The Broadway singer and actress Patti LuPone appears in concert at the Auditorium Theatre on Saturday. She spoke with the Tribune about her show, “Matters of the Heart,” in a telephone interview. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: Pack your warm underwear. It’s cold in Chicago.

A: I can’t wait to show up. It will remind me of when I worked with the St. Nicholas Theatre. We had to walk to the theater.

Q: Ah, yes. In 1977. When you worked with David Mamet on “The Woods” in Lincoln Park.

A: David Mamet wasn’t David Mamet yet. But I wear that St. Nicholas cap extremely proudly. I remember walking with him in New York after that, and we both looked up and saw his name on a Broadway marquee. That was when he realized what was going on.

I’ve said this before, but David taught me more about acting than all my years at Juilliard. He is very musical in his ideas, you know, and when I am a long run on Broadway, what I learned from him still is very helpful.

Q: So, the 25th anniversary tour of “Matters of the Heart”?

A: I am a slow learner when it comes to these matters. A lot of the songs I like to sing are dialogue songs, and I find they resonate more deeply than they did 25 years ago. I think I was a little overwhelmed back then. Now I’ve been married longer than we’ve been doing this show, and I feel like we gain a little wisdom over time.

Q: Nice to have John Weidman writing your material, Scott Wittman as your director and Joseph Thalken as your musical director.  Rare for this kind of show now.

A: We’ve all been doing these concert shows together for years.

Q: So, the set list has not changed much?

A: When we first did the show, I didn’t want to sing show tunes. I wanted to do songs by Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman and Steve Sondheim. We’ve not really switched anything out. We’ve had to lower the keys in songs by a half step, and in a couple a full step, from 25 years ago, but they now sit better on my voice. I don’t feel removed from the story of love. Because of those 25 years of experience, I feel better able to express it.

Q: On the road again and needing to do interviews like this in many cities: Surely a drag?

A: I’m out for five and a half weeks doing the show. Chicago, West Coast and Carnegie Hall. You might say I am relying on my training but it’s not a drag at all. With you, with Chicago, I have a history. Some of the people who interview me are not prepared. When they ask me to tell them about my songs, I just want to hang up.

Q: Two dozen love songs.

A: What is our world now if we don’t have love? I could cry.

7:30 p.m. Saturday at Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive; tickets from $59.81 at auditoriumtheatre.org

Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

cjones5@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/patti-lupone-auditorium-theatre/