Latest news with #TheRoommate
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Patti LuPone Apologizes for Her ‘Demeaning and Disrespectful' Comments on Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald
Patti LuPone has issued an apology after hundreds of members of the Broadway community condemned her recent remarks disparaging fellow Broadway actresses Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald. 'For as long as I have worked in the theatre, I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today,' LuPone wrote in the opening of a statement released via Instagram on Saturday (May 31). More from Billboard Patti LuPone Called Out by Broadway Community in Open Letter Condemning 'Bullying' & 'Harassment' Cynthia Erivo Opens Up About Her Queerness: 'The More Yourself You Are, The Better Understanding Starts to Happen' The Roots Apologize to Fans After First Day of 2025 Roots Picnic Marred By Long Lines: 'Safety Will Always Be Our Number 1 Priority' 'I am deeply sorry for the words I used during The New Yorker interview, particularly about Kecia Lewis, which were demeaning and disrespectful. I regret my flippant and emotional responses during this interview, which were inappropriate, and I am devastated that my behavior has offended others and has run counter to what we hold dear in this community. I hope to have the chance to speak to Audra and Kecia personally to offer my sincere apologies,' said LuPone. LuPone's response arrived the day after after an open letter directed at her — and signed by more than 500 individuals in the Broadway world — was published in outcry to comments from the actress perceived to be 'degrading and misogynistic,' as well as a 'blatant act of racialized disrespect.' The letter was also aimed at 'a culture, a pattern' in the Broadway industry: 'a persistent failure to hold people accountable for violent, disrespectful, or harmful behavior — especially when they are powerful or well-known.' In Saturday's statement, LuPone acknowledged the message of the letter and expressed regret over what she said about her peers. 'I wholeheartedly agree with everything that was written in the open letter shared yesterday,' she wrote. 'From middle school drama clubs to professional stages, theatre has always been about lifting each other up and welcoming those who feel they don't belong anywhere else. I made a mistake, I take full responsibility for it, and I am committed to making this right. Our entire theatre community deserves better.' The New Yorker ran a profile on LuPone earlier this week that quoted her calling Lewis — who's in the Alicia Keys-created Broadway musical Hell's Kitchen, which was performed next door to the LuPone-starring The Roommate in 2024 — a 'b—-' for considering herself a stage 'veteran.' The piece had LuPone recounting complaints she'd made to Shubert Organization head Robert Wankel that sound from Lewis' Hell's Kitchen could be heard during her stage time in The Roommate. (Lewis had responded to LuPone's complaints on Instagram at the time, and deemed them 'bullying,' 'racially microaggressive' and 'rooted in privilege' for calling 'a Black show loud.') 'She calls herself a veteran?' LuPone said in The New Yorker article dated May 26. 'Let's find out how many Broadway shows Kecia Lewis has done, because she doesn't know what the f— she's talking about. Don't call yourself a vet, b—-.' LuPone also remarked that she had a 'rift' with McDonald, who'd shown support for Lewis: 'That's typical of Audra. She's not a friend,' LuPone told The New Yorker; McDonald later said she was unaware of the rift. LuPone, a three-time Tony Award and two-time Grammy Award winner, in 2024 starred as Robyn opposite Mia Farrow's Sharon in The Roommate for the dark comedy's four-month engagement on Broadway at the Booth Theatre. She just wrapped a series of concert dates that ran across select U.S. cities from late January through late May, with a couple festival appearances slated for this summer. In 2024 Lewis won her first Tony, for best featured actress in a musical, for her work as Miss Liza Jane in Hell's Kitchen, the Broadway production whose performers were also awarded the Grammy for best musical theater album last year. Hell's Kitchen is presently still playing on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre. McDonald, currently leading the Broadway revival of Gypsy at the Majestic Theatre, has won six Tonys, two Grammys and an Emmy throughout her career. Nominated for her portrayal of Rose in Gypsy, she's up for another Tony, for best actress in a musical, at this year's ceremony. She holds a record number of total Tony nominations (11). The 2025 Tony Awards will broadcast live to both coasts on CBS just a week from today, from 8 to 11 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 8; the show will also stream on Paramount+. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Patti LuPone Apologizes for Interview Comments About Kecia Lewis, Audra McDonald: 'I Am Devastated'
