Patti LuPone.Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/GettyHasPatti LuPonepossibly taken her final bow on the Broadway stage?On Monday, she announced that she’sleaving the Actors' Equity Association(AEA). TheAmerican Horror Storystar, 73, explains to PEOPLE that she’s done with what she calls the “worst union” after five decades as a member.A rep for AEA did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.“They accepted my resignation and told me that if I ever wanted to rejoin, I’d have to be approved,” says the three-timeTony Awardwinner, who most recently finished a run the revival ofStephen Sondheim’sCompany.“And it’s the perfect reason I withdrew from Equity. Fifty years to this year … I’ve been a card-carrying member of Equity, and they don’t know who I am basically,” LuPone continues. “They just said, ‘Fine, but if you want to rejoin, we’re going to have to approve you.’ “Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.She announced her departure from AEA on Twitter after seeing her name brought up frequently over the past week afterHadestownstar Lillias White"reprimanded” a hearing-impaired audience memberwho suggested White mistook her captioning device for a recording device. (The producers ofHadestownand Walter Kerr Theater owner Jujamcyn have sinceapologized for the incident.)LuPone has been known tocall out theatergoers over lack of courtesyand theater etiquette in the past.“Quite a week on Broadway, seeing my name being bandied about,” LuPone wrote on Monday. “Igave up my Equity card; no longer part of that circus. Figure it out.“LuPone tells PEOPLE 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.“From L to R: Etai Benson, Patti LuPone, Katrina Lenk, Matt Doyle, Christopher Sieber and Terence Archie inCompany.Bruce Glikas/Getty"I just thought, ‘This is ridiculous.’ And I don’t know when I’m going to be back on stage,” she adds. “But then the best kept secret is that you can perform without being a member of Equity. Nobody knows that, so I don’t use their services. So, I’m not a member of Equity anymore.“Though Broadway shows, in nearly all cases, employ only Actors' Equity Association members, some productions grantguest contracts. Some regional and touring productions operate under “non-Equity” contracts, in which she would be able to perform, and dropping out of AEA would not prohibit LuPone from performing in concert productions and cabarets.TheEvitastar is leaning more into film and television these days, explaining: “I don’t think I will be doing eight shows a week ever again. Not that I can’t, because that’s what I’m built for. I don’t want to.“RELATED VIDEO: Dylan McDermott Reveals He Had 3 Sex Scenes Cut From ‘Hollywood’, Including One with Patti LuPoneAlthough LuPone says she’s “wondering what’s going to happen” next in her career, she appears to have quite a bit on her plate, with a role inThe School for Good and Evil, debuting Oct. 19 on Netflix, andher return toAmerican Horror Storywith season 11’sNYC, premiering Oct. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
Patti LuPone.Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
HasPatti LuPonepossibly taken her final bow on the Broadway stage?On Monday, she announced that she’sleaving the Actors' Equity Association(AEA). TheAmerican Horror Storystar, 73, explains to PEOPLE that she’s done with what she calls the “worst union” after five decades as a member.A rep for AEA did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.“They accepted my resignation and told me that if I ever wanted to rejoin, I’d have to be approved,” says the three-timeTony Awardwinner, who most recently finished a run the revival ofStephen Sondheim’sCompany.“And it’s the perfect reason I withdrew from Equity. Fifty years to this year … I’ve been a card-carrying member of Equity, and they don’t know who I am basically,” LuPone continues. “They just said, ‘Fine, but if you want to rejoin, we’re going to have to approve you.’ “Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.She announced her departure from AEA on Twitter after seeing her name brought up frequently over the past week afterHadestownstar Lillias White"reprimanded” a hearing-impaired audience memberwho suggested White mistook her captioning device for a recording device. (The producers ofHadestownand Walter Kerr Theater owner Jujamcyn have sinceapologized for the incident.)LuPone has been known tocall out theatergoers over lack of courtesyand theater etiquette in the past.“Quite a week on Broadway, seeing my name being bandied about,” LuPone wrote on Monday. “Igave up my Equity card; no longer part of that circus. Figure it out.