'This Worked Brilliantly': Original Norma Desmond Patti LuPone Shares Her Thoughts on Sunset Blvd. Revival

Very nice of LuPone.

She jut saw this last night (Dec 11) ? When she was on 'The View' more than a month ago, she said she had tickets for the day after election day - Wed. Nov. 6. She had reservations about seeing it, as she called it a 'laborious' piece of work.

I know this is ancient history but why didn't Patti make it to Broadway in this show?

[quote]And she wasn't a black bitch.

R3 In a nutshell: She (and the production itself) got mixed reviews when she debuted on The West End on July 12, 1993. She was praised for her singing but not her acting. The production itself was panned for being boring.

When Glenn Close opened on December 9, 1993 in Los Angeles, it was in a 'reworked' production which the critics loved. They also loved her in the role (though not everyone thought she was on par with Lupone's singing). Critics and investors supposedly told ALW if he wanted this to be a Broadway hit, he needed to fire Lupone from the Broadway show and replace her with Close and the revamped LA production (according to ALW interviews in the past 30 years). He couldn't open on B'way without investors, so he did what they told him to do - and fired Lupone to replace her with Close.

The show was a sell-out hit with Close in the role, but for the length of her run (November, 1994 - June, 1995) he had to pay two leading lady salaries each week from one box office: Glenn Close and Patti Lupone (part of his out-of-court settlement with Lupone). Once Close left and Betty Buckley took over to great reviews, the box office fell (July, 1995 - September, 1996) - and never recovered. Replacing Buckley with British actress Elaine Paige was the final nail in the coffin for the musical.

Did I dream this. I believe I saw Diahann Carroll on Broadway in Sunset.

R2. That was around the time of the Kecia Lewis drama and Patti may have been laying low which is why she didn't see it on Nov 6. But that was forgotten quickly.

I've never that that Nicole Scherzinger had that great a voice or was all that special.

I'm surprised that La Lupone was so effusive.

Nicole sang the sh*t out of those songs! But otherwise she provoked no pity or horror from the audience. You're looking at this beautiful girl in a tight black cocktail dress singing the roof off the place and wondering how she is too old or decrepit to be a Hollywood star.

Patti was also pissed that Glenn never bothered to reach out to her during the whole fiasco and let Patti know that she wasn't apart of it. Initially Patti had felt like there was a conspiracy to get her out of the show. I think Patti even went so far as to have Glenn banned from the theater so she wouldn't study Patti's performance and try and mimic it for her own take. She talked about this extensively in her book.

Faye Dunaway also got it up the ass from Andrew Lloyd Webber as well during this time. I believe she was the initial choice to play it in LA before Andrew fucked her over as well.

R10 Shirley MacLaine was the original choice to play the role in LA, and she passed. He then asked Diana Ross - she wanted the full salary he offered, but only work the weekend shows (she proposed the same thing when he asked her to replace Buckley on Broadway). Then he asked Michele Lee and she said 'no' (but was interested in replacing Buckley in LA in the summer of 1994 - and he said 'no' to her). That's when he went with Dunaway.

R6 That was in your dream. Carroll tried out for the LA show in 1994 to replace Close, but she said there was a lot of 'negativity' coming from ALW and she couldn't figure out why (she hints to racism, but that doesn't explain why he was wooing Ross for the role). She ended up taking the role in the Canadian production for a little over a year (it was under Livent Productions, not ALW's 'RUG'). When it was time to replace Buckley, she asked ALW to consider her (her big return to a B'way musical) and he said he wasn't interested - he never even saw her performance in Canada, which won rave reviews. Again, she hinted at racism.

OK thanks, well maybe I dreamed this too. Did Carol Burnett play a limited run in the Broadway Production? I know she sent it up on her show long before. I feel convinced I saw a "Carol" of some kind on Broadway in this.

Burnett was a presenter at the Tony awards that year which were held on the set of Sunset Boulevard.

She said she would have given anything if they let her come down the stairs. The producers didn't think it was a good idea.

maybe that's what you are thinking of r12

thay shay Normash back at lash!

[quote] I know this is ancient history but why didn't Patti make it to Broadway in this show?

Andrew Lloyd-Webber wanted Glenn Close in her place. Glenn was a much bigger star at the time, and though her voice was only barely adequate she could act the hell out of the part; Patti sang it better, but she was unwilling or unable to make her Norma scary or demonic and made her too much of a victim, which makes the entire show not work. It's honestly more of an acting part than a singing part (despite the demanding songs).

Of course Betty Buckley could both act and sing the hell out of the role, and she remains the best musical Norma Desmond.

I guess I saw Glenn, then. It wasn't memorable.

