LuPone will offer a tune from her new CD, "The Lady with the Torch," which will be released the previous day on the Ghostlight Records label. The award-winning actress is scheduled to perform The Gershwins' "The Man I Love" during the 8:30-9 AM half-hour. LuPone will be accompanied by musical director Chris Fenwick on piano, John Beal on bass, Lawrence Feldman on saxophone and Paul Pizutti on percussion. The "Today Show" airs in the metropolitan area on WNBC-TV Channel 4 from 7-10 AM ET; check local listings.
A Tony Award winner for her work in Evita, Patti LuPone also earned an Olivier Award for her performances in the West End productions of Lés Misérables and The Cradle Will Rock. Her other theatrical credits include Sunset Boulevard, Anything Goes, Oliver!, Working, The Old Neighborhood, Master Class and Pal Joey. LuPone also headlined two solo Broadway concerts, Patti LuPone On Broadway and Matters of the Heart, and received glowing notices for her performance as Mrs. Lovett in the Lincoln Center concert version of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. She was seen last year in the Kennedy Center's staging of Marc Blitzstein's Regina, and this summer she will play Mama Rose in the Ravinia Festival's presentation of Gypsy.
LuPone will also perform a special concert of "The Lady with the Torch" to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS May 22 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.