Jerry Curl

[ Editor’s note ] I finally finished Patti LuPone’s memoir this week. I’m embarrassed to admit that it took me a whole summer to do so, but whatta ride it was! I thoroughly enjoy biographies and Ms. LuPone’s extraordinary life made for an excellent read. For the unfortunate few who may not know who she is, Patti LuPone is the award-winning actress of stage and screen who famously originated the role of Eva Perón in Broadway’s Evita . She was also Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables , Mrs. Lovett in the 2006 Sweeney Todd revival, and (my personal favorite!) Mama Rose in the 2008 Arthur Laurents-directed revival of Gypsy . She is, to put it simply, a living legend. Having been in show business for over four decades, Ms. Lupone’s memoir is a veritable tell-all account of a career replete with soaring highs and devastating lows. She discusses the challenges of being a student actress at Julliard and the hardships of being a working actress on the road. S...

[ Editor’s note ] I’m happy to report that Miami is still here after Isaac. Despite some pretty dire forecasts, we didn’t suffer any damage. Somehow though, all of our patio furniture ended up at the bottom of the pool anyway. This I suspect had less to do with the hurricane than it did with my nutty parents. But I digress. While the weather wizards were putting the fear of God in everyone, my boyfriend and I decided to skip town. Armed with a free park pass, we packed our bags and headed for the wonderful, wide open spaces of Walt Disney World. The first thing on our agenda was to visit Downtown Disney—specifically, D Street. Considered by many to be the premier store for all things Vinylmation , I was expecting it to be a sprawling multi-floor store, replete with old and new collections to pick and choose from. Maybe some gilded Vinylmations? As avid collectors, both Javi and I were prepared for an expensive visit but one that would justify the stock-piling of 3” M...