“LuPone tells PEOPLE 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.“From L to R: Etai Benson, Patti LuPone, Katrina Lenk, Matt Doyle, Christopher Sieber and Terence Archie inCompany.Bruce Glikas/Getty"I just thought, ‘This is ridiculous.’ And I don’t know when I’m going to be back on stage,” she adds. “But then the best kept secret is that you can perform without being a member of Equity. Nobody knows that, so I don’t use their services. So, I’m not a member of Equity anymore.“Though Broadway shows, in nearly all cases, employ only Actors' Equity Association members, some productions grantguest contracts. Some regional and touring productions operate under “non-Equity” contracts, in which she would be able to perform, and dropping out of AEA would not prohibit LuPone from performing in concert productions and cabarets.TheEvitastar is leaning more into film and television these days, explaining: “I don’t think I will be doing eight shows a week ever again. Not that I can’t, because that’s what I’m built for. I don’t want to.“RELATED VIDEO: Dylan McDermott Reveals He Had 3 Sex Scenes Cut From ‘Hollywood’, Including One with Patti LuPoneAlthough LuPone says she’s “wondering what’s going to happen” next in her career, she appears to have quite a bit on her plate, with a role inThe School for Good and Evil, debuting Oct. 19 on Netflix, andher return toAmerican Horror Storywith season 11’sNYC, premiering Oct. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
HasPatti LuPonepossibly taken her final bow on the Broadway stage?
On Monday, she announced that she’sleaving the Actors' Equity Association(AEA). TheAmerican Horror Storystar, 73, explains to PEOPLE that she’s done with what she calls the “worst union” after five decades as a member.
A rep for AEA did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“They accepted my resignation and told me that if I ever wanted to rejoin, I’d have to be approved,” says the three-timeTony Awardwinner, who most recently finished a run the revival ofStephen Sondheim’sCompany.
“And it’s the perfect reason I withdrew from Equity. Fifty years to this year … I’ve been a card-carrying member of Equity, and they don’t know who I am basically,” LuPone continues. “They just said, ‘Fine, but if you want to rejoin, we’re going to have to approve you.’ "
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
She announced her departure from AEA on Twitter after seeing her name brought up frequently over the past week afterHadestownstar Lillias White"reprimanded” a hearing-impaired audience memberwho suggested White mistook her captioning device for a recording device. (The producers ofHadestownand Walter Kerr Theater owner Jujamcyn have sinceapologized for the incident.)
LuPone has been known tocall out theatergoers over lack of courtesyand theater etiquette in the past.
“Quite a week on Broadway, seeing my name being bandied about,” LuPone wrote on Monday. “Igave up my Equity card; no longer part of that circus. Figure it out.”
LuPone tells PEOPLE 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.”
From L to R: Etai Benson, Patti LuPone, Katrina Lenk, Matt Doyle, Christopher Sieber and Terence Archie inCompany.Bruce Glikas/Getty
“I just thought, ‘This is ridiculous.’ And I don’t know when I’m going to be back on stage,” she adds. “But then the best kept secret is that you can perform without being a member of Equity. Nobody knows that, so I don’t use their services. So, I’m not a member of Equity anymore.”
Though Broadway shows, in nearly all cases, employ only Actors' Equity Association members, some productions grantguest contracts. Some regional and touring productions operate under “non-Equity” contracts, in which she would be able to perform, and dropping out of AEA would not prohibit LuPone from performing in concert productions and cabarets.
TheEvitastar is leaning more into film and television these days, explaining: “I don’t think I will be doing eight shows a week ever again. Not that I can’t, because that’s what I’m built for. I don’t want to.”
RELATED VIDEO: Dylan McDermott Reveals He Had 3 Sex Scenes Cut From ‘Hollywood’, Including One with Patti LuPone
Although LuPone says she’s “wondering what’s going to happen” next in her career, she appears to have quite a bit on her plate, with a role inThe School for Good and Evil, debuting Oct. 19 on Netflix, andher return toAmerican Horror Storywith season 11’sNYC, premiering Oct. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
source: people.com
