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Patti LuPone: The diva strikes back with a memoir

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When an actor is described as ‘turbulent’ or ‘difficult,’ it’s typically a euphemism for ‘a royal pain.’ Patti LuPone, one of the most celebrated musical theater performers of her generation, wears her anger with a difference. The role she casts herself in repeatedly in ‘Patti LuPone: A Memoir’ is that of battling victim.

Frowned upon by snobs who don’t appreciate her Italian American vibrancy, pigeonholed by critics who refuse to accept her as both a musical and dramatic force, and exploited by money-hungry producers who want to wring her dry before discarding her, she reviews her theatrical career in the feisty, score-settling spirit of someone who’s been burned once too often and has made a vow with her lawyers never to let it happen again (even though, at 61, she knows it probably will).

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As her pulverizing (and often polarizing) star turns might suggest, this diva doesn’t suffer fools gladly. To continue reading the book review, click here.

--Charles McNulty

twitter.com/charlesmcnulty

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