Photo: Charles Sykes/getty
Everything’s coming up roses at Broadway’sCompany!
Patti LuPonereturned to the revival of theStephen SondheimmusicalTuesday night after taking a brief hiatus from the show due to her COVID-19 diagnosis — and was met with quite the surprise from her fans.
The show’s curtain call wascaptured on a videothat fellowCompanystarClaybourne Eldershared on his Instagram page Wednesday morning.
“Hit in the head with roses,” Elder captioned the clip. “This is the moment a fan did what we all want to do at the end of Ladies Who Lunch: throw roses at Patti Lupone’s head in adoration.@companybway@pattilupone.”
LuPone, who appeared to be initially confused, can be seen laughing with her costar after realizing what had just happened.
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The actress tested positive for COVID-19 last month after she began experiencing symptoms prior to her matinee performance on Feb. 26. “Ms LuPone is expected to return to the show on Tuesday, March 8,” astatement from the productionread. “She is home resting, and everyone wishes her speedy recovery.”
“To ensure the safety of everyone at the Jacobs Theatre, increased testing protocols were automatically triggered,” the statement added.
The Olivier Award winner previously missed several performances ofCompanyin Decemberdue to a non-COVID-related illness. PEOPLE later confirmed the actressreturned to the stagefollowing a brief hiatus.
Company’s revival on the Great White Way reopened on Broadway shortly before the death of its songwriter, theater legend Sondheim, in November. He was 91.
In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE following his death, LuPone said that she lost a friend when the world lost Sondheim. “I’ve sung seven Sondheim roles. He was a taskmaster, and his notes could be delivered harshly, but his approval was the ultimate affirmation of legitimacy in interpreting his work, which is peerless. There were times when I had to swallow my pride, harness my ego, endeavor to hear the note and apply it. He came backstage after one performance where he had given me an admonishing note the evening before. ‘Night and day,’ he said. The highest compliment,” she said.
“We both live in a small county in Connecticut, and we were sometimes in the same social situations. One summer nightMia Farrowgave a Full Moon party, and I tipsily invited Steve to go for a paddle boat ride on her lake. Shocked that he accepted, I became so nervous that my conversation would bore or annoy him, but I found, impossibly, that we communicated in a way that made me understand we could have a sweet connection independent of our work together. We paddled the lake, or we sat floating in silence and we both saw the moon chattering away. At least that’s how we described it. It was so lovely to see Steve in these moments. Away from work,” she added.
“But being in a rehearsal room with Steve, trying to achieve the complexities that he was striving for in his lyrics and music was a Master Class in technique, focus, discipline, accuracy. One must stand taller. I’ve lost a friend, but I’ve lost a great teacher as well. Who now will make me better?”
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source: people.com
