Latest news with #PattiLuPone
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Blind date: ‘He told me off for looking at my phone'
What were you hoping for? A lot of good food and for the evening not to turn into an edition of Dining Across the impressions? Blond! Blue eyes!What did you talk about? The Bible. Judith Butler. Susan Sontag. Patti LuPone. Poetry. Squash. Musicals. Deciding whether or not to name our Pokémon (I'm pro). The cookbook club I'm in. The scavenger hunt I went on before our date. The awkward moment? When we exchanged numbers, I glimpsed his contact list. The moniker that was above my name is not suitable for publication. (We laughed about it!)Good table manners? Faultless. We ordered lots and shared thing about Eden? He has a poet's you introduce Eden to your friends? Eden in three words Cool, calm and do you think Eden made of you? Probably that I'm excitable and garrulous. He said I was 'erudite'. Blind date is Saturday's dating column: every week, two strangers are paired up for dinner and drinks, and then spill the beans to us, answering a set of questions. This runs, with a photograph we take of each dater before the date, in Saturday magazine (in the UK) and online at every Saturday. It's been running since 2009 – you can read all about how we put it together questions will I be asked?We ask about age, location, occupation, hobbies, interests and the type of person you are looking to meet. If you do not think these questions cover everything you would like to know, tell us what's on your mind. Can I choose who I match with?No, it's a blind date! But we do ask you a bit about your interests, preferences, etc – the more you tell us, the better the match is likely to be. Can I pick the photograph?No, but don't worry: we'll choose the nicest ones. What personal details will appear?Your first name, job and age. How should I answer?Honestly but respectfully. Be mindful of how it will read to your date, and that Blind date reaches a large audience, in print and online. Will I see the other person's answers?No. We may edit yours and theirs for a range of reasons, including length, and we may ask you for more details. Will you find me The One?We'll try! Marriage! Babies! Can I do it in my home town?Only if it's in the UK. Many of our applicants live in London, but we would love to hear from people living elsewhere. How to applyEmail Did you go on somewhere? He had to get up early the next day to go on a boat trip, so we didn't. And … did you kiss? On the street? If you could change one thing about the evening what would it be? Eden was trying to remember one of Stephen Sondheim's songs (Could I Leave You? from Follies). Despite me insisting, he'd only do bits of the tune, and sotto voce, so I could hardly hear him! We'll need to turn the volume up next time. Marks out of 10? 7. Would you meet again? We plan to. What were you hoping for? I would've been happy with a free meal, but I was hoping for a new connection. First impressions? Good hug when I arrived. He wanted to order nearly everything on the menu, so we did, and I liked that. He seemed a bit nervous at first, but I was too, so that wasn't a problem. What did you talk about? Lorde. Mitski. Susan Sontag. Performance poetry. The concept of self-esteem. And a nice bit of gossiping. Most awkward moment? Probably when he told me off for looking at my phone. Good table manners? No criticisms here. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Best thing about Tope? His laugh. I liked his sense of humour; I couldn't predict when he would find something funny, but when he did he really did. Would you introduce Tope to your friends?I would. In fact, I texted a friend on the way home saying I think they'd get on. Describe Tope in three wordsInterested and interesting. What do you think Tope made of you? I think he'd like to get to know me better. I don't think he fancies me that much though. Did you go on somewhere? No, but we stayed talking in the restaurant until very late. And … did you kiss? I never kiss on a first date … If you could change one thing about the evening what would it be? I wouldn't have ordered the prawns. Marks out of 10? 8. Would you meet again? Yes. Tope and Eden ate at Kricket Shoreditch, London EC2. Fancy a blind date? Email
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ratings: Tony Awards Surge 38% to Biggest Audience Since 2019
CBS will be telling the story of Tonys night for some time…. America's Most Watch Network's presentation of the 78th Tony Awards on Sunday night averaged 4.85 million total viewers, an increase of 38% year-over-year to mark the biggest audience since 2019 for the telecast. (In 2020, there was no formal Tonys ceremony.) More from TVLine Tom Ellis Previews Latest FBI Offshoot, His CIA Agent's 'Large Dose of Moral Ambiguity' - Watch Video Patti LuPone Skips Tony Awards Amid Audra McDonald Controversy - Watch Oprah Winfrey Joke About It On-Air Tonys 2025: Hamilton's Original Broadway Cast Reunites for Sleek Medley - Watch The show also enjoyed its largest live streaming audience ever on Paramount+, up 208% vs. 2024. In the demos, this year's Tonys saw gains of 91% with the 25-54 crowd, 107% among Adults 18-49 and 147% with those age 18-34. This year's telecast was hosted by Tony Award winner and Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, with Maybe Happy Ending emerging as the big winner and the original Broadway cast of Hamilton reuniting for a medley commemorating the hit musical's 10th anniversary. Last year, Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose lorded over a ceremony where Stereophonic and The Outsiders grabbed the most trophies.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
On Tonys night, Broadway divided over Patti LuPone's remarks about Audra McDonald
