June, 2015 - Patti LuPone - Raspberry-Rum Lemonade Punch

Patti LuPone

Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949 in Northport, Long Island) is an American actress and singer, best known for her work in stage musicals.  She is a two-time Grammy Award winner and a two-time Tony Award winner. She is also a 2006 American Theater Hall of Fame inductee.   LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: Group 1), which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers. She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. LuPone made her Broadway debut in Three Sisters in 1973.  She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Perón in the 1979 original Broadway production of Evita. She played Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables and Moll in The Cradle Will Rock, winning the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for
her work in both.

 Other stage musical performances include her Tony nominated role as Reno Sweeney in the 1987 revival of Anything Goes, her Olivier nominated role as Norma Desmond in the 1993 original production of Sunset Boulevard in London, her Tony nominated role as Mrs. Lovett in the 2005
production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, her Tony Award winning role as Mama Rose in the 2007 revival of Gypsy, and her Tony nominated role as Lucia in the 2010 original production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

LuPone opposes recording, photographs, and other electronic distractions in live theatre. "Where's the elegance?" she asked in a blog post on her official site. "I mean, I'm glad they show up because God knows it's a dying art form and I guess I'm glad they're all comfortable, sleeping, eating and drinking, things they should be doing at home and in a restaurant. But it's just not done in the theatre or shouldn't be." LuPone has been the subject of some controversy due to the bluntness of her
statements regarding this matter.

A related incident occurred at the second to last performance of Gypsy on January 10, 2009. LuPone, irritated by flash photography, stopped in the middle of "Rose's Turn" and loudly demanded that the interloper be removed from the theatre. After he was removed, LuPone restarted her number. The audience applauded her stance. 

The Drink:

Raspberry-Rum Lemonade Punch

Muddle the zest of 4 lemons (in wide strips) with 1 pint raspberries and ½ cup sugar. Transfer to a punch bowl and add 2 cups lemon juice, 1 ½ cups dark rum, 1 cup raspberries and some lemon slices. Add 2 cups sparkling wine. Serve over ice.

Drinkability:  2
Drunkability:  2
Taxic Diversity:  4
Accessibility:  2
Priority of Conservation:  2

Comments:

From "Women of Long Island" by Fluffy Ruffle