Patti LuPone has some thoughts on her fellow Broadway stars Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis.
The 76-year-old three-time Tony Award winner is facing backlash after she made not-so-kind remarks about McDonald and Lewis while speaking to The New Yorker earlier this week ahead of her guest spot on HBO Max’s third season of “And Just Like That…,” premiering Thursday.
While chatting with the journalist Michael Schulman, LuPone was asked about an incident between her and the predominantly Black cast of Alicia Keys’ musical “Hell’s Kitchen” in 2024. At the time, LuPone was starring in Mia Farrow’s “The Roommate,” which was staged in the theater directly next door to “Hell’s Kitchen.”
The shows ran so close to each other that the Broadway performer complained about the noise. The “Hell’s Kitchen” team adjusted their production sound levels, and LuPone sent them flowers in response. While she sent flowers, her words struck a chord with then-cast member Lewis. The 59-year-old Broadway star posted a video of a lengthy rant on social media demanding an apology and describing LuPone’s actions as “racially microaggressive.”
During her conversation with The New Yorker about the incident, LuPone took issue with Lewis claiming to be a Broadway veteran.
“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. “She’s done seven. I’ve done thirty-one. Don’t call yourself a vet, b—.”
Schulman notes that Lewis, who made her Broadway debut in 1981 at 18 in the original cast of “Dreamgirls,” has been in 10 Broadway productions. Before “Hell’s Kitchen,” Lewis starred in “Children of a Lesser God” and “Chicago.”
LuPone was then asked about McDonald engaging with Lewis’ post, seemingly in support of the rant.
“Exactly,” she said. “And I thought, You should know better. That’s typical of Audra. She’s not a friend.”
When the topic of McDonald’s Tony-nominated performance as Momma Rose in “Gpysy” came up—making her the first Black woman to take on the role on Broadway—LuPone reportedly just stared in silence for 15 seconds before turning to a window and changing the subject to the weather.
“What a beautiful day,” she said with a sigh.
McDonald’s recent nomination for Best Actress is her 11th Tony nomination, making her the most Tony-nominated performer in the history of Broadway. LuPone, who has shared the spotlight on stage with McDonald several times, though never in an actual production, stepped into the same role in 2008.
In the days since, her comments have come under fire from many within the theater community and online. Actor and playwright Douglas Lyons wrote in a lengthy post on X that he wasn’t surprised because this behavior is enabled.
“White privilege is the audacity to be quoted in a major publication flippantly discrediting our Black Broadway Queens ― while calling them a name you’d dare never to whisper to their face,” he began. “I think Ms. Lupone is a remarkable talent, but 31 Broadway shows obviously doesn’t equal class.”
Lyons added that he wasn’t angry with what she said, he was angry with the “consistent silence” in response to instances like these.
“How many people who benefit from the talents of our Black Broadway veterans will speak up? I’ll wait,” he continued. “I’m more interested in an industry that values our talents, contributions, and legacies at full volume.”