More than a few years ago now, my mom asked me why the UK's royal family seemed to be all over the news all the time. That's all I see when I turn on my computer, she said. I think that might be because you've been clicking on some stories about Meghan and Harry, I told her, leading to lots more stories about Meghan and Harry. Similarly, I've lately been treated to many variations on basically the same recycled story about the great offstage Broadway drama featuring Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald. Stop, I cry, though if they weren't my Meghan and Harry, I wouldn't keep seeing this stuff. In case they're not your Meghan and Harry, here's the deal: A recent New Yorker profile of LuPone made news, none of it good for her. In the piece, she's quoted saying disparaging things about two Black actresses, her fellow Tony winners Kecia Lewis and McDonald, Broadway's most decorated star. Some 700 Broadway performers signed a petition saying LuPone should be disinvited from Sunday night's Tony Awards for her bullying and racially insensitive remarks. She then profusely apologized, falling on her own knife like Liù in Puccini's 'Turandot,' and various stage actors have been weighing in on whether or not she should be forgiven. Now, Patti LuPone has always been unfiltered, in that one way like the Donald Trump she's said she hates; you do not want to be caught with your cell phone ringing when she's on stage. Only she comes off in this profile as generous and gigantic and human and hurt and self-sabotaging but also finally going too far in letting loose on others, and in general. Is she for real or putting on a show when shouting at New York Rangers, 'Take your clothes off, boys! Naked hockey! No cups — I want full frontal! HA!' She is in let-'em-have-it mode throughout, referring to Glenn Close, the actress who replaced her in 'Sunset Boulevard' 100 years ago as a 'bitch,' and telling the New Yorker writer Michael Schulman more than once that the now Trump-run Kennedy Center 'should get blown up.' Which, hello, is not in any way OK. Serious or not, and people who say these things always insist that they were not, it's wrong to complain about Trump's violent rhetoric and then go around talking like this. So LuPone should also walk those remarks way the heck back. And I do not love to see women tearing down women; are things really not hard enough? Kevin Kline got off easy in the profile; all LuPone said about him is that he was a terrible boyfriend back in the day. Despite all of the many posts I have read about the explosions that followed the publication of the profile, I would never have understood the genesis of the contretemps without the guidance of New York Times theater reporter Michael Paulson. He reported on what happened after LuPone complained last year that noise from the Black-led Alicia Keys musical 'Hell's Kitchen' could be heard in the theater next door, where LuPone and Mia Farrow were performing in 'The Roommate.' LuPone took her gripe to the Shubert Organization, which runs both theaters. So far, perfectly normal, and something that happens all the time. Shubert fixed the problem. But then, Paulson wrote, after LuPone sent flowers to the 'Hell's Kitchen' sound crew, she was videotaped describing the musical as 'loud,' and refusing to sign a 'Hell's Kitchen' playbill. That's when Kecia Lewis, who is in 'Hell's Kitchen,' responded with a video calling LuPone's behavior 'racially microaggressive' by reinforcing stereotypes. McDonald weighed in by posting some supportive emojis on the video. In the New Yorker interview, LuPone said of Lewis, 'Don't call yourself a vet, bitch.' Which was way over the line. She said McDonald was 'not a friend,' and then declared that she needed a nap. Of course she did; setting yourself on fire can be very draining. McDonald wisely said she didn't know about any rift between herself and LuPone. Lewis has wisely not made any public statement. 'For as long as I have worked in the theater,' LuPone said in her own statement, 'I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today. … From middle school drama clubs to professional stages, theater 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.' Both McDonald and LuPone have given me so much joy, not just over the years but this year, that this is drama I could have done without. McDonald ripped my heart out and then handed it back to me with her 'this-isn't-your-Momma's-Momma-Rose' performance in 'Gypsy.' I spent a lot more than I could afford to be on the front row with our Aunt Mimi Turque, who was cast by composer Jule Styne to play June in an early national touring company of the show. LuPone also showed me a wonderful time recently with her show at the Kauffman Center, where she received five standing ovations, one before she sang a note. It's the only time in my experience — Can you say 'gay icon'? — that there hasn't been a line outside a ladies' room at the Kauffman at intermission, and I went home so energized from her performance, which these days in particular is worth a lot. So what I want to say is that with everything going on in the world that the arts stand squarely against, energy spent on fury at someone who has groveled from here to Argentina is energy wasted. I still love both of you 'Ladies Who Lunch,' the Sondheim anthem to female rage that I've seen both of you crush. I'd like to think that LuPone learned something from this whole episode — though again, those comments about the Kennedy Center still do need clearing up asap. We could all of us, of course, be less eager to pounce and readier to forgive. The many ageist comments about Patti, who is 76, by those Audra fans who aren't ready to let this go, and say they never will be, aren't OK, either. Unfortunately, art doesn't always bring even the relatively like-minded together. As always, that's up to us. UPDATE: I thought McDonald would win her 7th Tony tonight for the same role that LuPone won for in 2008, but no, the award for leading actress in a musical went to Nicole Scherzinger for her Broadway debut in a revival of 'Sunset Boulevard.' Pretty sure LuPone would not have wanted to be at the awards show, since it was Glenn Close who introduced Scherzinger singing, 'It's As If We Never Said Goodbye.' And Oprah Winfrey, who presented the award to Scherzinger, made some interesting faces as she made the show's only veiled reference to the controversy, but she did not mention LuPone by name.
