Patti LuPone

Patti LuPone was fully in character - actually many of them - playful, naughty, dominating, and always funny as she assayed her multi-faceted persona with great success Saturday night (4/24) before an enthusiastic crowd at Strathmore Music Center. Accompanied by Joseph Thalken on piano, who matched her big sound chord for chord, Ms. LuPone launched into "Gypsy in My Soul," the show's titular song, with gusto, and followed with a series of tunes with attitude including "Night Life," "One for My Baby," and "I Wanna Be Around" which she dubbed the Sicilian National Anthem, and "Frankie and Johnny" with a nod to some ancestral anger issues. If revenge is sweet, then domination is sweeter still as she demonstrated with a flick of a prop in "I Never Do Anything Twice."

As a performer, Ms. LuPone eschews the standard format of the soloist - the song or medley intro with a little bio thrown in. Instead you get about two dozen songs in a little over an hour with more or less continuous action, interspersed with a lot of humor ("This is a song about The Great Depression ... Mine") and wit (she sends ups Edith Piaf and I suspect, herself, in a LOL rendition of "I Regret Everything"). She uses an economy of motion to sell the song: a flick of the wrist and twist of the neck with an arch look are sufficient to get the point across to the farthest reaches of the house. She has good range, going from cabaret, with a fine vibrato, to standard show tunes, where she stands and delivers. While comfortable in a subdued mode, she's itching to deliver the big sound with her impressive skill set. To use a baseball metaphor, Ms. LuPone is a 5-tool player - one with good makeup - looking to drive something with power. Whether building on a number ("New York, New York") or working up to a show stopper ("Don't Cry for Me Argentina"), she's ready to belt one out.

I was aware of her impact on Broadway musicals over the last 30 years (2 Tony Awards and numerous nominations), especially with Maestros Sondheim and Webber (who unwittingly contributed to her home improvement project). But I didn't realize the extent to which she has hitched her creative wagon to the straight stage and silver screen, particularly with the work of David Mamet, as well as TV, appearing in weekly series and PBS specials. You've seen and heard her before and you'll likely do so again in the near future. And to fill in the gaps, with the undoubtedly juicy tidbits, there's a memoir due for release this fall.

To slow things down, Ms. LuPone got Mr. Thalken into the vocal act, sharing a bench with the pianist and musical director as they combined on an affecting duet "Sleepy Man" from The Robber Bridegroom. But she finished strong with selections from Oliver ("As Long As He Needs Me") and Gypsy ("Everything's Coming Up Roses), and to transition to the After Party with Big Ray and the Kool Cats, a rousing "Nights on Broadway" with full backing track.

The singer turned the tables on the audience for once in a curtain call, returning with camera in hand, flashing away in "The Way You Looked Tonight" and we all got to experience what it's like to have your show, not to mention your life, turned into a photo-op (Smile!) For her final call, she offered up a quiet and personal "A Hundred Years from Today."

Audio wise, I thought the piano tended to dominate and/or compete with the vocalist at times, resulting in an unwanted elevation in sound and loss of clarity. And the amplification was problematic for Ms. LuPone at the upper intensities - you may wonder if she even needs it with her voice - causing a muffling in some of the lyrics. But this was a Gala Night at Strathmore and if ever a musical performance carried the tone of the evening, especially to the next stage, this one did.

Sound check: Moderate to occasional high sound levels during finales

Program notes: Ms. LuPone's bio was excellent, but should have included Mr. Thalken's. Would have benefitted from a working play list and the show's concept

Applause meter: Standing "O," highly recommended

Runtime: About 75 minutes