I saw Channing in Hello Dolly in 1978 and 1995. I was particularly impressed in 1995. Very memorable.

[quote] Faye Dunaway also got it up the ass from Andrew Lloyd Webber as well during this time.

Now there's a mental picture I could have happily gone to my gave without ever having imagined.

Thanks, r10.

[quote] Did I dream this. I believe I saw Diahann Carroll on Broadway in Sunset.

I know she played it in Toronto, but I don't think she played it on Broadway.

[quote]Of course Betty Buckley could both act and sing the hell out of the role, and she remains the best musical Norma Desmond.

Nah. Glenn was the best

Buckley was surprisingly tame. The New York Times said it was if Norma had spent some time at Betty Ford.

SOME TRIVIA:

Barbara Walters did a special interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber in December, 1996 (when the box office was taking a major hit with Elaine Paige in the role) from the Broadway set of 'Sunset Boulevard' for her ABC news program "20/20' . She gushed about the musical, and the 'mansion' setting she sat in (she walked down the staircase to start her show). She did reveal that ABC did 'some business' with Andrew Lloyd Webber, but that was all she revealed.

What she didn't reveal - but The Daily News did in mid-February - was that Walters personally had $100,000 invested in the Broadway production, and (of course) wanted it to be a hit so she could recoup her investment. Talk about a conflict of interest - do a one hour special on the company you have a major investment in, and is currently failing.

Walters said it was the first time she personally invested in a B'way show, and didn't know she had to make the disclosure to ABC or viewers. ABC publicly admonished her, and apologized to viewers. Shortly after, ALW announced the show was closing at the end of March, and Walters ended up losing most of her investment (along with other investors).

It's too bad Liza couldn't have done it. Was she too undependable, even back in the 90s?

[quote] Faye Dunaway also got it up the ass from Andrew Lloyd Webber as well during this time. I believe she was the initial choice to play it in LA before Andrew fucked her over as well.

She was chosen to replace Glenn in the LA production but her voice wasn't up to the task.

MORE TRIVIA:

When ALW finished 'Sunset Boulevard' in 1992, he offered Angela Lansbury the role to open in London, without even having her do an audition. He knew she'd make a great Norma Desmond, and said when he was writing the music for the show, he could only imagine Lansbury's vocals. He even offered her to open on Broadway once her West End run was over . Lansbury politely declined - she told ALW she would never want to be compared to Gloria Swanson in the iconic role.

R21. Liza's erratic behavior starting with The Act then The Rink and, finally, Victor/Victoria made it difficult to insure her which is sad because think of the roles she could have played (Norma included).

[quote]It's too bad Liza couldn't have done it.

Yes, because that would have been hilarious.

"Shalome! Wotta woman, wotta part!"

[quote] [R6] That was in your dream. Carroll tried out for the LA show in 1994 to replace Close, but she said there was a lot of 'negativity' coming from ALW and she couldn't figure out why (she hints to racism, but that doesn't explain why he was wooing Ross for the role). She ended up taking the role in the Canadian production for a little over a year (it was under Livent Productions, not ALW's 'RUG'). When it was time to replace Buckley, she asked ALW to consider her (her big return to a B'way musical) and he said he wasn't interested - he never even saw her performance in Canada, which won rave reviews. Again, she hinted at racism.

Carroll more than hinted at it. She said during her audition process ALW told her that there were "no Black silent film stars." She responded that there was "no actual Norma Desmond." Carroll had been away from Hollywood and Broadway for a while by that time -- mid-90s -- so she was accustomed to being brushed off but she felt ALW was particularly sinister. The Toronto cast recording of "Sunset" is great and Carroll sounded fantastic. I wish I could have seen Carroll in Toronto.

Who could do it now, if they did it more traditionally (i.e. without a young-looking recent pop star)?

Audra McDonald?

Idina Menzel?

^^^ Laura Benanti

ALW is Tory cunt.

ALW mentioned wanting Liza once during the writing of the show. He said the role will take someone of the caliber of Shirley MacLaine or Liza.

This was way before Patti/Glenn entered the picture (and probably after Lansbury.)

Meryl famously showed up at ALW's first reading of the musical at his estate festival (Symonton or something like that.)

Patti felt undermined by Meryl being there. She thought M was after the part.

In Michael Riedel's last book he describes the first invited audience to see Glenn in LA. Just after the ushers locked the doors a woman showed up and started knocking on them. It was M. Was she after the Broadway role then or just coming to support her friend Glenn? Only the M knows.

Please watch until the end. Carroll is chilling in the final moments. And she would have sold more tickets on Broadway than Elaine Page.

R26 What's odd about Carroll's accusations of racism is the fact that ALW really wanted Ross in LA and on B'way, and then even offered the role to Jennifer Holiday when Buckley was leaving (she wasn't interested). Carroll never addressed that in her interviews.

