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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 792
EAN num: 9781419696725
ISBN number: 1419696726
Label: BookSurge Publishing
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
Page Count: 258
Printing Date: June 13, 2008
Publishing house: BookSurge Publishing
Release Date: June 13, 2008
Sale Popularity Level: 83857
Studio: BookSurge Publishing
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In The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti LuPone, author Maile Hernandez shares her story of following a Broadway legend on tour with star-struck enthrallment and her struggles as a mother to an autistic child. Dramatic in all the right ways, this poignant and reflective memoir reads as a deeply felt confession that wades through the waters of what it means to sail upon the shores of self-revelation. As lively and lilting as a memoir can be, there is an often self-deprecating tone, which reads as the tender weight of a life that inadvertently went off-course. A lawyer-turned-overwhelmed-parent began to renew her old singing and acting career after realizing a long-sought childhood dream of seeing Patti LuPone (of Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, and Evita) live on Broadway. With poise and grace, Hernandez paints a vivid picture of what sucess is – as a wife, as a mother, and as a performer – and shares an inspired tale of what it takes to keep reaching for unreachable stars.
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Rated by buyers -
Let's face it. We are all fans of someone famous, whether it be Madonna or Brad Pitt or even Joe the Plumber. At times we simply like we put out there for us (whether it be movies or music or TV or performances). At other times, we become obsessed with them and we just know, if they just took the time to get to know us, we will strike up a life-long friendship. Sometimes these idols are all we feel we have to live for.
These modern days of MySpace and email has become the era of anti face-to-face communication, a communication that is personal, yet distant enough. It's an age when we can send a famous person an email and maybe even get a response, yet there are no handshakes and no facial expressions to demonstrate neither flattery or annoyance. It's safe, but can still be painful.
That's why I loved this book so much...because everyone wants to be acknowledged by someone they love, even if it's just one-sided and hidden behind typed words and a faceless identity that we can colour exactly as we choose.
I could relate to the author, Maile Hernandez, and her quest to befriend the ultimate and unreachable star, Broadway legend and Tony winner Patti LuPone. I'm a big fan of Patti LuPone--I've seen her perform four (count 'em, FOUR) times on Broadway (twice in Sweeney Todd, and twice in Gypsy), I own a couple of her CDs, I really admire her as a performer and, when my friend recently moved to Connecticut (her mother is actually a cousin of Patti's who hung out with her when she was a kid), I joked that I would visit her just so we could follow Patti LuPone around town.
Mind you, I was kidding about the last part. Really, I couldn't even bring myself to wait at the stage door for an autograph from her because I'm afraid I would throw up on her shoes. But, nonetheless, I'm a fan of Patti LuPone. But I don't live for her, I have no desire to want to befriend her. She's just there, and she's truly great at what she does and that's good enough for me.
Just a few short years ago, Maile Hernandez of Phoenix didn't know in what direction her life was going. She was no longer practicing law (which she hated), she just lost her mother to cancer, and was coping with raising her autistic son Max with her devoted lawyer husband Conrad. She always wanted to be a performer, on any level, but had had to suppress this desire and passion for her family.
Maile also loves Patti LuPone more than any other performer, since the very first time she heard her as a teenager. She desires to see her in perform as often as she can--whether it be in Broadway shows in New York City or one-off performances in Virginia or Las Vegas or San Diego. She will go anywhere and see anything (sometimes twice in one weekend) that LuPone is performing in. Maile just feels that special connection with Patti LuPone.
Maile (sometimes signing her name, sometimes anonymously) sends LuPone flowers and other special gifts (like specially made bobbleheads) , she sends her rambling emails that both flatter her idol and bring her up-to-date with every aspect and detail of her life, and she even proposes that they have coffee together. Maile just knows that, if Patti LuPone just took the time to get to know her, they would become confidantes and life-long friends.
Maile appreciates the rare times LuPone personally responds to her emails, and she is devastated when, regarding the majority of her attempts to make personal contact via the web, her emails go unresponded to. She simply cannot understand why she is being ignored and rejected by her idol. After all, they met in passing at a restaurant and LuPone had hugged her several times. So why could Patti possibly be brushing her off?
Regardless of being brushed off by her idol, Maile still attends every performance she can of Patti LuPone. In her extensive travels, she even has a series bizarre and often-hilarious hilarious encounters with other LuPone fans she meets on the Internet.
LuPone also inspires her to try being an actress herself, as Maile becomes a fixture on the local theater scene and expressing herself as she has always wanted to--in performance. Maile also becomes closer and closer to her husband Conrad, who accompanies her on most of her Patti ventures and even becomes a fan himself. She also becomes a better mother, who learns to appreciate every accomplishment (no matter how small and insignificant to the outside world) of her son.
The final chapters on winning opening night tickets for Gypsy on an online auction, only to have them revoked for some mysterious reason (had Miss LuPone read the draft of the book that Maile sent her via email and personally does not want Maile there to spoil her opening night?) --make you feel like your guts have been ripped out and stomped on by the famous feet of your idol. You, the reader, feel just as rejected as Maile.
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Rated by buyers -
I just was so unbelievably awed by this book, and by the amazing journey this young woman took. And by how much she changed and grew.
There were so many times when I wanted to reach out and hug her, and say, "don't you realize that you already are an Important Person." There were other times I wept for her experiences and the emotions she went through regarding her son. Having a daughter with autism, I've experienced this same roller coaster of emotions, and the same desire to completely focus my energies and attention on something outside of that. At other times, I took pride in her triumphs, and some measure of relief in the idea that she was finally able to see the true value in herself that others saw in her.
The conclusion was magnificent and sublime. I want to just pick it up and
start reading it all over again right now!!!
Rated by buyers -
This is the best book for people who love Broadway and the stars that shine there that I've found in years. It's funny, it's heartbreaking, it's beautifully written, and at its core it covers a topic that is rarely addressed: the inspirational power of stars to uplift and even transform their audience members. It's one of "the other sides of the story" - rather than being the biogrpahy of a star, it's the story of Maile, one of Patti LuPone's fans, and how Patti's performances change her life. For Patti's fans, there's plenty of stories about her performances written in a way that makes you feel you're right there, watching them along with Maile. I loved it, and I think everybody who has ever had a favorite actor, actress, athlete, or rock star - especially one who led you to want to take your life in another direction - can relate to it. If a star inspired you sometime, somewhere, you'll want to read this book.
Rated by buyers -
This memoir is beautifully written and was a joy to read. I was riveted and I couldn't put it down! If you like tender and humorous slice-of-life prose, this is the book for you. Whether you are a fellow fan of Patti LuPone and her work or if you have never even heard of her, this story captures the roller coaster ride that is fan-dom and the fears and dreams that all human beings experience. I especially love the ending!
Rated by buyers -
The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti LuPone
This is a well written, sensitive book that provides insight not only about the author, Maile Hernandez, a devoted fan, but also about Tony Award winner Patti LuPone who is currently starring in Gypsy on Broadway. Maile is an attorney living in Arizona with a husband and their autistic son. She shares her feelings for, and her interactions with Broadway Diva Patti LuPone. The book is interesting, funny, insightful, and at the same time sad. Although a story about personal growth, The Unreachable Star expresses the pain that can be felt from rejection by a beloved performer - even from a distance.
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