I've seen my share of Mama Roses. My first was Joanne Worley, the Laugh In comic with the huge smile and the even bigger laugh. Then there the film Roses: Rosalind Russell in the original, Bette Middler in the 1993 TV version. Just a few years ago, I caught the tiny Bernadette Peters fill those big, sensible heels.

But it wasn't until last night that I really saw Mama. As brought to life by Patti LuPone at the NYCity Center, Rose is a driven, hard, seductive, and funny matriarch. LuPone doesn't fall into the trap the role leaves for other actresses. She doesn't chew the scenery, she's alive in its world. She's almost subtle, a word you don't often think about when contemplating Rose.

By the time LuPone steps onto the bare stage and sings Rose's Turn, you feel for this woman who invested everything in her daughters simply to satisfy her own ego. You want her to rise up and claim what's hers. Sing out Patti.