Patti LuPone

We're not show-business people. We have a life.

I'm totally Italian, but I'm not a diva. If you could see the way I'm dressed in daily life, that's not a diva. Appearances are so not important to me.

I learned a long time ago from David Mamet to wipe your feet at the door, get it out on stage and then go about your life.

I know what it means to have a leading part, and I know what it means to have a featured part.

What's the difference in opening from scratch in Philly or opening from scratch in New York? The old out-of-town tryout circuit - taking the show pre-Broadway to cities like Boston, New Haven, Philadelphia, Washington - has sort of been replaced with the amount of workshops we do.

I'd love to do situation comedy - it's the best job in show business.

I wish I could have a recurring role on 'Modern Family'. I think 'Modern Family' is the best comedy on television. It's extremely well written, extremely well acted and directed.

I don't listen to the contemporary pop artists. They all sound alike, anyway.

A well-rounded performer will listen to all kinds of music. I like classical, Middle Eastern, and rock a lot.

The word diva to me means doing something supernatural with something natural.

In America, it stands out, because it's raw, it's big, it's emotional. My face is raw, big and emotional. It didn't work for the longest time.

I knew when I was a kid that I had a Broadway voice. I wanted to be a rocker, because I grew up in that era of transistor radios at the beach.