Feathers on hats, feathers on lapels, feathers on heads; there are better costumes in the will call ticket queue outside Carnegie Hall than on the average Broadway stage. Those wearing feathers (and those without) are here to pay homage to an enduring, flamboyant talent worthy of the plumage: Patti LuPone.

After opening with ‘A Song for You’, Patti introduces the show as “a kind of musical memoire” reflecting a life that includes notes of all kinds: “high, low, love and wrong notes”. The program and narrative is varied and holds true to this initial disclaimer. Its structure is also indicative of the prolific work ethic of Ms LuPone, including around 15 numbers in the first half alone accompanied by long-term collaborator Joseph Thalken at the piano and Brad Phillips on an assortment of stringed instruments. Winding through stories of summertime frolics (The Jamies’ ‘Summertime, Summertime’) to teenage rock and roll (Mark Dinning’s ‘Teen Angel’) we eventually work through to a New York move. It’s at this point that the set really starts to flex in Patti’s favor as she recalls a song that she heard “through a haze of marijuana smoke in a Manhattan loft”. Her rendition of ‘Lilac Wine’ is full of poise and delicacy which creates a duet moment between Patti and Brad Phillips’ violin. With such accomplishment in the musical theater form, this musical dialogue and harmony brings out so much of the mastery that has secured LuPone over 5 decades of center stage since her Broadway debut in 1973. These harmonious occasions are the ones that truly shine the light on Patti’s enduring facility.

The first half ends with a barn-storming delivery of ‘Those Were the Days’ (complete with an audience dying to clap along) and a power pose, peace sign held aloft. When she re-emerges for the second song-filled installment, Patti has shed the classy black suit in favor of a silver gown complete with flowing cape. ‘On Broadway’ signals that we’ve reached the showbiz chapters of Patti’s life and we’re about to hit the accelerator on the montage machine. The songs come thick and fast: ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’, ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, ‘The Ladies Who Lunch’. It’s a light-touch reminder of the musical theater history that Patti witnessed emerging in real-time which also gives poignancy to her tribute to those who lost their lives during the AIDS epidemic in the form of Cole Porter’s ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’.

Acknowledging mortality through the ageless American Songbook is no mean feat. Remaining spritely while in her self-described “third act” is a similar version of this magic trick, and Patti LuPone shares some of her secret to achieving this in her final numbers. As ‘Forever Young’ starts to play, the star attraction beckons the Young People’s Chorus of New York City and Bridget Everett onto stage. By the time that Patti and Bridget are fully immersed in their strong suit of duetting, LuPone is now equally immersed in the soft pink ruffles of Everett’s billowing outfit. Like a child diving into mounds of pink candy floss, there is a gleeful zest for life that comes across in Patti’s demeanor and voice. She leaves the hall’s devotees with ‘In My Life’ and the elixir she’s choosing to live by: “we’re still creative, it’s still fun”. A finale worthy of the box office smash hit that is Patti LuPone.

More original vocal talents are on their way to Carnegie Hall — check them out here. Photo credit Chris Lee.