My Amazing Mom

I was going to write this post on Mothers Day, but here goes: My mom is a badass.

For those of you who know me, you know that I was raised by a New York City cop and a Broadway dancer. My parents were/are a true New York love story. This past Monday I had the distinct honor of escorting my mom (Diane) to her triumphant return to the Broadway stage at the Dancers Over 40 Tribute to Angela Lansbury at the Actors Temple Theatre. Less than 10 weeks after breaking her hip, there she was, up on stage, being interviewed by fellow actor and performer Kurt Peterson, about her experiences and memories of working with Angela. I sat in the back of the theater with a huge smile on my face. I was/am incredibly proud of her.

That’s Angela with me and my Dad in 1970

My mom standing to the left of Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl

My Mom with Angela at the 50th Anniversary of Mame in 2016

My mother, Diane Coupé, was in the cast of 11 Broadway shows back in the 1960s. I ended her career. Really. In the video below of the 1970 Tony Awards broadcast, you’ll see my mom on stage with Katherine Hepburn from the Broadway show Coco. If you skip ahead to 12’ 18”, you’ll see my mom entering stage with a spectacular baby bump. I was the bump. She was fired from the show that night as the producers realized she was pregnant.

After she left Broadway, she began teaching dance lessons in the basement of our house in Rockland County, NY. 53 years later, she is still at it. Coupé Theater Studio is an institution and she has taught tens of thousands of students - many who have gone on to careers on Broadway, ballet and modern dance companies, and other aspects of the theater. She is a legend. My beautiful wife Alison now runs the studio, but my Mom is sitting in the auditorium at North Rockland High School right now, getting ready for the first recital back in a theater since 2019. 650+ students will be up on stage dancing their hearts out this weekend, and my Mom will be watching, giving notes, and smiling.

We are all products of the households we were brought up in, and I learned a great from my parents and siblings. My brother Mark and sister Jennifer both followed in my Mom’s footsteps - Mark was/is a Blue Man in Blue Man Group here in NYC for nearly 20 years, and my sister was in a dozen Broadway shows. One VERY cool fact is that my Mom and my sister are the ONLY mother/daughter that have been awarded the coveted Gypsy robe - an award given to a chorus member at each Broadway show.

My Mom and sister in an article about winning the Gypsy robe

My brother Mark and I - 2022.

While my life took a path into the world of music and not the stage, I learned everything about running a company from her.

Curtain Call at the Dancers Over 40 Tribute to Angela Lansbury - May 15, 2023

Seeing my Mom (at the young age of 83) up on a Broadway stage again, right in the heart of the theater district, made me very, very happy. After all, I was the reason she left the theater in the first place.

My mom is a badass.

Me with Angela Lansbury - 2016