The Sarah Siddons Society is pleased to announce that Patti LuPone is the winner of the 2009-2010 Sarah Siddons Award. The award was presented at the organization's annual Gala, held August 9, 2010.

                                                                                                        Patti LuPone           

(from photo by Ethan Hill)

Patti LuPone swept the 2008 theatre awards, winning the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Actress in a Musical and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance for her performance as Rose in the critically-acclaimed Broadway production of the classic Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim-Arthur Laurents musical Gypsy, directed by the show’s author, Mr. Laurents.

Miss LuPone’s recent stage credits include her debut with the Los Angeles Opera in Weill-Brecht’s Mahagonny (the cd recording of that production recently won two Grammy Awards for Best Classical Recording and Best Opera Recording), the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s new opera To Hell and Back with San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Mrs. Lovett in John Doyle’s award winning Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award nominations – Best Actress in a Musical; Drama League Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre), the title role in Marc Blitzstein’s Regina, a musical version of Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, a critically acclaimed performance as Fosca in a concert version of Stephen Sondheim’s Passion, which was also broadcast on PBS’ Live From Lincoln Center,  and a multi-city tour of her theatrical concert Matters of the Heart. She has also performed Matters of the Heart internationally, including runs at Australia’s Sydney Festival and  London’s Donmar Warehouse Theatre. Her CD recording, based on this concert, was named one of 1999’s best recordings by both The Times of London and Time Out/New York.  

In addition to Matters of the Heart, Miss LuPone also performs two other solo concerts Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda and The Lady With The Torch.  She made a triumphant solo concert debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall in Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda resulting in a sold-out encore performance, and performs the concert with major symphony orchestras around the country.  The Lady With The Torch is the basis for Miss LuPone’s solo CD on Ghostlight Records.  She also tours in a new concert with her Evita co-star Mandy Patinkin – An Evening With Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin.  Her most recent cd is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches,  a digitally remastered recording from soundboard tapes of her now-legendary 1980 nightclub act which she performed during her Broadway run in Evita.   

Patti LuPone’s other recent New York stage appearances include performances as La Mome Pistache in the Encores! production of Cole Porter’s musical Can-Can at New York’s City Center, as The Old Lady in the New York Philharmonic’s concert production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, and performances on Broadway in the hit revival of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, in David Mamet’s The Old Neighborhood, Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning play Master Class and in her own concert Patti LuPone On Broadway, for which she won an Outer Critics Circle Award.    Over six consecutive summers, she’s appeared in the  Ravinia Festival’s Sondheim series, starring as Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd,  as Desiree in A Little Night Music, Fosca in Passion, Cora Hoover Hooper in Anyone Can Whistle,  Rose in Gypsy and was featured in two different roles in Sunday in the Park with George.   

After completing her training with the first class of the Drama Division of New York’s Juilliard School, she began her career as a founding member of John Houseman's The Acting Company, playing a variety of leading roles, both on and off-Broadway and on tour throughout the United States.  Her subsequent New York dramatic credits include Dario Fo's Accidental Death of An Anarchist; David Mamet's The Water Engine, Edmond and The Woods and Israel Horovitz' Stage Directions.   Miss LuPone's memorable performances on the New York musical stage include Vera Simpson in the Encores! production of Pal Joey, Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes, (1988 Drama Desk Award, Tony nomination, Best Actress in a Musical), The Cradle Will Rock, Nancy in Oliver!, Evita (1980 Tony and Drama Desk Awards- Best Actress in a Musical), Working and Rosamund in The Robber Bridegroon (1976 Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations, Best Featured Actress in a Musical).

In London, she created the role of  Fantine in the the RSC production of Les Miserables, a role she subsequently played on the West End.  For that performance, as well as the reprise of her performance in the London production of The Cradle Will Rock, she won an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.   Miss LuPone created the role of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (1994 Olivier nomination, Best Actress in A Musical), and recreated her Broadway performance of Maria Callas in the West End production of Master Class.

Film: City By The Sea, David Mamet’s Heist, State and Main; Just Looking, Summer of Sam, The 24 Hour Woman, Family Prayers, Driving Miss Daisy, Witness. 

