I'm am and continue to be saddened by the bitchiness surrounding her illness while in GYPSY. So the woman was sick...that does not detract from the times she performed. People still talk about it (especially since Patti LuPone is screaming it eight times a week at a theater near you.) Nathan Lane missed many more performances over a longer period of time and no one said a word. I saw her GYPSY...she was unlike any other performer I have seen in the role (which is seven others.) Utterly brilliant, but nothing like the (imaginary for most people) Ethel Merman, so of course some people complained that she was miscast (and most of them never saw her in it.) Anyone who missed it missed something special. She was one-of-a-kind in the role. She has also done more for the gay community than Miss LuPone ever did. As the cliche goes, enough said.