Patti LuPone called a privileged, racially microaggressive bully by Hell's Kitchen cast member - Page 8

[Mellony]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 5:14pm

And unless LuPone decides to stick her foot in her mouth, this is really one narcissistic actor having a spat.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 5:17pm

Ensemble1698878795 derailed another thread just last week by asserting that Dear Evan Hansen was the “definition of white supremacy” so either they have a hammer and see everything as a nail or they’re an extremely specific troll. 

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 5:28pm

Kad said: "Ensemble1698878795 derailed another thread just last week by asserting that Dear Evan Hansen was the “definition of white supremacy” so either they have a hammer and see everything as a nail or they’re an extremely specific troll."

I'm genuinely sorry that I'm not allowed to be in these spaces to challenge your white ways of thinking. I'm all torn up about it. Please paint me as a villain. This message board would be much safer without any varying views. I know that's how you'd like it. Grow up. Theater isn't just for you and neither are these boards. Now you sound like Patti.  

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 5:39pm

I could be just reading too much into a username, but isn't "kad" a name for Korean adoptees?

Anyway, assuming everyone who is not Black is white seems kinda wrong.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 5:41pm

Ensemble1698878795 said: "Kad said: "Ensemble1698878795 derailed another thread just last week by asserting that Dear Evan Hansen was the “definition of white supremacy” so either they have a hammer and see everything as a nail or they’re an extremely specific troll."

I'm genuinely sorry that I'mnot allowed to be in these spaces to challenge your white ways of thinking. I'm all torn up about it. Please paint me as a villain. This message board would be much safer without any varying views. I know that's how you'd like it. Grow up. Theater isn't just for you and neither are these boards. Now you sound like Patti."
 

Edit: yknow what, nevermind. 

Updated On: 11/4/24 at 05:41 PM

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 5:42pm

Kecia should check her apartment for mold.

I love being reminded that Broadway is made up of some of the most exhaustingly sanctimonious neoliberal narcissists on planet earth. No critical thinking skills! This community will try to publicly disparage a great legendary artist because someone is being deliberately obtuse. Kecia is an adult and knows what Patti meant by that comment. This is 100% for attention. This is bait. How is Hell's Kitchen selling?

Updated On: 11/4/24 at 05:42 PM

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 5:48pm

Jay Lerner-Z said: "I could be just reading too much into a username, but isn't "kad" a name for Korean adoptees?

Anyway, assuming everyone who is not Black is white seems kinda wrong."

To clarify for the 5th time. White supremacy is about a state of mind. It can be championed by any race. 

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 5:52pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: "Ensemble1698&%$#@!, I have to admit that watching you continue to melt down over this has been the most enjoyable part of my day. May I suggest taking a break from social media and message boards and focusing on more important things? This is about two narcissistic Broadway actresses having a public spat about sound design. People Magazine has more pressing news than this. Go for a walk and chill out."

It's nice to hear that defending the honor of a Black woman I deeply respect has been the "most enjoyable part of your day." Equity in theater is an important thing for those who make a living from it.  

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 5:55pm

Updated On: 11/4/24 at 05:55 PM

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 6:01pm

Ensemble1698878795 said: "Kad said: "Ensemble1698878795 derailed another thread just last week by asserting that Dear Evan Hansen was the “definition of white supremacy” so either they have a hammer and see everything as a nail or they’re an extremely specific troll."

I'm genuinely sorry that I'mnot allowed to be in these spaces to challenge your white ways of thinking. I'm all torn up about it. Please paint me as a villain. This message board would be much safer without any varying views. I know that's how you'd like it. Grow up. Theater isn't just for you and neither are these boards. Now you sound like Patti."

Idk I think it's kind of racist that Patti was like "They're loud" and everyone was like "SHE MEANS THEY'RE BLACK!" No Maybe their sound equipment is loud af and it's bleeding into the theater next door.

Updated On: 11/4/24 at 06:01 PM

[Dolly80]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 6:23pm

This is now as exhausting as Lewis trying to spin this into some racist thing.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 6:26pm

