As If We Never Said Goodbye [Final performance - Sunset Boulevard, 1994] - Patti LuPone

[91LisaLou]

Is Patti crying at about 3.47?? Or is that part of her characterisation? Amazing performance though!

[KateBushDepot]

@91LisaLou

She's crying. This is a very emotional experience for her. It's the same way with her final performance of Evita.

[91LisaLou]

@KateBushDepot I figured as much. Bless her, must be so hard to leave a show/character you love so much

[Paul3689]

I love this. I love her and think the way she was treated in Sunset was abysmal. If I was ALW watching this (which he didn't, because she told them to keep him from the theatre, which is pretty bad-ass considering it's his show and he pretty much owns the Adephi), I'd be kicking myself.

[lostinthestars100]

WOW! What a performance. The belter, the actress in one. Emotional and powerful. Anyone telling Glenn Close would perform this song on stage with same power LuPone did, isn't listening.

[timbohowe]

I adore Patti, and agree with what she said about becoming a better Norma after she was sacked. You can sense the atmosphere in the theatre. The main thing I got from her book was how hurt she was by the whole experience. I got the distinct impression that what upset her was that no-one from the creatives spoke to her once they'd moved over to work on the US productions and she was left out of the loop. Then found out she wasn't working on it! Unfortunately, Glenn Close was caught in that mix.

[VeronicaGarland]

Thank you for this. Didn't you used to have a clip of the final scene and her curtain speech on here as well?

[KateBushDepot]

@VeronicaGarland

Yeah I did but Youtube took it down. Sucks...

[prozacato]

I love sista Patti

[oscarlover100]

Was this before or after she was fired??

[KateBushDepot]

@oscarlover100

After. This is her final performance as Norma. ;)

[Elphaba88]

AMAZING

[actornewbs]

How lovely to have been there the last night this was sung.No one will ever ever ever sing this as richly as Lupone..as for Glen Close,Patti Lupones 'curse' is that she has always kept herself very firmly on ground,she is an extremely hard working actor period and a small gesture would have gone very deep into Lupones big soul

[lumiere85]

Sunset Blvd is my fav musical and Patti is one of my fav actors. But, I didn't find her performance of Norma that great. I still think Glenn was the best choice. But, wow, Patti got a hell of a lot better listning to this recording.

[lalomedinac]

Wow! It was a great ovation!!! She sounds amazing!!!

[lalomedinac]

Wow! It wad a

[aavauxhall]

I was there. It was the most electric night I ever spent in a theatre.... she was stunning.

[KateBushDepot]

@aavauxhall

You're sooo lucky!!! I wish I was there!

[blyan85]

lucky!

[dogatemywookiee]

I really hated the way Patti spoke about her time in the show in her book, one of my fave Norma's along with Petula and Elaine.... but her experience and the way she responded to it makes me uber sad :(

[KateBushDepot]

@dogatemywookiee

What I dislike the most is her treatment of Glenn in her book. It wasn't her fault that ALW treated her in a very unprofessional manner. I still love Patti though.

[dogatemywookiee]

@KateBushDepot It wasn't just that though... her final comments when she attended the final ever performance of the show in London in the book were distasteful and hurtful not to ALW but to the performers and the production as whole. Rita Moreno wasn't the best Norma ever but she put in as much effort as everyone else to fill those tortured shoes.

I still adore the show and I loved Patti in the Role, I love Elaine, I loved Petula, I loved Betty... they all brought somehing individual to Norma

[theatrekid32]

@KateBushDepot If you remember in the book, she states that NOT ONCE did Glenn reach out to her. . .and she jokes at the end about her. I dont think she was in any way coming down on her as a person.

[KateBushDepot]

@theatrekid32

Yeah, but I remember she also mentioned that she didn't want Glenn anywhere within the vicinity of the Adelphi Theatre during her performance (if I remember correctly, it was early in the London run when the LA production is still a 'rumor'). If that's not 'personal' then I don't know what is. I love Patti but there are times when she tends to overdo the self-absorbed victim attitude.

[theatrekid32]

@KateBushDepot that was about when she went back to finish out the run. She said at no time was glenn allowed at the show because it was her closing.

[KateBushDepot]

@theatrekid32

Oh, I see. But what Patti should understand is that ALW is the one who screwed her, NOT Glenn. She does not owe Patti any explanation at all imho. Though I understand where Patti's coming from. Getting one's ass fired sucks and I think it's quite natural to feel some form of resentment (no matter how unreasonable) towards the person who is gonna replace you. Same thing goes with promotions. I see it all the time at the workplace lol.

[KateBushDepot]

@theatrekid32

I'm also wondering... what if her understudy Alisa Endsley (who is a very good Norma btw) failed to mention Patti's name when ALW personally presented her with a bouquet? I think I know the answer lol!

The Evita alternate Terri Klausner (who is also an excellent Eva Peron) got some sh*t as well but at least she didn't mention her name in the book.