Does this outrageous story of contrived race-baiting on Broadway relate to tomorrow’s election? Sure it does. I’ll explain after you finish gagging following the facts of the incident.
Kecia Lewis is a talented black Broadway actress. She won a Tony for her performance in “Hell’s Kitchen,” a 2024 jukebox musical (that means the show has no original music and uses previous pop hits to try to tell a story). The show, about the life and career of Alicia Keys, shares a wall with another Broadway theater and creates a problem that actors, directors and producers have complained about for decades: the amplified sound in “Hell’s Kitchen” can be heard by the audience of the show next door. (You know when you’re in a multi-screen “cineplex” watching an intimate drama and the movie showing in the next theater is “Pearl Harbor”? It’s like that.)
The show next door to “Hell’s Kitchen” is “The Roommate,” a quiet, two-actor drama starring Mia Farrow and Broadway legend Patti LuPone of “Evita” fame. LuPone sent a polite note to the “Hell’s Kitchen” producers asking them to turn down the volume at two points in the sound design that were loud enough to interfere with her show. They did. LuPone, in gratitude, sent a thank-you note to the producers and flowers to the stage management and sound staff.
In a normal world, that would be the end of it. I’m certain this exact scenario has played out many times over the years as simple professional courtesy and consideration. Ethics!
But no. Kecia Lewis decided to be offended. She posted a video on Instagram reprimanding LuPone for engaging in “microagressions.” She complained,
“After our sound design was adjusted, [you] sent flowers to our sound and stage management team thanking them”… “I want to explain what a microaggression is – These are subtle, unintentional comments or actions that convey stereotypes, biases or negative assumptions about someone based on their race. Microaggressions can seem harmless or minor, but can accumulate and cause significant stress or discomfort for the recipient. Examples include calling a Black show loud in a way that dismisses it. In our industry, language holds power and shapes perception, often in ways that we may not immediately realize. Referring to a predominantly Black Broadway show as loud can unintentionally reinforce harmful stereotypes, and it also feels dismissive of the artistry and the voices that are being celebrated on stage. Comments like these can be seen as racial microaggressions, which have a real impact on both artists and audiences. While gestures like sending thank you flowers may appear courteous, it was dismissive and out of touch, especially following a formal complaint that you made that resulted in the changes that impacted our entire production, primarily the people who have to go out on stage and perform.”
Yes, she really says that. She does. I’m not making it up! This insufferable actress not only felt that was a reasonable response to a request, a thank-you, and flowers, but decided to issue her complaint publicly rather than having the guts to tell LuPone that she’s a racist to her face.
I count at least eight “Bite me!” cues in that part of the message alone, in addition to the grand “Bite me!” the video demands as a whole. Who is Kecia Lewis to presume to explain the theater industry to Patti Lupone? Lupone has been on Broadway regularly since 1973. She has won three Tony Awards (and been nominated for many more), two Olivier Awards (the British Tonys), two Grammy Awards, starred in a successful TV series (“Life Goes On”) and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame 18 years ago, after which she has continued to play starring roles in major productions of “Gypsy,” “Company,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Annie Get Your Gun” and more. She has sold out Carnegie Hall with her one-woman show.
In short, Lewis should be asking for her autograph and have it framed.
A member of “The Roommate’s” production staff responded to Lewis with another Instagram note saying in part, “Could you be more condescending??? Maybe you ought to come see “The Roommate.” It is a quiet 2 person play. The music from the theater next door has music so loud, that it disrupts our show. This has nothing to do with race. It has to do with volume!! … The spirit of this community means we all respect each other!!! Our little show deserves that as well.”
No it doesn’t, obviously, not in the culture of permanent victimhood and special privileges that the George Floyd Freakout bestowed upon the African-American community. Lewis wants to make LuPone grovel an apology. That will give Lewis power, and represent another victory over the pervasive racism that is America. We have seen this script before.
Part of the script, as anyone could have predicted, is for the news accounts of the tiff to paint LuPone as the villain.