Patti LuPone is apologizing for the recent comments she made in a New Yorker profile about Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis that's had the theater world buzzing. 'For as long as I have worked in the theatre, I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today. I am deeply sorry for the words I used during The New Yorker interview, particularly about Kecia Lewis, which were demeaning and disrespectful,' she wrote on Instagram on Saturday. 'I regret my flippant and emotional responses during this interview, which were inappropriate, and I am devastated that my behavior has offended others and has run counter to what we hold dear in this community. I hope to have the chance to speak to Audra and Kecia personally to offer my sincere apologies.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Audra McDonald Says She Didn't Know About "Rift" Between Her and Patti LuPone 'Gypsy' Theater Review: Audra McDonald Climbs the Mountain of One of the All-Time Greatest Musicals and Plants a Triumphant Flag Kecia Lewis Says Patti LuPone Calling 'Hell's Kitchen' "Too Loud" Is "Racially Microaggresive," Requests Apology 'I wholeheartedly agree with everything that was written in the open letter shared yesterday. From middle school drama clubs to professional stages, theatre has always been about lifting each other up and welcoming those who feel they don't belong anywhere else,' LuPone continued. 'I made a mistake, I take full responsibility for it, and I am committed to making this right. Our entire theatre community deserves better.' The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Lewis and McDonald's reps for comment. On Friday, Playbill reported that there was a letter that over 500 Broadway performers signed reprimanding LuPone's behavior. The letter, in part, read that her comments were a 'persistent failure to hold people accountable for violent, disrespectful, or harmful behavior — especially when they are powerful or well-known.' Tony winners Wendell Pierce, James Monroe Iglehart and Maleah Joi Moon signed it, as well as Courtney Love. Last fall, while LuPone was starring in The Roommate, she complained about the musical next door, Hell's Kitchen, which Lewis was in, being 'too loud.' After that, Lewis took to Instagram to say that LuPone was 'bullying,' 'racially microaggressive' and 'rooted in privilege.' In the New Yorker interview, LuPone responded by saying, 'Here's the problem. She calls herself a veteran? Let's find out how many Broadway shows Kecia Lewis has done, because she doesn't know what the fuck she's talking about,' she said. 'Don't call yourself a vet, bitch.' LuPone also said McDonald was 'not a friend' and that they had a rift years ago. However, on Thursday, McDonald appeared on CBS Mornings to promote Gypsy and her 11th Tony nomination and said she was surprised by LuPone's comments. 'If there's a rift between us, I don't know what it is. That's something you'd have to ask Patti about,' she said. 'I haven't seen her in about 11 years because I've been busy with life and stuff.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter From 'Lady in the Lake' to 'It Ends With Us': 29 New and Upcoming Book Adaptations in 2024 Meet the Superstars Who Glam Up Hollywood's A-List Rosie O'Donnell on Ellen, Madonna, Trump and 40 Years in the Queer Spotlight
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
2025 Tony Awards: Who will win, who should win in a year with few sure things
Will Nicole Scherzinger, sizzling in 'Sunset Blvd.,' beat out Audra McDonald, who made Rose a metaphor for the tragic human condition? Could Jonathan Groff, a knockout Bobby Darin, win back-to-back kudos? Might Sadie Sink of 'John Proctor Is the Villain' be sunk by the wild-eyed Laura Donnelly of 'The Hills of California' or the ever-savvy Mia Farrow of 'The Roommate,' even though all three women played equally terrifying characters? These and many other questions will be answered on Sunday at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, where host Cynthia Erivo will present the 78th annual Tony Awards (beginning at 7 p.m. June 8 and broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+). The ceremony will be the climax of the 2024-25 Broadway season and the reason that several struggling musicals ('Real Women Have Curves,' 'Boop! The Musical') are hanging in there, hoping for a life-saving boost. Tony Award voters are casting their ballots. Let's look at who should be ascending to the dais in the traditional ebullient panic, holding back tears and staring into the camera to tell all the envious theater kids at home how you, too, can have all this if you only fight off the naysayers and follow your dreams! Right. Down to it. This one will be, and rightly should be, a runaway victory for 'Maybe Happy Ending,' a delightfully unnerving musical that most everyone on Broadway underestimated because it was an original love story between two retired South Korean 'helperbots.' To my mind, Will Aronson and Hue Park's quirky, charming little tuner succeeds mostly because of one small but pivotal idea: the notion that a robot's battery life can be a proxy for human mortality. Oliver and Claire fall in love as their percentages drop. Thus, the show manages to simultaneously tap into the fear we all have of an imminent robotic takeover (oh, it's coming) while avoiding the problem of making a dystopian musical. By making the robots as vulnerable as us, they forged a charming romantic comedy performed by Helen J. Shen (robbed of an acting nomination) and Darren Criss (who dove deep into robotland). The competition? Nothing credible. 