Patti LuPone is Far Out at 54 Below
Performing Arts
Nov 03, 2014 to Nov 15, 2014
$95 to $160
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To call Patti LuPone’s new show at 54 Below, “Far Away Places, Part Two,” a transporting experience is to be both guilty of making an easy pun and telling the God’s-honest truth. In this sequel to the act with which the Tony Award-winning superstar christened the room over two years ago, LuPone not only takes us around the world in song in 80 minutes, she also guides us into cabaret heaven. Each selection, no matter how obscure or well-known, is given a thoughtful, often perfect interpretation – and her clarion voice sounds even better than it did when we first heard it 40 years ago.
The show’s “travel” theme is made clear from the get-go with a stunning rendition of Jacques Brel’s “Amsterdam” that begins almost plaintively and ends with a fierceness that stuns us. It’s just one of the evening’s many highlights, which also include a slightly melancholy take on the classic “Just a Gigolo,” a beguilingly sultry, jazz-inflected version of Cole Porter’s “Come to the Supermarket in Old Peking” (one of three “patter” songs in the show, alongside the comic “Istanbul” and “Nagasaki”), and an ultra-bouncy and truly joyful reinvention of David Yazbek’s “Madrid” (from the musical “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”).
LuPone may surprise some with her affinity for pop music, but a juxtaposition of Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee” and Billy Joel’s “Vienna” – tied together superbly by stories of her life with the Acting Company and the fact that her now-adult son Josh is following in his mom’s journey – is nothing short of brilliant. She also does full justice to Leonard Cohen’s classic “Bird on a Wire” and handles Cliff Richard’s “Traveling Light” with a deft touch.
Still, give LuPone a ballad, and she will give you a master class in three minutes. Hearing her soaring rendition of Harry Warren and Al Dubin’s “Remember My Forgotten Man” is, to use another pun, unforgettable, while her breathtaking version of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s “Surabaya Johnny” is more than just heartbreaking, it’s heart-stopping.
And there are no adequate words for her “surprise” encore of “Buenos Aires,” which she introduced in the Broadway production of “Evita”. Not only does LuPone practically travel back in time 35 years ago while singing this incredibly difficult anthem, she also displays her maturity as an artist. (Yep, you can understand ALL the words!)
Anywhere Patti LuPone wants to go, you should make sure you’re along for the ride!
Author: Brian Scott Lipton
54 Below
Concert Halls/Venues
West 50s
254 West 54th St (Cellar)
New York, NY 10019
(646) 476-3551
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