Agreed - Carroll would've kept the show open much longer on B'way (the Canadian production was one of the last to shut down in April, 1997).

When Liza married David Gest, one of the most notable things he did as her husband was start the rumor in the press that Andrew Lloyd Webber had asked Liza to star in the movie, and she said 'yes'. Filming was just a 'few months away'. When Liza was asked this by reporters, she was baffled by the questions. She would respond, 'If David says it's happening then I guess it is.' She claimed Gest took care of all her offers and future projects - she had no idea ALW offered her the role, but she was glad Gest accepted on her behalf because she 'loved' the musical. 'If he (Gest) says we start filming next month, then I guess we do...' she used to say.

And we all know how the movie (starring Liza) and her marriage turned out...

[quote]Lansbury politely declined - she told ALW she would never want to be compared to Gloria Swanson in the iconic role.

"In the early 1960s, Stephen Sondheim outlined a musical stage adaptation and went so far as to compose the first scene with librettist Burt Shevelove. A chance encounter with Billy Wilder at a cocktail party gave Sondheim the opportunity to introduce himself and ask the original film's co-screenwriter and director his opinion of the project (which was to star Jeanette MacDonald). "You can't write a musical about Sunset Boulevard," Wilder responded, "it has to be an opera. After all, it's about a dethroned queen." Sondheim immediately aborted his plans. A few years later, when he was invited by Hal Prince to write the score for a film remake starring Angela Lansbury as a fading musical comedian rather than a silent film star, Sondheim declined, citing his conversation with Wilder.

[quote] ALW told her that there were "no Black silent film stars."

And he was right. I don't think that was racist back then before color blind casting. It might be today.

LuPone's whining about how Glenn never called her is pretty absurd. If you were Glenn Close at that time, would you have wanted the earful you'd have gotten from LuPone when it's not your fault that they gave you the B'way production instead of her?

And -- even more to the point -- did Patti call Carole Demas when CD was fired and PL drafted to replace her in THE BAKER'S WIFE?

I knew that the racist theatre queen would show up with her pompous assumptions. Josephine Baker was in silent films. She was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 French silent film Siren of the Tropics.

Thank you, R38. Besides which it is an inappropriate comment to make to the Black actress invited to audition for the role.

[quote]r37 = And -- even more to the point -- did Patti call Carole Demas when CD was fired and PL drafted to replace her in THE BAKER'S WIFE?

At the time of The Baker's Wife Carole was hardly Patti LuPone and Patti was hardly Glenn Close.

Talent or no talent, I've always thought Patti LuPone was a monster. She seems very, very difficult.

That devil works hard, but I work harder, r39.

By the way, the lore is that M saw Patti in the Sydmonton workshop and knew nobody else could open the show. She graciously took herself out of consideration.

[quote]LuPone's whining about how Glenn never called her is pretty absurd. If you were Glenn Close at that time, would you have wanted the earful you'd have gotten from LuPone when it's not your fault that they gave you the B'way production instead of her?

One can only imagine how histrionic and abrasive Drama Queen Patti would've been. I can picture Glenn telling her assistant "if that crazy Lupone bitch calls, I AM NOT HERE!"

NELLIE FORBUSH, GLENN!

Patti is the sort of person who believes she is owed a personal apology from God every single day that it's rainy.

R40, you think that Patti's "point" is that Glenn owed her that phone call because they were both huge stars of the stage? Silly.

Lupone is just exhausting. I appreciate the talent and the drive, but just never want to be in the same room.

Her book should be subtitled "I Liked Mandy Patinkin and No One Else."

I take that back she goes thru the Anything Goes cast and calls them all low paid lesser talents except....she then lists the few she liked.

Of course you bitches hate Patti. She's what you hate in yourselves.

r49=MARY!

Nerve hit!

If I am not mistaken, LuPone has explicitly named Frank Rich (NYT critic) as the guilty part. Rich gave a very lukewarm review to the London Sunset but he raved about G. in LA. When you read G's review, everyone realized that LuPone was done. It was over. In her memoirs, LuPone talks about meeting Rich, many years later. Ahhh, the power of the NYT back then.

ALW did treat Patti bizarrely, though. I think all the ire given to her really belongs with him, his shitty practices, and his uneven show that took an extreme treatment to make it work. Total Tory cunt.

Wasn't it Rich who said Lupone walked around the stage looking like an Aardvark (referring to her large nose) rather than a silent movie star ? He then praised Close for acting like a faded movie star.

