LuPone Bows Out of Ladies' Who Sing Sondheim Benefit; Sold-Out Concert Features Lansbury & More

Patti LuPone has bowed out of The Ladies Who Sing Sondheim, a sold-out benefit for The Acting Company, to be held on April 7 at Broadway's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Conceived and directed by John Doyle, the event will feature a rare musical performance by Angela Lansbury and will star Laura Benanti, Raúl Esparza, Donna McKechnie, Debra Monk, Pamela Myers, Jenna Russell and Barbara Walsh. A spokesman for LuPone says the actress is "a bit under the weather" and is saving her strength for performances of the Broadway revival of Gypsy, in which she stars as Momma Rose.

Founded in 1972 by John Houseman and current producing director Margot Harley, the Acting Company has produced 35 national tours of 129 classic and new plays and performed in 48 states and 10 foreign countries. Its current tour of Orson Welles' Moby Dick Rehearsed and Shakespeare's The Tempest arrives in New York for an off-Broadway run in May. The Company gives young classically trained actors the opportunity to perform the classics while bringing theater into under-served communities and into disadvantaged school systems. Its alumni roster of over 300 includes LuPone, Kevin Kline, Frances Conroy, Jesse L. Martin, Harriet Harris, Tom Hewitt, Keith David, Rainn Wilson and Jeffrey Wright.