'Buena Vista Social Club' is a very good time, musically speaking, but has a predictably formulaic book. The inventive 'Death Becomes Her' works just fine as a campy frolic but it relies much on its source movie. And 'Operation Mincemeat' is the most jolly of pastiches, rib-tickling fun all the way. Only 'Dead Outlaw' represents truly credible competition and deserves to siphon off some votes. But at the end of the day, it's a musical about a corpse. There were two excellent, Tony-worthy new plays in this Broadway season: Jez Butterworth's 'The Hills of California,' set in the British working-class resort of Blackpool, and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' 'Purpose,' both a high-style dissection of the dysfunctional family of the civil rights icon Jesse Jackson and a moving exploration of what it's like to be an introverted kid in a high-pressure family. 'Purpose,' which is still running and more relevant to most Tony voters, is likely to win. But Butterworth's play forged a complex dramaturgical structure and explored deeply empathetic characters. Its central point? To explore how and why childhood trauma impacts our adulthoods. Butterworth has been writing plays a lot longer than Jacobs-Jenkins and his experience shows; I wanted the perfectly crafted 'Hills' to never end. Writer Kimberly Belflower's very lively 'John Proctor Is the Villain' might sneak in there, but I think that audiences at this drama about high schoolers studying 'The Crucible' are responding more to a brilliant production than to the play itself, which is at the end of the day a melodrama that relies on someone else's intellectual property. No shame there, but not the equal of the competition and, with much respect, nor is the very smart and potent 'English,' a show about ESL students that also leads to an inexorable conclusion matching the playwright's point of view. This category will hinge on how many voters embrace Jamie Lloyd's cleverly branded deconstruction of 'Sunset Blvd.' over George C. Wolfe's more nuanced approach to 'Gypsy.' In many ways, the two leading candidates represent a kind of yin and yang of musical revival. 'Sunset Blvd.' is showy and radical and replaced the gilded excess of the original production with an excess of concept, deceptively minimalist but only on the surface. Wolfe's 'Gypsy' aimed to excise the show of Patti LuPone-like drama. McDonald, who brought her classically trained voice to Rose, saw her antiheroine more as an everywoman and the production responded accordingly, as if Wolfe were trying to say that 'Gypsy' was the American tragic musical that few previously understood. I see the arguments against 'Sunset Blvd.' but in the end, Lloyd's staging was just so audaciously thrilling that it overcame them for me. As a director, he's obsessed with film, but then this is a musical about a movie star, so if ever there was a show that could stand such a metaphoric obsession, then here it was. And although this may seem counterintuitive, I thought 'Gypsy' missed the chance to stage this title with far more Black actors, allowing it to serve as a metaphor for the condition of Black entertainers in early 20th century America. It almost went there, but not quite. 2025 Tony Award nominations: Steppenwolf's 'Purpose' and 'Death Becomes Her' both score bigThis was not a stellar season for play revivals. 'Romeo + Juliet,' a pretentious and wildly uneven misfire, did not even remotely deserve its Tony nomination and, bracing moments notwithstanding, 'Our Town' was uneven and derivative of David Cromer's prior revival. 'Eureka Day,' a piece about pretentious pre-school parents and teachers, was an effective satire but hardly surprising. That leaves David Henry Hwang's 'Yellow Face,' an autobiographical piece about Hwang himself and a 'Miss Saigon' casting scandal. 'Yellow Face' has knocked around the American regions for years. But this was a truly excellent piece of new direction from Leigh Silverman and for the first time, the play transcended its inside-baseball orientation and had much to say about America and race. Team Nicole Scherzinger or Team Audra McDonald? Both deconstructed iconic characters (Norma Desmond and Madam Rose) using every ounce of their mutually formidable craft. With all due respect to McDonald, I'm Team Nicole because her work was the more radical of the two performances in rescuing Norma from bathetic senility and giving her back her sexuality, and because McDonald's tragic approach to Rose inevitably de-emphasized her chutzpah and self-aware vivacity which is much of why 'Gypsy' is 'Gypsy.' Still, no shame in being on the other