Steve On Broadway (SOB)

Patti Preview: "Brought Down The Roof" .... Literally?

Patti Preview: "Brought Down The Roof" .... Literally?

For any LuPone-phile (yes! It's a word! Look it up!), this morning's Barbara Hoffman piece in the New York Post is a must read, as she celebrates The Great One.

Patti LuPone, of course, began previews for the Broadway berth of Gypsy last evening at the St. James Theatre.

Hoffman writes:

And in case you're thinking Gypsy, again? -- Bernadette Peters having had her turn a few years back -- you weren't at City Center this summer, when LuPone's ballsy Momma Rose brought down the roof.

That Encores! production that The Post's Frank Scheck called "galvanizing" started previews yesterday at the St. James, where LuPone's name looms as large as the title.

Apparently, as officially deputized SOB Special Correspondent Sarah B. noted late last evening on Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment, LuPone is quite literally bringing down the roof of the St. James:

However, the real drama happened during the dressing room scene just before Rose's Turn, some sort of accident happened. We couldn't see it from the orchestra, but it was loud enough to make 1/2 of the audience turn and look up. There was a loud crash and immediate crying. Somebody shouted, "Are you okay?" The person proceeded to cry very loudly. I don't know how Patti managed to go on with "Rose's Turn," but as Rose says, "That's show business." There was an ambulance parked in front of the St. James. I heard that a piece of metal air vent fell from the ceiling and hit a patron.

Ouch!

UPDATE (3/4/08 4:20 p.m. EST): New York Times blogger Tara Parker-Pope (a health blogger, of all people) wrote about her friend who was one of two people hit by the 30 inch-diameter piece of metal that fell from the ceiling of the St. James. Fortunately, neither individual was seriously injured.

Sarah goes on to say of The Great One:

Patti is literally knockin' 'em to the aisles and bringing down the house. Maybe there should be an ambulance permanently parked at the St. James.

She also goes on to tell us how one patron got, er, choked up, quite literally!

Go read Sarah B.'s full report on last night's first preview and then follow her admonition to get tickets!

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

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Related Stories:
Curtain Up! Light The Lights! (March 3, 2008)
Load-In's Turn (February 24, 2008)
Tag, I'm It! (February 4, 2008)
Laurents' Turn: First Gypsy, Then West Side Story (December 18, 2008)
LuPone's Mama Rose, Part 3? (October 3, 2007)
At 90, Laurents Has Still "Got It" (July 27, 2007)
Everything's Coming Up Patti! (July 9, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Top Ten Of The Year (June 4, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Musicals (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: LuPone's Triumph Earns Encores! (March 19, 2007)
Will Encores Mount All-Star Gypsy? (March 2, 2007)
SOB's 6 Singular Sensations Of '06 - #1: Patti LuPone (December 30, 2006)
Gypsy (The SOB Review) (August 14, 2006)

Labels: Adventures In The Endless Pursuit Of Entertainment, Arthur Laurents, Blogs, Boyd Gaines, Broadway, Gypsy, Jule Styne, Laura Benanti, Load-In, Musical, Patti LuPone, Revival, Stephen Sondheim

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Tuesday, March 04, 2008