DIVA TALK -- 4/11
PATTI LuPONE:
Major, major news for all you LuPone lovers out there. Patti LuPone will replace Zoe Caldwell in Master Class July 2. Caldwell, who has received rave reviews for her portrayal of opera star Maria Callas, has only been performing seven performances a week due to the great strain the roles puts on the performer. It will be interesting to see whether LuPone will continue this schedule or perform eight shows.
Patti in Master Class will be a must-see for all LuPone fans--a chance to see our diva playing another great diva. What casting!
Patti, of course best known for her Tony-winning performance as original Broadway Evita, will replace Caldwell, who has played the role to acclaim and awards from coast to coast. Caldwell is leaving, just weeks after the Tony Awards ceremony, where she is considered to be the one to beat for Best Actress in a Play.
LuPone returns to Broadway -- ironically in a non-singing role -- just seven months after her one-woman Broadway concert cut short its extended run. This will be LuPone's first Broadway non-musical play since 1984, when she starred with Jonathan Pryce and Bill Irwin in Accidental Death of an Anarchist at the Belasco Theatre. BETTY BUCKLEY:
Tickets for Betty Buckley's Carnegie Hall Concert went on sale this week. The concert, which will take place Monday, June 10, 1996, benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. BB will be backed by the American Theatre Orchestra under the musical direction of Paul Gemignani. Tickets range from $20-$1,000. For tickets ranging from $20-$55, you can call Carnegie Charge at (212) 247-7800. All other tickets may be purchased through BC/EFA at (212) 840-0770. It should be a great night. Hope to see a lot of you there.
BERNADETTE PETERS:
According to an item in one of the New York dailies, it appears that Bernadette will not be involved in the revival of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, which is being produced by Barry and Fran Weissler. BP plans to spend most of her time doing concerts as she has been for the past year. She also recently announced that she is engaged to New York stockbroker Michael Wittenberg, and she'll be using her spare time to plan her marriage, which is her first. Also, one of Playbill On-Line's readers informed us that BP may also be involved in Kander and Ebb's latest musical, which will be based on Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth. I'll keep you posted as I hear more about this project.
That's all for now. Happy diva-watching!