There's, well, more than a couple things going on here.  I think the biggest issue as far as racism goes is that "loud" can be used as a pejorative term with regards to the Black community (or other minorities too).  The video of Patti refusing to sign a playbill by dismissing the show as too loud does come off as a bit "problematic".  Of course there's the question of why someone would ask her to sign a HK playbill to begin with, but she didn't refuse on the grounds of "that's not my show", she refused because "that show is too loud".  And because of the way language and race can be intertwined, that can come off as a microaggression, even if it's not what Patti meant--specific words can have weight or coded meanings to specific groups (a bit like how Jesse Green's review of KPOP came under fire for calling the lighting "squint-inducing"--I'm sure he didn't mean it as a racist statement but for a community who's had a history of pointed remarks made about their eye shape, it can feel like more of a slight than it was meant to, and it seems like something that his editor should've caught.)The actual issue of Hell's Kitchen being loud enough to bleed into The Roommate I see as kind of a different issue, because it seems like that experience is confirmed by audience members who have seen The Roommate.  I don't know if there's truth to the idea that shows adjusting sound cues for other shows is usual, but it seems like the idea of soundproofing for loud rock shows is probably something theater owners will have to address more going forward (I saw somewhere that Hell's Kitchen had adjusted sound cues recently prior to Patti's complaint and that's why it only came up now, but I'm not sure how true that is either).  I'm legitimately confused though, on how much changing sound cues impacts the rest of the performers and everything--I assumed it just meant dialing down the volume but is there something I missed?  Did they need to schedule rehearsal to adjust them or is there some other involvement?

I'll admit I found Kecia taking offense at Patti sending flowers a bit confusing as well.  Was she upset that Patti didn't recognize the work of the rest of the production in the thank you card or did she think the act itself of sending flowers was antiquated and belittling?  

I can agree that there's a certain level of privilege that Patti does hold in the theater industry to be able to contact a theater owner directly about an issue like this, which many many other actors would not be able to do.  Maybe her race helped her get to that position, and maybe it didn't, and maybe a theater owner would have acted the same had Audra complained, but I don't think Patti being a privileged individual in the theater community is necessarily in dispute.

At some point after the pandemic, didn't Broadway Black or another group hold some sort of town hall meeting with a bunch of people in the industry to discuss issues regarding race and marginalized communities that had been overlooked in the past?  I doubt that would happen again for something like this, but I would be curious to hear about if something like that were to happen again in order to facilitate the kind of open discussion that Kecia was asking for (which a social media call out post doesn't quite do).

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 6:36pm

Is she entitled? Yes. Is Denzel entitled too because of his career and clout? Yes. Could he ask a production nicely to alter their sound if he deems it too loud while working on Othello? Sure. Does that make him racist? No. Because this isn’t about race. It’s about volume. Shows with white casts, black casts, Asian casts, and diverse casts can all be loud or soft. Not sure why this is even a thing.

[CreatureKitchen]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 6:36pm

Chrishuyen, you bring up some really good an nuanced points and I agree with you!

Only thing I'll add is that, with the Playbill issue, Patti did start by saying she wouldn't sign the Playbill because it's not her show. She then goes on to add that the show is loud. Kecia cut out the first part. Still not a good thing for her to say, but just worth noting it was taken partially out of context and tacked onto Kecia's post to further inflate the sound issue. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 7:04pm

Chrishuyen has my upvote.

[Kelley10]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 7:41pm

binau said: "https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Tony-Winner-Kecia-Lewis-Calls-Out-Patti-LuPone-For-Calling-HELLS-KITCHEN-Too-Loud-20241102

Apparently her giving flowers to the Hell's Kitchen team is also bullying.

Look, Patti LuPone can be a bit of an ass but it's obvious what is going on here - she is a cranky old woman starring in a quiet play that is sharing a wall with what I assume to be a heavy amplified production. I guarantee that if AMERICAN IDIOT was there it would get the same treatment. Why do we have to bring race into everything all the time?

It's called macro as in small, minor. So miniscule you have to look super hard for it.  Get over it and sing your song. 

[Owen22]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 8:02pm

binau said: "How would I feel if I said your reaction sounds about black? You are a racist."

Oh, Binau, no.  No, no, no, no, no.

 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 8:04pm

I was going to come on here to say that a microaggression can be unintentionally said and/or said by someone who’s not inherently racist (many of us encounter microaggressions to varying degrees in everyday life), but chrishuyen wrote an entire essay far more eloquently than I could have put it.

