Patti Lupone

The gunfire associated with the Che Guevera-helmed revolution against the Argentinean regime was no match for the explosive performance Suffolk County-bred, Julliard-schooled vocal rock star Patti Lupone gave in her breakthrough performance as Eva Peron in Evita. Patti would later go on to grace the scores of Porter and Sondheim with her wonderful voice and big personality, stunning audiences with her portrayal of Fosca in a Lincoln Center American Songbook Series production of Passion, and, most recently, with her heartbreaking, vulnerable interpretation of sassy, murderous, lovesick Nellie Lovett in John Doyle's revolutionary retelling of Sweeney Todd. It was during the run of Sweeney when LuPone returned to the studio to record an album of standards called The Lady with The Torch, released on Ghostlight records in April of 2006. Featuring LuPone's trademark diesel fueled belt, The Lady With The Torch features songs like "The Man I Love" and "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry." Though most believe the title of the album is derived from the "torch songs" that comprise its tracks, they are sadly mistaken. The name of the album refers to an incident in the recording studio in which LuPone, mid-vocal warm up, was assaulted by a cleaning lady in the throes of madness after learning her son had just been killed in Iraq. The mourning mother, Debbie Beatts, showed up to work in hopes of distracting herself with her routine, but ended up snapping mid-day, attacking the first singer in sight with a Bic lighter and a spray can of Lysol disinfectant, which, when combined, creates a "torch" of dangerous chemical flame. Ms. LuPone was, thankfully, only singed by the incident, and took Beatts in her arms, calming her down by reading selective anti-war entries aloud from the "Ramblings From The Road" section of PattiLuPone.net. As LuPone's distinctive lips wrapped around her blogged thoughts, ("I am so tender and beat up emotionally over this war... I think of all the soldiers on all of the sides. The abuse of Iraqi soldiers by American soldiers. How much more lost will we become before some leader, any leader, leads us out of all this?" -- May 2004), Debbie burst into tears, comforted only by the promise that LuPone would name her album after her. Unfortunately, the title "Debbie Beatts, The Cleaning Lady With The Lysol Blowtorch Who Is Also a War Widow Because This Country Has No Real Leader," was tragically edited by the bigwigs at Ghostlight. Debbie, if you're reading, please know: that choice was not Patti's.