TV: 30 Rock, PBS Great Performances The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Ugly Betty,  Will & Grace (as herself), PBS Great Performances’ Candide, Oz , the TNT film Monday Night Mayhem, PBS’ Evening At The Pops with John Williams and Yo Yo Ma, Falcone, Bonanno: A Godfather’s Story (Showtime); Frasier (1998 Emmy nomination); Law & Order, An Evening with Patti LuPone (PBS), the NBC movie Her Last Chance, Showtime's ACE Award and Emmy nominated The Song Spinner (Daytime Emmy nomination, Best Actress), The Water Engine, L.B.J., AMC's Remember WENN and ABC's Life Goes On.

Recordings include: Sweeney Todd (both the 2006 Broadway revival cast recording and 2000 live performance recording on NY Philharmonic’s Special Editions Label); Pal Joey (DRG); Heatwave with John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra (Phillips Classics); Sunset Boulevard (Polygram);  Patti LuPone Live (RCA Victor).   You can visit Miss LuPone on the worldwide web at www.pattilupone.net.

Her autobiography, Patti LuPone: A Memoir will be published by Harmony Books this fall (release date scheduled for September 14, 2010).

06-03-10

The Sarah Siddons Society is also pleased to announce that Mary Beth Fisher is the winner of the 2009-2010 Chicago's Leading Lady Award for her performance in Year of Magical Thinking.  The award was presented at the Sarah Siddons annual Gala, held August 9, 2010.

Mary Beth Fisher

Mary Beth Fisher, originally from NJ, has made Chicago her home since 1997.  Her Chicago theatre credits include:  THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING, THE WILD DUCK, WHAT THE BUTLER SAW, ARCADIA, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, TRAVESTIES, and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Court Theatre); ROCK 'N' ROLL, FRANK'S HOME, THE CLEAN HOUSE, DINNER WITH FRIENDS, HEARTBREAK HOUSE, THE ROSE TATOO,THE GUYS, BOY GETS GIRL, SPINNING INTO BUTTER, DESIGN FOR LIVING, LIGHT UP THE SKY,THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, and MARVIN'S ROOM (Goodman Theatre);  DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE, THE DRESSER, THE MEMORY OF WATER (Steppenwolf Theatre):  THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); THE LARAMIE PROJECT: EPILOGUE, THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED, and THEATRE DISTRICT (About/Face Theatre); THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (Remy Bumppo Theatre); AWAY (Northlight Theatre) and MY OWN STRANGER (Writer's Theatre).  She has received five Joseph Jefferson Award Nominations.  Her NY credits include:  FRANK'S HOME (Playwright's Horizons); BOY GETS GIRL (Drama League Honoree and Drama Desk and Lucile Lortel Nominations), THE RADICAL MYSTIQUE, and BY THE SEA... (Manhattan Theatre Club);  THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (Roundabout Theatre); and EXTREMETIES (Westside Arts).  Television credits include:  State of Romance (Pilot), Without a Trace, Numb3rs, Prison Break, NYPD Blue, Profiler, To Have & To Hold, Turks, Early Edition.   Film credits include:  Formosa Betrayed, Dragonfly, Trauma, and the award-winning short film Safe Storage.  Ms. Fisher is an Inaugural Lunt-Fontanne Fellow.

6-15-10

Sarah Siddons Award

The Sarah Siddons Society Awardees

Helen Hayes First winner of the Sarah Siddons Society Award.  Honored as Chicago's most outstanding actress of the 1952-53 theatrical season for her role in Mrs. McThing, Helen Hayes is congratulated by Mr. and Mrs. James Hart at the Society's first annual Gala	Lauren Bacall & Irv Kupcinet Lauren Bacall is the winner of two Sarah Siddons Awards  (1971-72 for Applause & 1984-85 for Woman of the Year)
Bette Davis & Stanley Paul Bette Davis was the recipient of the 1972-73 Special 20th Anniversary Award for All About Eve. Betty Stuart Rodgers Jeffreys & Lily Tomlin Lily Tomlin was the recipient of the 1989-90  Sarah Siddons Society Award for her one-woman show,  The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe.

Stanley Paul, Donna Atwater, Elaine Stritch, Merle Reskin, Greta Wiley
Elaine Stritch was the recipient of the 2003-04 Sarah Siddons Award  for her show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty.

 

Chicago's Leading Lady Awards

Chicago's Great Ladies of the Theatre

Special Tributes