Patti LuPone may be a Broadway legend who’s won three Tony Awards, but hasn’t prevented her from feeling the sting of ageism.
In a recent interview with Mashable, the 73-year-old actress and singer revealed that she’d reached out about appearing in the new season of musical-theatre spoof “Schmigadoon!” — but was rebuffed because of her age.
The second season of the comedy series — dubbed “Schmcago” — spoofs the musicals of Stephen Sondheim, with whom LuPone worked on numerous occasions, in such classic Broadway hits as “Company” and “Sweeney Todd”.
Given her pedigree, she was asked whether she was approached.
“I wanted to be in ‘Schmigadoon!’, and I was too old,” LuPone said.
Asked to clarify, she responded, “Exactly what I said. We reached out to them and said I want to be in ‘Schmigadoon!’. They said, ‘Sorry. You’re too old.’”
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Interestingly, her rejection may not have just been ageist, but also sexist, given that Martin Short — who, like LuPone, is 73 — was cast in the show.
“It’s so sad. And it’s depressing,” she said of the rejection, before declaring, “It’s their loss! I don’t know what else to say. I so wanted to be in it!”