‘I can’t understand a lyric’: Patti LuPone laments lost art of projection in musical theatre

Award-winning star, who is bringing the concert A Life in Notes to London’s Coliseum, says lyricists’ words are not reaching audiences clearly, due to a lack of training and overbearing sound mixes

Over a 50-year career she has sung lines written by musical theatre’s biggest names but the Tony award-winning star Patti LuPone fears that lyricists are being failed by today’s productions. “I cannot understand a lyric,” she said, referring to Broadway’s current wave of musicals.

LuPone blamed the problem on sound mixing that drowns out singing voices and actors who have not learned the art of projection because forehead microphones are now so widely used. “Young performers have no idea how to project,” she said, adding that they should ask themselves “who are you doing this for?” when on stage and remember “they are singing for the back row”.