Battle Royale : Kecia Lews vs. Patti Lupone

[Ali Gator]

Boy, did Kecia pick the wrong person to start a fight  with, accusing LuPone of 'bullying' and 'being racially microaggressive'.

I'm on LuPone's side in this 'war' - she did nothing wrong and everything right (IMO, from the facts presented) . Honestly,  LuPone is full-on aggressive, nothing 'micro' about it. 

 

Tony Winner Kecia Lewis Calls Out Patti LuPone For Calling HELL'S KITCHEN 'Too Loud'

WWW.BROADWAYWORLD.COM

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Patti LuPone is facing criticism after an incident involving comments she made about musical Hell's Kitchen, featuring music by Alicia Keys, which...

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Lewis thought she'd get more support if she made race the issue.  She thought wrong.

A lot of the Broadway community is backing away from her on this one.

[+ nycman]

What a twat.

Calling a show "too loud" is a racial micro aggression?….give me a fucking break.

Someone sending you flowers to say "thank you" is "dismissive and out of touch".

I’m sorry but in this instance, Ms. Lewis appears to be the dismissive and out of touch twat to me, not Patti.

Learning to take constructive criticism (from a broadway legend no less) is an important part of growing up. 

Grow up Ms. Lewis, and leave your very large deck of race cards at home. 

For the record, I can’t stand Patti LuPone, but in the case I’m team Patti 100%.

[kingsley88]

Have any of you watched the Roommate on Broadway? I watched it from the orchestra on a Saturday evening and no, I did not hear Hell's Kitchen music at all during the performance. In fact, none of my friends who watched the play stated they could hear music from Hell's Kitchen either.

If Hell's Kitchen is too loud to the point that it's bother people, I think we would have heard audiences complainiing about this back in August/September.

[Ali Gator]

If Viola Davis and Phylicia Rashad were starring in 'Roommate', and Rashad did the exact same thing LuPone did, would Kecia Lewis issue an 'open letter' to Rashad ? I'm betting the only 'open letter' she'd be writing is an apology on behalf of the production. 

[Ali Gator]

The producers of 'Roommate' have issued this statement this afternoon (on Instagram) :

 

Quote

“We are grateful to everyone at ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ for adjusting their cues to prevent sound bleed into our theater, which was affecting backstage, onstage and into the audience. On Broadway, these historic buildings were built long before the existence of modern amplification and sit side by side, playhouses sharing walls with musical houses. These kinds of sound accommodations from one show to another are not unusual and are always deeply appreciated. We’re proud to share Shubert Alley with ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ and wish our neighbors continued success.”

—The Producers of The Roommate

 

[ShortCutie7]

34 minutes ago, Ali Gator said:

The producers of 'Roommate' have issued this statement this afternoon (on Instagram) :

 

 

Glad they took the high road! And while I have not seen either of these productions, I have experienced sound bleed between these two (and other) theatres.

[+ ApexNomad]

Why not just walk over to the theater and have a private conversation? It’s literally right next door! Why spill this into the public, especially when she’s not speaking on behalf of the producers or cast? 

[Ali Gator]

8 hours ago, ApexNomad said:

Why not just walk over to the theater and have a private conversation? It’s literally right next door! Why spill this into the public, especially when she’s not speaking on behalf of the producers or cast? 

This way, she's getting attention and going viral on social media. And apparently, that's what this actress is needing right now in her life. 

Kecia Lewis needs to remember one important thing :

Patti Lupone is a Broadway legend with three Tony Awards on her mantle. She has opened many shows and kept the box office going since 1979. 

Kecia Lewis is a very recent Tony winner, who is playing a part on Broadway.

 

[Ali Gator]

Lupone was a guest on 'The View' this past Friday morning, just hours before Lewis posted this. How I wish Lewis posted this before she went on the show - I would have loved Sunny to have asked for her response. (Sunny would be siding with Lewis, no doubt). 

[MaybeMaybeNot]

Lewis's response seems inapprpriate to me, but Lupone is quickly becoming a caricature of herself. Not signing a paper because it's a Playbill from a show that is too loud? Ridiculous. 