[Phillytheatreguy10]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 8:19pm

I’m a little confused by the framing of the issue by Lewis- she seems to imply Patti used her “privilege”, I’d prefer to use the term relationship with the theatre owner to complain which sounds informal. She later states it was a formal complaint which seems to be the proper way to handle the situation. We are all over looking that the issue at hand has to go through many channels before it is acted upon- we’re not talking about a volume dial on a stereo. It would come to the production team, hours and compensation come into approving actor and creatives and show staff to implement these changes. Clearly who ever is in charge at HK thought this was a reasonable request and a way to “respectfully collaborate” to use Lewis’ term. This is a community. Patti can be cantankerous, but there is no alleged racist behavior that has ever come out with her alleged other bad behaviors of which there have been many.  Sometimes if it walks like a duck it’s a duck- meaning maybe sound is the issue and not anything else. As far as gifting flowers, this may be antiquated, but the florists haven’t gone out of business. The biggest issue here is Lewis completely undercuts her argument by handling it this way and putting the other party immediately on the defensive and what progress or difficult conversation can be fruitful when that precedent is set. I also don’t think Lewis is choosing her words very carefully, but expecting Lupone to do so- the show she is in while it is celebrating a black artist’s story and music, let’s not forget the tension is between a black daughter and a white mother who’s relationship is at odds over her mother’s decision to involve the authorities on a black man she doesn’t see fit for her daughter. That is an important conversation and what mother and daughter learn from it strengthens their relationship because they eventually understand each other’s motives- that does not “a predominantly black” show make- especially when the creatives make up many races- I took HK to be a microcosm of the streets of NYC and every race is represented in the story they are telling and how their community in the neighborhood of HK looks out and interacts with each other, good and bad- to say otherwise is really alienating your audience. In conclusion, if Mia had made this complaint would we be hearing about it? 

Updated On: 11/4/24 at 08:19 PM

[Bill Snibson]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 8:34pm

This all could've and should've been handled differently but then again we are dealing with Patti. This whole thing feels very "textbook" Patti LuPone. Her show has opened and all the glitz and glamour has faded away. No more press appearances etc. The show is now just up and running which bores Patti and forces her and her ego to lash out in some way to get back in the zeitgeist and get people talking about her. We have "Who do you think you are?", "Chris Harper pays my salary!", "I've resigned my Equity card" and now this. She is wildly talented but oh so epically exhausting.

[CreatureKitchen]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 8:40pm

To your last point, I’ve now seen multiple people claim that Mia also sent flowers and that Kecia omitted that. I can’t corroborate at all, but if true that’s certainly interesting. And would also line up with the producers clarifying this was a company-wide issue effecting actors, crew, and audience. I still think it’s very likely Patti led the charge on this issue, but it does seem increasingly unlikely that this was a one-woman crusade where she went above everyone’s heads to address this.

[CreatureKitchen]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 8:49pm

Bill Snibson said: "This all could've and should've been handled differently but then again we are dealing with Patti. This whole thing feels very "textbook" Patti LuPone. We have "Who do you think you are?", "Chris Harper pays my salary!", "I've resigned my Equity card" and now this."

Sorry for double post. I was just going to say the reason this doesn't feel like a classic Patti outburst is that she clearly wasn't looking for attention. If Kecia hadn't made it public, no one would know.

Also, to her credit, yelling at the camera person during Gypsy was a mistake (she didn't know they were meant to be there) which she did publicly and privately apologize for. The "Chris Harper" comment was made during a talk back to anti-maskers who were mocking ushers and putting their masks over their eyes. Giving up her equity card was kind of a ridiculous stunt, but she did it partially because she felt she was getting dragged into incidents she wasn't actually involved in (ie. the Lilias White outburst).
 

 

[gibsons2]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 8:56pm

Bill Snibson said: "This all could've and should've been handled differently but then again we are dealing with Patti. This whole thing feels very "textbook" Patti LuPone. Her show has opened and all the glitz and glamour has faded away. No more press appearances etc. The show is now just up and running which bores Patti and forces her and her ego to lash out in some way to get back in the zeitgeist and get people talking abouther. We have "Who do you think you are?", "Chris Harper pays my salary!", "I've resigned my Equity card" and now this. She is wildly talented but oh soepically exhausting."

You do realize she did this privately? What is "textbook" Patti about it? Kecia Lewis is the one who decided to draw attention to the request by posting her video. Nobody would have been aware of this if not for this post.

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 9:03pm

I remember a Black colleague who had been on Broadway twice--once in an all Black cast, natch--telling me she'd never go back to Broadway because it was so racist.  I don't know how much We See You White American Theater has changed the atmosphere in Broadway houses but if it hasn't, it certainly explains Lewis' sensitivity and McDonald's support.  

Maybe Kecia Lewis has bad experiences with Broadway beyond this incident.  Maybe she's having them even now with her current show. 

Maybe Patti LuPone was just being glib and thoughtless when she refused to sign the Playbill.  It certainly seems to be her way.  

Both things can be true. 

[pmensky]

Posted: 11/4/24 at 9:06pm

I wonder if anyone in management at The Roommate ever reached out to management at Hell’s Kitchen about the sound issues. These problems should have been documented in performance reports, and everyone associated with the show would have known something was amiss. The logical next step would have been for management at The Roommate to contact their counterparts at Hell’s Kitchen to bring attention to the issue and start a friendly dialogue to resolve it. That conversation should have started as soon as they realized the disturbance wasn’t a one-time event. If management failed to create that dialogue or chose not to for some reason, one might see why Patti, out of frustration, would want to take matters into her own hands.