team. It would feel strange for either Megan Hilty or Jennifer Simard to win for 'Death Becomes Her' at the expense of the other and I suspect Tony voters will feel the same way. But let's add some props for Jasmine Amy Rogers, truly a perfect Betty Boop who managed to turn a vampish cartoon figure into a complex and vulnerable heroine. If you judge a performance by pizzazz, charm and growing star power, Jonathan Groff is your winner for his dazzling take on Bobby Darin in 'Just in Time.' If immersion inside a character is your choice, you are choosing between Darren Criss for 'Maybe Happy Ending' and Andrew Durand in 'Dead Outlaw.' I thought Durand was just astonishing as the titular outlaw, whose corpse takes on an all-American trajectory of its own. Aside from the technical demands of playing a dead dude, Durand also nailed a guy with zero access to his own feelings. In other words, what he didn't do was probably as important as what he did. I preferred that to Jeremy Jordan in 'Floyd Collins', but I may be in a minority. And Tom Francis, who sings his way through Midtown eight times a week in 'Sunset Blvd.,' will have deserved support. Mia Farrow has acted only rarely in the past decade but her empathetic performance as a vegan, pot-growing Iowan in 'The Roommate' was a reminder of her astonishing ability to fuse what actors think of as externals and internals — her work felt deeply authentic but savvy observers also noted the sophistication of her comic technique and dramatic timing. Alas for Farrow, this is an extraordinary category and by far the most competitive at this year's Tony Awards. Take Sarah Snook, whose work in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' had not a single syllable out of place on the night I saw the show, notwithstanding the huge technical demands of a video-filled production that co-starred numerous versions of her recorded self. She's one of the world's great performers. Then there was the less-famous Laura Donnelly, who played a mother and (later) her adult daughter in 'The Hills of California,' all in service of the writer's point that we all eventually have to live the way we were raised. So distinct were these two characters that some punters in my row clearly did not know they were watching the same actress they'd seen in a different role just a few minutes before. Donnelly was at once empathetic and Medea-like in her intensity. We were supposed to be scared of both of Donnelly's characters and I swear I could not tell you which terrified me the most. Sadie Sink also has a lot of fans and that was indeed a savvy turn in 'John Proctor.' But this competition is between Snook and Donnelly and it was a hard choice for me. Donnelly haunts me the most. George Clooney is on the list of nominees and I hardly need to recount his formidable talents, but he was fundamentally filmic in 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' rather than truly translating his subtle version of Edward R. Murrow to a stage the size of the Winter Garden Theatre. So, with an additional nod of admiration to the delightfully quirky Louis McCartney, who managed to survive all of the crashes and bangs of 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow,' I preferred Jon Michael Hill, playing a young man born into a famous and famously dysfunctional Black political family even though he just wanted to take photographs and stay as far away as possible from his father and his actions. Hill was the most rooted actor in a stellar Steppenwolf Theatre production of 'Purpose.' But I suspect Cole Escola, the star of 'Oh, Mary!,' a silly but strikingly effective satire of Mary Todd Lincoln and her bearded spouse, who will take the prize. No complaints here. Escola hardly was subtle with a guileless, all-in performance that has been packing the house. It's a one of a kind show and that's its greatest selling point. But Escola also offers a clever commentary on present-day America, fueled by fun, freedom and frustration. What the Tony nominations got right — and wrongDavid Cromer's work on 'Dead Outlaw' was typically detailed and worthy and Christopher Gattelli wrangled 'Death Becomes Her' with witty aplomb, but 'Maybe Happy Ending' was an eye popping career-high for Michael Arden, who created the most romantic of dreamscapes and yet also insisted that the audience look precisely and only where the director wanted its eyes to be. Speaking of career highs, Danya Taymor convinced her youthful cast in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' that the stakes in this high school English class were a matter of life and death. Taymor has to compete with Kip Williams, who employed multiple screens and videographers in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' for what was more conceptual authorship than direction, and with Sam Mendes, whose mastery of the exquisite ensemble cast of 'The Hills of California' was formidable. Mendes has won many kudos; most Tony voters will want to reward Taymor, a rising talent. Fair enough. Last, here are my picks for the remaining acting categories.