I am hoping against hope that LuPone, who is the epitome of a diva (as this Ethics Alarms post demonstrates), either issues an emphatic “Bite Me!” to Lewis or ignores her completely as not worthy of attention from Patti’s perch on Broadway Olympus. Lewis is the racist here; she is the one who is stereotyping a white performer as insensitive and dismissive. She is also, I believe, the real victim.
The combination of Barack Obama’s divisive Presidency, the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman Ethics Train Wreck and all of its offspring, the Black Lives Matter scam, and the resulting race hustle that produced the cultural poison of the “1619 Project,” Critical Race Theory, the DEI fad and Kamala Harris as Vice-President have done incalculable damage to race relations in the United States, workplace comity and more. Lewis and millions of Americans like her have been programmed to believe that such disrespect to colleagues, associates and fellow citizens is appropriate and worse, empowering.
The deprogramming process will be long and painful. It begins by rejecting Harris tomorrow.
Ethics Alarms 
I remember attending a Star Trek Convention back in 1993 with Patrick Stewart as the guest. While on stage answering questions, he was distracted by the profoundly loud square dance music in the next hall that echoed into our domain. I remember him complaining to us how “intolerable” that was.
Good thing it wasn’t a rap concert…
A curt response by Lapone is in order. She should remind Lewis that civility is a two way street and brawling in the metaphorical street reinforces stereotypes of poor breeding. If an aggressive act, micro or otherwise, can only be defined by the complainant and is used to effect power over another then we will all be at each other’s throats forever.
The only hope to stop this is to stop treating people like Lewis as children and start taking them at their word. Lewis claims this is a racial incident, but you insist it isn’t. That is not a winning argument, that is a white person claiming that blacks don’t actually feel that way and Lewis will use that as evidence of her rightness. It actually is a racial incident and should be treated as such. Lewis is claiming that kindness and civility are ‘whiteness’ and count as a racial microaggression. So, take her at her word. Stop acting like she is lying. She isn’t. She really feels this way as do many.
So, from now on, everyone should understand that civility and kindness are white values and you will not expect that from other groups. Act accordingly. Hey, I’m only following the racial advice of public figures in public forums that aren’t being challenged or shouted down by others. It must be true and everyone should act accordingly. Only when people realize that the continual race baiting and victim-claiming has real consequences will it stop.
Ms. Lewis obviously didn’t write that statement. That’s a professionally written piece of propaganda from Thought Control Central. Maybe a consultant working for the actors’ union or the stagehand union?
So hilarious, the use of “community.” Any time that word appears, watch out. Somebody’s going to get slammed for wandering off the reservation.
Wow. Infuriating. This, directly after the Erivo meltdown. Once is an outlier. Twice is a coincidence. Anyone want to add a third instance?
ugh. The “Wicked” poster “scandal.” I decided that one was too silly to bother posting on. Was I wrong?
It was an “own goal” if the “own goal” was scored in the first minute of the first game of the season and instantly eliminated the team from playoff contention.
Yes, Erivo, you were part of a poster that was an homage – and some geeked up superfan was wondering what it would look like if it aligned more closely to the iconic broadway playbill imagery. They didn’t erase you, they made you iconic. They were ready to worship your queen status for this role – now you’ll just be the Elphaba actress. It was actually a smart move for your personal life – these geeks were going to think of you, idolize you, hound you for autographs. Now you can walk down a street in any American city in peace.
Mission accomplished?
I had no idea what was going on so I googled it. Huh. So much contrived controversy. But, I read an article about it. This sentence jumped out at me:
“They wrote: ‘While I deleted initially as I felt it was the right thing to do, fan posters have been around for as long as movies have existed. I never meant to cause any harm and the poster is just a homage to the original broadway poster, just like the movie’s recreation is.’” (Emphasis added). This is why we can’t have nice things.
Here is the article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2024/10/21/cynthia-erivos-wicked-poster-controversy-explained/
jvb
If the mission was to make sure that I no longer have an interest in seeing the movie due to her temper tantrum leaving a distaste in my mouth it was, indeed, accomplished.
I thought it was silly myself, but I am also annoyed by constant AI art images on “Star Trek” fangroups on Facebook with Kirk, Spock and friends in “The Next Generation” uniforms and Picard and crew in TOS uniforms. Those were all the rage for a couple of weeks and drove me batty.
