Happy Birthday to Patti LuPone!

It’s hard to believe that there are those who only know Patti LuPone from her role as Libby on ABC’s Life Goes On. That’s the power of television for you!

This powerhouse performer, who turns 61 years old today, can look back on a stage career that includes Tony-winning performances as Eva Peron in the 1979 musical Evita and Mama Rose in the 2008 revival of  Gypsy and in her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les Miserables.

There’s nothing like seeing Miss LuPone live. I saw her at the Ahmanson last year in her show with Mandy Patinkin as well as in the mid-90s in the Broadway play Master Class and the sensational one-woman show Patti LuPone on Broadway.

I know I’m not alone in cherishing each and every memory of this great star. Here is video of her doing one of my favorite numbers: Being Alive from the musical Company: