Lyric Opera 2024-2025 Issue 3 - Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes

13 | Lyric Opera of Chicago IS THIS CONCERT DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS THAT PATTI HAS DONE? Scott Wittman (conception, director) Yes, because it’s autobiographical. We’ve never done that before. This is a more revealing show for Patti—it’s where she came from. Jeffrey Richman (writer) About five years ago, with the New York Philharmonic, she did a celebration of her 70th birthday that was fairly personal, too, but it had more to do with her relationship to Broadway. This show is personal on a much broader scale. “Here’s where I was when I heard this song; this is what I was going through”—all of that is incorporated into this show. THIS CREATIVE TEAM GOES BACK A LONG WAY. Joseph Thalken (music director) I first worked with Patti in the ‘90s. Her longtime music director, Dick Gallagher, was a friend of mine. They were doing a gala at Lincoln Center, and I was asked to do the second piano. Years later, after Dick passed away, I was asked to sub for the person playing for Patti. We hit it off immediately, and I started working with her more and more. For some of her concerts I’ve conducted a symphony orchestra, others have been with different-sized bands— five-piece, 10-piece. Richman We met in 1977 and have been best friends for 47 years. She’d just closed in The Baker’s Wife —a legendary flop that never made it to Broadway—and she was still out in L.A. She was staying with her brother Bobby, who was performing in A Chorus Line and was a friend of mine. I met her at his birthday party! Patti did her first nightclub performances [in New York] at Les Mouches on Saturday nights after appearing in Evita —that was probably in 1980. Since then, I’ve had a hand in every show that she’s done. Wittman I was living in L.A. when Patti was doing the TV show Life Goes On . Jeffrey brought her to a party at my house. She wanted to sing again, which she hadn’t done in a while. She started coming over, we’d listen to songs, and it turned into Patti LuPone on Broadway . We’ve done maybe five Carnegie Hall concerts, and I’ve worked on most of Patti’s record albums. WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT YOUR ROLE IN THE CREATION OF A LIFE IN NOTES ? Wittman Patti called to say she had a date at Carnegie Hall. I said, “Why don’t we do a show about music that means something to you? Not like, say, Patti Sings Sondheim , but more autobiographical.” I had a title for it— A Life in Notes . We started putting songs together that she had special memories of growing up. Thalken I was given a long list of songs, which we proceeded to look at and sing through, deciding what fit and what didn’t fit. It was a process of several months, whittling down the songs we were going to do and how we were going to do them. I did new arrangements for about 90 percent of the songs. Richman Because Patti, Scott, and I have been collaborating for more than 30 years, I can do my stuff really fast. After one conversation with the three of us, I’ll come to a rehearsal where she’ll sing through the show and we’ll say, “What about something here?” or “These songs should be together with no dialogue.” Behind every great diva is a team of musicians, writers, directors—and friends. For this new concert program, Patti LuPone brought together three of her most cherished longtime colleagues. Here, they reflect on decades of collaboration, the art of song selection, and the enduring talents of their remarkable creative partner.