But I’m much better now…
On the other hand, this whole idea of systemic racism is helping cause American culture to die by a thousand cuts so, perhaps, this should be another example of “When everything is racist, nothing is”?
Another episode when the demand for racism is greater than the supply.
Maybe Ms. Lewis would prefer that Ms. LuPone and Ms. Farrow simply walk over to the “Hell’s Kitchen” stage, destroy it, then set it on fire in a “mostly peaceful” display of protest.
This episode inspired a short satirical piece. (Author’s note: If “sasquatch” offends you, just mentally replace it with “centaur” or “yeti” or “treefolk” or whatever you prefer. It literally doesn’t matter. I just wrote the scenario around someone standing on someone else’s foot, so I made the character a bigfoot for comedic effect.)
***
“Pardon me, but you’re standing on my foot.”
“That’s an offensive thing to say to a sasquatch, especially on a public bus!”
“I’m sorry you feel that way. Please move your foot off of my foot.”
“Please stop associating me with a stereotype. That strengthens racist biases.”
“Let me get this straight. There are some people who are racists, and they sometimes make malicious statements falsely accusing sasquatches in general of standing on other people’s feet, and because of that, I’m not allowed to politely ask a sasquatch to stop literally standing on my actual foot?”
“It perpetuates the harmful association between sasquatches and standing on others’ feet.”
“Exactly one of us is perpetuating an association between sasquatches and standing on others’ feet, and it’s the sasquatch who is still standing on another person’s foot. You’re the one making a big deal out of this. I just want my feet not to get stood on, and I’d say the same to anyone.”
“You should be more aware of other people’s sensitivities when communicating. Words have power.”
“Alright, which words have the power to make you take your foot off my foot? How would you prefer that I communicate this to you?”
“The harm done to my people by your asking is more important than the harm done to your foot.”
“Wait, so I’m supposed to let you stand on my foot because other people have spread rumors about sasquatches standing on people’s feet?”
“It’s a small step towards restorative justice for sasquatches. You can use your privilege for good.”
“…Is ‘small step’ a slur against non-sasquatches?”
“No, you’re thinking of ‘wretched sole’.”
“…”
“…”
“…So just to be clear–because the sasquatch community was harmed by the stereotype of standing on people’s feet, the way to recover from that harm is to… stand on people’s feet without being called on it? Or is hurting the feet of non-sasquatches intended to remove any advantage we might have from not being subject to foot-standing stereotypes?”
“A bit of both. You’re being dismissive of our feet, asking us to erase our presence for your convenience. I will not apologize for occupying the same spaces as non-sasquatches.”
“I mean, I don’t stand on anyone else’s feet, sasquatch or otherwise. Am I not due the same courtesy?”
“You stood on our feet by proxy by benefiting from the stereotypes about sasquatches.”
“Alright, so how will you know when sasquatches as a group have fully recovered and reached equal and respected status in society and can stop standing on other people’s feet?”
“When rich people have the same proportion of sasquatches as the poor people they step on, then we’ll know we have equal standing.”
“Interesting priorities. Well, as appealing as that future is, I think the time to stop standing on other people’s feet has already passed, at least in your case.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, it was about five minutes ago when we went by your stop.”
Well done, EC.
I live in a world of subjective judgments: this playwright is more important than that one, this essay is better than that one, this scene would work better if the actor entered a beat earlier, we need more light on stage left… Even deciding whether Ms. Lupone’s actions are privilege-inspired microaggressions is subjective, even if I find it difficult to keep my eyebrows from reaching for the heavens.
Sound, however, can be objectively measured. And frankly, 1 dB is too much spill from one venue to another, but we can reasonably presume that no one would have even mentioned it if it weren’t… well… loud enough to be distracting. It may be that Lupone went Full Diva in the initial stages. Lewis’s reaction is silly regardless of any provocation.
If any “privilege” was involved, I think it’s the privilege felt by a legendary, bona fide Broadway legend, not a racial one, no? Do you think Patti would a have behaved any differently if the production distracting her audience was, say, “Bye-Bye Birdie”?