it the telling of story on the stage and her growth as a performer that has driven much of her career.

You get utterly wonderful, funny stories from her incredibly varied career, from plays to musicals to films and back to plays and musical again. What I found SO exciting was that Patti has chapters dedicated to her experiences in some of the most iconic musicals of all time, both on Broadway and in the West End (there are chapters on Evita, Les Mis, Sunset Boulevard, Gypsy to name a few).
What makes this book EXTRA special is that Patti really doesn't hold back! I had no idea of the controversies, difficulties, personal traumas, egos, back-stabbing, grudges and down-right disasters that went on in the world of musicals; Patti's discussion of her experiences with Sunset (and more specifically Andrew Lloyd Webber) are just so insightful, I had no idea...you must read this!
Patti reads this audiobook herself, which adds so much. She has a bit of an odd delivery, at first sounding peculiar and stuttery - but I suspect this is a product of trying to annunciate as clearly as possible - by Chapter 2 you are so engrossed you won't care! Seriously READ THIS!

As it is

Patti tells it as it is, I found her stories fascinating I could'nt turn it off and when I did could'nt wait to be back for more. This is a must for anyone for anyone interested in the theatre Patti's account of her dealings with most of the worlds top writers,directors,producers,fellow artists and critics are all no hold's barred accounts. I throughly enjoyed them.