Buzz Feed
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Patti LuPone Apology For New Yorker Comments
Hell truly hath frozen over: Patti LuPone is apologizing for something — specifically, her controversial New Yorker profile comments. Brief recap if you need it: In the profile, interviewer Michael Schulman asked Patti about her conflict with Hell's Kitchen star Kecia Lewis. Last year, Kecia shared an "open letter" to Patti on IG accusing her of being "racially microaggressive" in several instances which Patti complained about the volume of Hell's Kitchen performances during her performance in The Roommate, which shared a wall with the Hell's Kitchen theater. Patti's response was, honestly, terrible. "She calls herself a veteran? Let's find out how many Broadway shows Kecia Lewis has done, because she doesn't know what the fuck she's talking about," she said. "She's done seven. I've done 31. Don't call yourself a vet, bitch!" Things got even worse when Michael pointed out to Patti that Broadway legend Audra McDonald had responded supportively to Kecia's IG post. "Exactly," she said. "And I thought, 'You should know better.' That's typical of Audra." Patti went on to say that Audra is "not a friend," and claimed that the conflict between the two goes back a bit. When Michael asked Patti about Audra's recent performance in Gypsy, which gained her a 11th Tony nomination — making her the most nominated performer in the awards' history — Patti reportedly stared in silence for 15 seconds before turning to a nearby window and sighing, "What a beautiful day." Y-I-K-E-S. Patti's behavior offended a lot of people. Yesterday, over 500 Broadway artists signed an open letter calling out the "racialized disrespect" of Patti's comments, and making an open plea for Patti to be disinvited from this year's Tony Awards. Since getting disinvited to a party is a fate worse than death for most famous people, Patti is now taking back her words and actions. "For as long as I have worked in the theatre, I have spoken my mind and never apologized," she said in a statement sent to BuzzFeed. "That is changing today." "I am deeply sorry for the words I used during The New Yorker interview, particularly about Kecia Lewis, which were demeaning and disrespectful. I regret my flippant and emotional responses during this interview, which were inappropriate, and I am devastated that my behavior has offended others and has run counter to what we hold dear in this community. I hope to have the chance to speak to Audra and Kecia personally to offer my sincere apologies." "I wholeheartedly agree with everything that was written in the open letter shared yesterday. From middle school drama clubs to professional stages, theatre has always been about lifting each other up and welcoming those who feel they don't belong anywhere else. I made a mistake, I take full responsibility for it, and I am committed to making this right. Our entire theatre community deserves better." OK then!
NBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Patti LuPone receives scathing open letter for 'degrading' comments about Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald
More than 600 members of the Broadway community condemned Patti LuPone in an open letter Friday after the three-time Tony winner made controversial comments about fellow stars Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald. The letter, addressed to The American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, comes in response to a profile published in The New Yorker this week in which LuPone called Lewis a 'b----' and McDonald 'not a friend.' 'This language is not only degrading and misogynistic — it is a blatant act of racialized disrespect. It constitutes bullying. It constitutes harassment,' the letter says. Theater publication Playbill reported signatories to the letter include Tony winners James Monroe Iglehart, Maleah Joi Moon and Wendell Pierce. Lewis currently stars in 'Hell's Kitchen' on Broadway, for which she won a 2024 Tony Award. McDonald won the 2014 Tony Award for best actress in a play (her sixth) and is the first performer to win the award in all performance categories. She is nominated for the 11th time this year for her lead performance in the musical 'Gypsy.' As of Saturday, the letter had garnered 682 signatures, according to a document that allows people to request the addition of their names. 'Individuals, including Patti Lupone, who use their platform to publicly demean, harass, or disparage fellow artists — particularly with racial, gendered, or otherwise violent language — should not be welcomed at industry events, including the Tony Awards, fundraisers, and public programs,' the letter said. The American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League — which present the Tony Awards, set to be held on June 8 — did not immediately respond to NBC News' requests for comment. LuPone also did not immediately respond. In the New Yorker interview, LuPone was asked about a controversy that circulated during her time co-starring in 'The Roommate' with Mia Farrow last fall. The play, which has since closed, shared a wall with the Tony-winning musical 'Hell's Kitchen,' featuring Lewis. LuPone reportedly asked for the sound design of 'Hell's Kitchen' to be adjusted because the music would bleed through the shared walls, and sent the sound and stage management team flowers and a thank-you note once it was fixed. Lewis posted a video on Instagram in November in response, calling LuPone's actions 'racially microaggressive' and 'rooted in privilege.' Producers of 'The Roommate' posted a statement the following day thanking the 'Hell's Kitchen' staff for the fix, saying, 'These kinds of sound accommodations from one show to another are not unusual and are always deeply appreciated.' LuPone said of the back-and-forth in The New Yorker interview: 'Let's find out how many Broadway shows Kecia Lewis has done, because she doesn't know what the f--- she's talking about. ... She's done seven. I've done thirty-one. Don't call yourself a vet, b----.' The New Yorker noted that Lewis has actually done 10 shows and LuPone 28. Michael Schulman, the interviewer, mentioned to LuPone that McDonald — who holds the record as the Broadway performer with the most Tony Awards and nominations — gave the video 'supportive emojis.' The 76-year-old actor responded: 'And I thought, 'You should know better.' That's typical of Audra. She's not a friend.' McDonald was asked about LuPone's comments in a 'CBS Mornings' interview with Gayle King to discuss her latest Tony-nominated role as Mama Rose in 'Gypsy.' 'If there's a rift between us, I don't know what it is,' McDonald said in a clip CBS shared on social media ahead of the full interview, which airs next week. 'That's something that you'd have to ask Patti about.' The open letter said LuPone's attempt to 'discredit' McDonald's legacy was not only a personal offense, but 'a public affront to the values of collaboration, equity, and mutual respect that our theater community claims to uphold.'
