By Mary Ann Bourbeau
RED BANK – Patti LuPone knew from a very young age that she was destined for a career in music.
“When I was 3 or 4 years old, I used to watch ‘The Kate Smith Hour,’ ” she said. “I was mesmerized by that woman. I used to sing along and think, ‘I’ve got that voice too.’ I knew I was meant to sing, and I’ve never looked back.”
While neither of her parents had any musical talent, there was always music playing in the family’s Long Island home. Her father listened to jazz and her mother was an opera fan. LuPone believes her vocal talents were passed on from her great-grand-aunt, Adelina Patti, for whom she was named. Patti was a celebrated 19th century opera singer.
“It was obviously in my DNA when I was very young,” she said. “My brother (dancer, actor and director Robert LuPone) and I were involved with dance classes and we fell in love with it. We knew it was where we belonged.”
LuPone will show off those talents when she appears at the Count Basie Theatre on March 18 in her show, “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda….played that part.” In it, the Tony and Olivier Award winner will performs songs from musicals she could have played, should have played, did play and will play. There will be music from “Evita,” “Gypsy,” “West Side Story,” “Peter Pan,” “Hair,” “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Funny Girl,” among others.
It’s an updated version of the “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda” show she has performed on and off since 2000. This time, LuPone will be singing different songs from those musicals, as well as songs she hasn’t sung in years from shows such as “South Pacific” and “Oklahoma.” She will also throw in a few numbers that she enjoyed while she was growing up.
“I’m really free in the solo shows because I get to do whatever I want,” she said. “I’m not just singing songs dedicated to the role I’m playing. Growing up, I always gravitated to the guy songs because they had conflict, like “Soliloquy” from “Carousel.” The women’s songs were always about falling in love with a guy, getting married and having kids.”
A graduate of the first class of the Juilliard School’s drama division, LuPone made her mark in 1980 with a Tony Award-winning performance as Eva Peron in “Evita.” She also received acclaim for her roles in “Gypsy,” “Sweeney Todd” and dozens of others, and she created the role of Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard.” LuPone has had many movie roles and broke into television as the mother of an autistic son in the ABC television series, “Life Goes On.”
“I’m lucky to be working and to have such a diverse career,” she said.
Joining LuPone on the stage for several songs will be middle and high school students from the Count Basie Theatre’s new vocal ensemble, Voices.
“It does my heart good to sing with kids like this,” LuPone said. “Their hearts are so pure in singing this music, and they’re just so awed by the whole experience.”
In recent years, LuPone has also become known for her outspoken comments about audience members’ use of cell phones during performances. In July, when a woman in the second row was texting nonstop during a performance of “Shows for Days,” LuPone, at the end of a scene, walked into the audience and snatched the phone away from her. It was returned at the end of the show.
“Audience members need to respect each other,” she said. “One person can disrupt 1,300 people. It’s so rude, inconsiderate and selfish. People pay to see a show and they shouldn’t be distracted. I will always fight for the audience and the respect of the theater, the playwright and the composer.”
Although there is always an announcement about turning off cell phones at the beginning of a show, it is all too common to hear a ringtone or see the light from a cell phone glowing in a dark theater.
“I’m not the only actor upset by this,” she said. “I’m just the most vocal. Theater owners need to be more vigilant. Actors are now cops, and that’s not our job.”
Patti LuPone’s show will take place at 8 p.m. March 18. Tickets are $25 to $115, and a limited number of VIP meet and greet tickets are available for $175. For more information, visit www.countbasietheatre.org.
Arts and entertainment writer Mary Ann Bourbeau can be reached at mbourbeau@tworivertimes.com and on Twitter @MaryAnnBourbeau.
