FORT WALTON BEACH — Attaining "living legend" status on the Great White Way is not easy. For every Ethel Merman, Mary Martin and Bernadette Peters, there are thousands of eager young hoofers awaiting the chance to see their name up in lights.
On March, a living Broadway legend steps into the local limelight when Patti LuPone performs at Sinfonia Gulf Coast's annual end-of-season gala.
In her "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda…" performance, LuPone performs songs from musicals that she could have played, should have played, did play and will play.
The audience can expect music from classic Broadway shows including “Hair,” “Bye, Bye Birdie,” “Funny Girl,” “West Side Story” and “Peter Pan.” LuPone will also perform numbers from her Tony award-winning performances.
She won her first Tony as originator of the title role in the Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "Evita." The show opened in 1979 and continued for 1,567 performances.
LuPone also won a Tony in the 2008 revival of “Gypsy,” reviving the role of Madam Rose that Ethel Merman originated nearly a half-century earlier.
During the gala, company founder and artistic director Maestro Demetrius Fuller will conduct the Sinfonia Gulf Coast, "the region’s only fully-professional symphony orchestra," according to a news release.
WANT TO GO?
Sinfonia Gulf Coast presents "An Evening with Patti LuPone: Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda…"
What: Sinfonia Gala
When: 7:30 p.m. March 29
Where: Emerald Coast Convention Center, 1250 Miracle Strip Parkway SE, Fort Walton Beach
Tickets: Preferred seating: $49.50; Reserved table seating, including light hors d'oeuvres: $125; available at the Sinfonia Box Office, 269-7129, and website.
Email News Bulletin Staff Arts and Entertainment Editor Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Broadway legend Patti LuPone brings 'Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda…' show to area