MORE TRIVIA:

The Blake Edwards / Julie Andrews musical "Victor / Victoria" was supposed to open on Broadway during the same season (1994-95). When the London reviews came out for 'SB' in July, 1993 (especially the mixed reviews of Lupone), they weren't worried about competing with the production for the Tony Awards (Edwards was that confident in his musical and his wife sweeping the awards).

Once Close opened in LA in December, 1993 to rave reviews, Edwards started to pay more attention. As soon as it was announced that Lupone was fired from the Broadway production and Close would be starring in the show, Edwards and Andrews announced shortly afterwards that 'V/V' would be delayed until the following season (1995-96) and gave a few (faux) reasons for the delay. There was no way in hell Andrews was going up against Close at the Tonys. Edwards made certain that would not happen (nor have his musical go up against ALW's).

[quote]OK thanks, well maybe I dreamed this too. Did Carol Burnett play a limited run in the Broadway Production? I know she sent it up on her show long before. I feel convinced I saw a "Carol" of some kind on Broadway in this.

Will you please stop wasting our time with this nonsense?

[quote]"In the early 1960s, Stephen Sondheim outlined a musical stage adaptation and went so far as to compose the first scene with librettist Burt Shevelove. A chance encounter with Billy Wilder at a cocktail party gave Sondheim the opportunity to introduce himself and ask the original film's co-screenwriter and director his opinion of the project (which was to star Jeanette MacDonald). "You can't write a musical about Sunset Boulevard," Wilder responded, "it has to be an opera. After all, it's about a dethroned queen." Sondheim immediately aborted his plans.

I've heard and read this story many times. If true, I think it's very unfortunate and I totally disagree with Wilder. There's no reason why SUNSET BLVD. couldn't have made a great book musical with dialogue IF it had been well written, which I'm sure it would have been by Sondheim and one of his better collaborators at that time. And to have Lansbury in the role would have been magic.

A sweet Millennial queen from Chicago who saw the show as a kid did a podcast on the history of the show, and it's actually quite good if you're into this kind of thing.

I think ALW was on the right track when he was going after Lansbury and Maclaine in 1992. Lansbury in London, and Maclaine on Broadway ? Box office success.

But as time went on, he seemed to not really care. It was evident when Buckley was leaving the Broadway show in the summer of 1996 - by then, he was pulling 'names' out of a hat, and offering each actress the role. Elaine Paige may have been a headliner on the West End, but she didn't have that kind of recognition in the US. And he decided to give the role to her, expecting her to bump up the box office once Buckley left ?

^^^I think your other point applies here, that ALW didn't really care about the show at that point, maybe partly because the show itself and his score had gotten mixed reviews. I don't think he expected Paige to bump up the box office on Broadway, but maybe he figured, let's at least go out with someone who can sing the role brilliantly.

ALW is far more provincial than meets the eye. Paige is a local favourite in the UK, whereas people like her are a dime a dozen in the US. He should have picked up on this when "I Know Her So Well" went nowhere in America, but was a massive hit in the UK that's beloved to this day.

"I Know HIM So Well" — FUCK

I really wish Liza could've done it.

[quote]The Toronto cast recording of "Sunset" is great and Carroll sounded fantastic. I wish I could have seen Carroll in Toronto.

I was lucky enough to see the Diahann Carroll SUNSET BOULEVARD in Toronto. Actually, I don't think R32s clip does justice to just how good she was. Her mad scene at the end of the show was absolutely the best that I'd ever seen, and at that point, I had seen every Norma Desmond.

Years later, I got to tell Ms Carroll how much I liked her performance, especially the mad scene. She was quite taken aback and sincere when she shared how hard she had worked on that project, and she loved the mad scene as well.

Wonderful story, Billy Boy.

Diahann Carroll was one of the many actresses who played the role back then who later said they suffered major leg problems from running up and down those 66 stairs multiple times in eight performances per week. The demands of running up and down in heavy costumes really took its toll on these women (who were all middle aged). IIRC, Rita Moreno and Petula Clark also said the same thing when they finished their runs in London.

Other actresses were said to have passed on ALW's offer to take over the role on B'way in 1996 because of this very reason - including Tyne Daly, Jennifer Holiday and Bernadette Peters - after they talked with the departing Betty Buckley.

Glenn is Norma. GTFO LuPone!

[quote]The demands of running up and down in heavy costumes really took its toll on these women (who were all middle aged)

Yet they did it 8 times a week yet Nicole needs an alternate one day.

Part of Glenn's brilliance was that each trip up and down the staircase was its own little mini-drama.

"One foot more, and you'd see my face...

I'm too short for this big staircase.

I'm a big-ass star back home!

Here it's so bizarre, I'm a munchkin star...

I'm not small - it's the sets that got bigger !"

[quote]Faye Dunaway also got it up the ass from Andrew Lloyd Webber

Pics please.