By Andrew Gans
12 Mar 2010

	Patti LuPone in Sweeney Todd

She was certainly on pitch, however, for Sweeney Todd, both at Ravinia (directed by Lonny Price) and later on Broadway (in the Tony-winning John Doyle staging). It was in the latter where LuPone managed to shatter the mold created by Tony winner Angela Lansbury, providing an equally viable Lovett worlds apart from the one audiences had become accustomed to ever since Sondheim's masterpiece debuted in 1979. LuPone's Lovett was not only comical, sinister and touching, but also a sexy, saucy, tuba-toting ensemble player. And, did I mention that she also thrillingly belted out the Sondheim score?

"Oh, God! I'd pick it up again and play it tomorrow," LuPone says about the role of Nellie Lovett. "The music is spectacular, and the lyrics. . . There's just something so deeply Greek tragedy about it, and it's deeply theatrical and deeply musical and deeply passionate." She says that the Doyle production has "never left me. It was great, it was frightening — it was wonderful to watch the audience look at us in horror," she laughs. "You know, it was like a horror movie they were watching — it was pretty great."

It would be just a few years later when the Juilliard graduate would tackle the role she seemed destined to play ever since she burst forth on the Broadway scene: Rose in Gypsy at Ravinia. In fact, her performance was so powerful at the Illinois venue that word of mouth sparked demand for a City Center mounting and, soon after, a full Broadway production that would earn LuPone a second Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

It is understandably too difficult for LuPone to single out a favorite Sondheim song, and her favorite Sondheim show may surprise those who have savored her work at Ravinia and later on Broadway: "I love Pacific Overtures! I told Steve that. I saw him last night. I said, 'You and Hal Prince!' I love Pacific Overtures, I love Sweeney, I love them all. . . . I don't know what it is [about Pacific]. It's 'Pretty Lady,' it's 'Chrysanthemum Tea' — it's a visceral reaction. I'm not an intellect, I can't pull apart why he's great. I just know how I react to it. I love them all. Mandy [Patinkin] and I are singing a lot of Steve's songs in [An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin], and I've sung a lot of Steve's songs [elsewhere]. He elevates the singer, he elevates the actor, he elevates the musician."

When asked about Sondheim's legacy, LuPone exclaims, "Oh, my God, will anybody ever achieve what he's achieved? What is his legacy? I don't know — I can't, I don't even want to think about that! I just find him to be a deeply romantic, deeply intellectual man with a tremendous heart."

	Patti LuPone in Passion

And, what is the nicest comment Sondheim has made to the actress? LuPone pauses and answers, "He said, 'You can be in my musicals any time.' It was after a Ravinia performance … I cannot remember which one it was, but he said, basically, I got his stamp of approval. . . . And, I thought, 'I have been waiting to hear that for my entire life!'"

LuPone said she would love to again tackle the role of Fosca in Passion and wouldn't mind a go at Joanne in Company "because I do sing 'Ladies Who Lunch' [in concert]."

I'll drink to that!

Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.