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In a new profile for The New Yorker, published on Monday, May 26, 2025, Patti LuPone explained why she's leaving Broadway for now. The American actress and singer is a two-time Grammy Award winner and a three-time Tony Award winner. Best known for her work in stage musicals, she's also the first American to be given London's Olivier Award.
At 76, Patti LuPone has cemented herself in the stage musical scene as a powerful voice and a grand dame persona. However, she has decided to leave the spotlight, at least for now. The Agatha All Along star said in her latest The New Yorker profile,
"I'm so angry at whoever choked the stem right in the middle by making Times Square a pedestrian mall. It's impossible for us to get to work. And I said that years ago. So I start work angry. I can't get to my theatre, because of the traffic pattern, because of arrogance of the people in streets."
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If the Broadway star has a say in things, she wants people "out of the street" because, according to her, "it's a road." Patti LuPone's comments came after her decades of work on Broadway. She's famous for playing Eva Perón in Evita and Rose in Gypsy, among many others.
Patti LuPone previously said that she wants off Broadway and into films
In October 2022, Patti LuPone gave up her Actors' Equity card after five decades as a member of the Actors' Equity Association. She reportedly announced her departure from the association on X, per People, after some controversy involving Hadestown star Lillias White. In an interview with People, she claimed that AEA doesn't "support actors at all," adding:
"They're just not good. And I just didn't want to give them any more money."
At the time, the theater actress said that she could still perform onstage even without the Actors' Equity card. However, in 2023, Patti LuPone said that she wanted to transition into making films. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, published on April 24, 2023, she explained why she thinks Broadway is out of the cards for her at the time. She said:
"I don't want to work in Broadway anymore... I don't want to be onstage. I want to end my career on film."
Like her latest comments about Times Square being busy for stage actors like her to get to the theater, she said the same to The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. She called Times Square "a nightmare," where people flock to the area, and they're not even going to the theater. She said that the crowd only makes it difficult for others who want to try to get to the theater.
In 2023, she starred in Ari Aster's dark comedy Beau Is Afraid alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Ryan. LuPone also joined the cast of Agatha All Along in 2024, where she played the Sicilian witch Lilia Calderu.
Despite previous comments, Patti LuPone returned onstage in 2024 to co-star in the two-woman play The Roommate with Mia Farrow. She's currently doing her new concert, A Life in Notes, with shows scheduled until August, per her website.
