Patti LuPone Learned to 'Walk Away' from Bad Situations After Infamous 'Sunset Boulevard' Firing

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan/GettyPatti LuPoneis reflecting on a painful chapter in her past.In a new interview with PEOPLE, the 73-year-old Broadway legend and star of the new Netflix movieThe School for Good and Evilshares what she learned when composer Andrew Lloyd Webber replaced her with Glenn Close for the show’s Broadway debut: “Simply walk away.“In 1993, LuPone had been performing the musical—an adaptation of the 1950 movie of the same name about a faded silent screen star named Norma Desmond—in London’s West End when she learned Webber had hired Glenn Close to play the same role for the Los Angeles production.LuPone accused Webber and his company of orchestrating “what would look to the media like a catfight between two actresses,” she wrote in her 2010 autobiography,Patti LuPone: A Memoir.Indeed, gossip columns began to report that Webber would replace LuPone, who was under contract to take the show to Broadway, with Close. Though Webber assured LuPone that the rumors weren’t true, she and her team did eventually learn in early 1994—via scoop from late gossip columnist Liz Smith—that Close was in and LuPone was out for the New York debut.Alastair Muir/ShutterstockHumiliated and betrayed, LuPone was still under contract to finish her performances in London. “Everybody said, ‘Stay on the stage for the money, stay on the stage to honor your contract,'” LuPone remembers. She did.“It wasn’t worth it for the emotional toll it took,” says the three-time Tony Award winner. “And so what I’ve learned from that is to simply walk away from something, but it would never happen again.“Continues the actress, who shares son Joshua, 31, with husband Matt Johnston, 67, “If it did, I would see the warning signs, and I would leave. And it’s just not worth the mental anguish and the emotional anguish that I put my family through, and I went through and I put my husband through, lashing out when we came home because I couldn’t do it there. I couldn’t do it on stage.“Nearly three decades later, LuPone says she has made peace with what happened. “As I said to somebody else who had just went through some s—, it doesn’t go away,” says LuPone. “It finds a place in your heart, and it’s just there. It’s certainly not [as] predominant as it was.“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.Afterquitting the Broadway union Actors’ Equity Associationearlier this year, LuPone says, “I don’t think I will be doing eight shows a week ever again. What I want to do is get back on television, get back in film.“LuPone is well on her way: In addition to appearing inThe School for Good and Evil, streaming now on Netflix, she also stars in the new season ofAmerican Horror Story: NYC, Wednesdays on FX.For more on Patti LuPone, pick up the new issue ofPEOPLE.

Photo: Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan/Getty

Patti LuPoneis reflecting on a painful chapter in her past.In a new interview with PEOPLE, the 73-year-old Broadway legend and star of the new Netflix movieThe School for Good and Evilshares what she learned when composer Andrew Lloyd Webber replaced her with Glenn Close for the show’s Broadway debut: “Simply walk away.“In 1993, LuPone had been performing the musical—an adaptation of the 1950 movie of the same name about a faded silent screen star named Norma Desmond—in London’s West End when she learned Webber had hired Glenn Close to play the same role for the Los Angeles production.LuPone accused Webber and his company of orchestrating “what would look to the media like a catfight between two actresses,” she wrote in her 2010 autobiography,Patti LuPone: A Memoir.Indeed, gossip columns began to report that Webber would replace LuPone, who was under contract to take the show to Broadway, with Close. Though Webber assured LuPone that the rumors weren’t true, she and her team did eventually learn in early 1994—via scoop from late gossip columnist Liz Smith—that Close was in and LuPone was out for the New York debut.Alastair Muir/ShutterstockHumiliated and betrayed, LuPone was still under contract to finish her performances in London. “Everybody said, ‘Stay on the stage for the money, stay on the stage to honor your contract,'” LuPone remembers. She did.“It wasn’t worth it for the emotional toll it took,” says the three-time Tony Award winner. “And so what I’ve learned from that is to simply walk away from something, but it would never happen again.“Continues the actress, who shares son Joshua, 31, with husband Matt Johnston, 67, “If it did, I would see the warning signs, and I would leave. And it’s just not worth the mental anguish and the emotional anguish that I put my family through, and I went through and I put my husband through, lashing out when we came home because I couldn’t do it there. I couldn’t do it on stage.“Nearly three decades later, LuPone says she has made peace with what happened. “As I said to somebody else who had just went through some s—, it doesn’t go away,” says LuPone. “It finds a place in your heart, and it’s just there. It’s certainly not [as] predominant as it was.“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.Afterquitting the Broadway union Actors’ Equity Associationearlier this year, LuPone says, “I don’t think I will be doing eight shows a week ever again. What I want to do is get back on television, get back in film.“LuPone is well on her way: In addition to appearing inThe School for Good and Evil, streaming now on Netflix, she also stars in the new season ofAmerican Horror Story: NYC, Wednesdays on FX.For more on Patti LuPone, pick up the new issue ofPEOPLE.

Patti LuPoneis reflecting on a painful chapter in her past.

In a new interview with PEOPLE, the 73-year-old Broadway legend and star of the new Netflix movieThe School for Good and Evilshares what she learned when composer Andrew Lloyd Webber replaced her with Glenn Close for the show’s Broadway debut: “Simply walk away.”

In 1993, LuPone had been performing the musical—an adaptation of the 1950 movie of the same name about a faded silent screen star named Norma Desmond—in London’s West End when she learned Webber had hired Glenn Close to play the same role for the Los Angeles production.

LuPone accused Webber and his company of orchestrating “what would look to the media like a catfight between two actresses,” she wrote in her 2010 autobiography,Patti LuPone: A Memoir.

Indeed, gossip columns began to report that Webber would replace LuPone, who was under contract to take the show to Broadway, with Close. Though Webber assured LuPone that the rumors weren’t true, she and her team did eventually learn in early 1994—via scoop from late gossip columnist Liz Smith—that Close was in and LuPone was out for the New York debut.

Alastair Muir/Shutterstock

Humiliated and betrayed, LuPone was still under contract to finish her performances in London. “Everybody said, ‘Stay on the stage for the money, stay on the stage to honor your contract,'” LuPone remembers. She did.

“It wasn’t worth it for the emotional toll it took,” says the three-time Tony Award winner. “And so what I’ve learned from that is to simply walk away from something, but it would never happen again.”

Continues the actress, who shares son Joshua, 31, with husband Matt Johnston, 67, “If it did, I would see the warning signs, and I would leave. And it’s just not worth the mental anguish and the emotional anguish that I put my family through, and I went through and I put my husband through, lashing out when we came home because I couldn’t do it there. I couldn’t do it on stage.”

Nearly three decades later, LuPone says she has made peace with what happened. “As I said to somebody else who had just went through some s—, it doesn’t go away,” says LuPone. “It finds a place in your heart, and it’s just there. It’s certainly not [as] predominant as it was.”

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.

Afterquitting the Broadway union Actors’ Equity Associationearlier this year, LuPone says, “I don’t think I will be doing eight shows a week ever again. What I want to do is get back on television, get back in film.”

LuPone is well on her way: In addition to appearing inThe School for Good and Evil, streaming now on Netflix, she also stars in the new season ofAmerican Horror Story: NYC, Wednesdays on FX.

For more on Patti LuPone, pick up the new issue ofPEOPLE.

source: people.com