[FaustOust]

On 11/3/2024 at 6:10 PM, BenjaminNicholas said:

Lewis thought she'd get more support if she made race the issue.  She thought wrong.

A lot of the Broadway community is backing away from her on this one.

I doubt that she sat and calculated to “make race the issue” to get more support.  She would know that raising issues of racial bias rarely wins more support in and of itself, particularly from those in power who may not have a history of being subject to racial bias in a negative way.  Whether right or wrong in this particular circumstance, she is more likely speaking from the perspective and context of her own lived experience, where race was made the issue for her regardless of her intentions or her desires otherwise.

[Ali Gator]

11 hours ago, MaybeMaybeNot said:

Lewis's response seems inapprpriate to me, but Lupone is quickly becoming a caricature of herself. Not signing a paper because it's a Playbill from a show that is too loud? Ridiculous. 

I could never imagine going up to any actor or actress (no matter how famous or not) outside a theater and asking them to sign a Playbill that wasn't from the play / musical they were in. I can't understand someone wanting LuPone to sign the 'Hell's Kitchen' Playbill - go ask Lewis to sign it. If yu want LuPone's autograph after the show, buy a ticket to her show and keep her employed. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

13 hours ago, MaybeMaybeNot said:

 Not signing a paper because it's a Playbill from a show that is too loud? Ridiculous. 

No.

Not signing a Playbill with a show she has no association with.

I don't blame her.  It's weird.

[+ WilliamM]

Some big stars aived  signing by  gping out the front  door.

Example Ethel Merman in Gypsy 

[+ Lucky]

I feel that a thread like this one cheapens the form.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

12 hours ago, Lucky said:

I feel that a thread like this one cheapens the form.

THIS thread cheapens theater? 

Have you not seen the slew of movie-to-musical adaptations- most of which have failed- on Broadway and the West End lately?

Now that's cheapening (and dumbing down) the artform as well as the audience.

Edited December 1, 2024 by BenjaminNicholas

[Ali Gator]

Apparently, this did not play out as Kecia Lewis was hoping it would. Lupone completely ignored her, continued being Patti Lupone and this flamed out quickly. No one really seemed to care, and most importantly (at least on social media) no one was siding with Lewis. Better luck next time, Kecia. 

[Ali Gator]

On 11/30/2024 at 12:34 PM, Lucky said:

I feel that a thread like this one cheapens the form.

Actually, I think the the actions by Lewis cheapens Broadway. But wadda ya gonna do ? 

[+ purplekow]

Once you make something public and specifically accuse the person of microaggression and racism, you are the problem.  A brief note to Ms Lupone asking for a few minutes of her time regarding her issues with the sound would have been a more professional way to handle this,  Although, it did get her name out there, Ms. Lewis is now hoping that all publicity is good publicity on Broadway.  

[+ nycman]

15 minutes ago, Ali Gator said:

Better luck next time, Kecia. 

Bye, Kelicia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIYmwl-DQMI

 

[Manhattan]

On 12/21/2024 at 10:44 PM, Ali Gator said:

Apparently, this did not play out as Kecia Lewis was hoping it would. Lupone completely ignored her, continued being Patti Lupone and this flamed out quickly. No one really seemed to care, and most importantly (at least on social media) no one was siding with Lewis. Better luck next time, Kecia. 

Sadly, Lewis did get support on social media, most notably from Audra MacDonald. 
It's all in the past now, but I hope the producers scolded Lewis. 
I hope Atlantic Theatre School where she teaches has also spoken to her. What a terrible example to set for future actors. 

[Ali Gator]

On 2/5/2025 at 1:40 PM, Manhattan said:

Sadly, Lewis did get support on social media, most notably from Audra MacDonald. 
It's all in the past now, but I hope the producers scolded Lewis. 
I hope Atlantic Theatre School where she teaches has also spoken to her. What a terrible example to set for future actors. 

I wouldn't expect less from MacDonald - her 'rivalry' with Lupone has been talked about for years. I'm certain she's not enjoying the comparisons this past season of her portrayal of 'Mama Rose' in GYPSY to Lupone's in 2008. (Most fans of both divas are saying Lupone was much better in the role).