Newsweek
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Oprah Winfrey Shades Patti LuPone at Tonys
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Oprah Winfrey threw shade at Broadway star Patti LuPone during the Tony Awards on Sunday. LuPone did not attend the awards show following backlash over her comments about fellow Broadway stars including Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis. She later apologized for her remarks. Oprah Winfrey speaks onstage during the 78th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 8, 2025 in New York City. In the inset image, Patti LuPone attends the "Another Simple Favor" New... Oprah Winfrey speaks onstage during the 78th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 8, 2025 in New York City. In the inset image, Patti LuPone attends the "Another Simple Favor" New York screening at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 27, 2025 in New York City. Morefor Tony Awards Productions;"This astounding year in live theater turns to the women whose work sparked lively conversations among theater fans," Winfrey said, before pausing and looking at the audience. "Lot of talking going on," she added, seemingly referring to the lyrics in Beyoncé's song "Ameriican Requiem." Spencer Althouse, Buzzfeed's editorial director, wrote via X, formerly Twitter: "Omg not Oprah Winfrey throwing shade at Patti LuPone while presenting at the Tony Awards lol." At the time of publication, his video racked up more than 88,100 views on the platform. omg not Oprah Winfrey throwing shade at Patti LuPone while presenting at the Tony Awards lol — Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) June 9, 2025 This is a breaking story and will be updated with more information shortly.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Tony Awards Just Made a Huge Mistake—and They Only Have 5 Days to Fix it
Despite their "best efforts," the Tony Awards have really stepped in it (not quite as hard as Patti LuPone, but still). Okay, so not every new musical can be nominated for Best Musical. Do I think BOOP! The Musical should have made the cut? Sure. But that's not what I'm here to gripe about—or why fans are up in arms. The Broadway show's incredibly talented star, Jasmine Amy Rogers (who plays the titular character), is nominated for a Best Lead Actress Tony. And yet, she is the only Lead Actress nominee not scheduled to perform live at the Tonys this coming Sunday. And people are mad. As Deadline points out, "Performances will include the casts of Buena Vista Social Club, Dead Outlaw, Death Becomes Her, Floyd Collins, Gypsy, Maybe Happy Ending, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, Pirates! The Penzance Musical, Sunset Blvd., Just in Time and Real Women Have Curves." If all of these had been nominated for Best Musical or Best Revival of a Musical, the choices would have made sense. But instead, as the outlet continues, "While neither Just in Time and Real Women Don't Have Curves received a Best Musical nomination, their respective stars Jonathan Groff and Justina Machado are nominated in performance categories." Wait. So if those non-nominated musicals are performing, why isn't BOOP! The Musical? This has sparked enough backlash that a petition to let Rogers and the BOOP cast perform on Sunday's telecast has been circulating. And while the Tonys' slight certainly got my blood boiling (I thought Rogers was unbelievable in her role and should definitely have the chance to reach the live TV audience), things have only gotten worse with theater fans. The New York Post writes, "The Post can confirm that both productions [BOOP and Smash] asked to perform, were willing to pay the $300,000 or so that an appearance costs and were told 'Nope!' by the Tonys' producers." So let me get this straight. BOOP wants to perform, is willing to pay and yet the Tonys are snubbing them in favor of other non-Best-Musical-nominated shows? Seems fishy—and seems like an unforced error the Tonys are now going to have to deal with. Social media posts like the one above have been going viral in the days leading up to the awards show. Many point out the myriad reasons there are to let Rogers perform—not least of which involves her winning other prestigious awards for her performance. Instagram / jasmine_amy_r Today, Rogers seemed to respond to all the love on her IG Stories. She wrote, "Thank you for the outpouring of love. Truly. Thank you." It's not too late, Tonys. Let's clean up this mess and get Rogers up on that stage. Want all the latest entertainment news sent right to your inbox? Click here. The Oscars Just Fixed a Major Red Carpet Mistake
