Curtain up! Light the lights! Six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald takes on the role of a lifetime, playing ‘Mama’ Rose Hovick in the classic musical, Gypsy, opening tonight at the newly renovated Majestic Theatre. Read the reviews!
GYPSY, directed by six-time Tony Award-winning Director George C. Wolfe, stars six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, Tony Award Winner Danny Burstein, Joy Woods, Jordan Tyson, Kevin Csolak, Olivier Award winner Lesli Margherita, Lili Thomas, Mylinda Hull, Jacob Ming-Trent, Kyleigh Vickers, Marley Lianne Gomes & Jade Smith, Natalie Wachen and Tryphena Wade.
GYPSY, suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, is Broadway’s ultimate tale of mothers and daughters, ambition and fame, and the lengths we’ll go in pursuit of the American dream. The musical features a book by Tony Award Winner Arthur Laurents, music by Tony and Academy Award Winner Jule Styne, and lyrics by Tony, Grammy, Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize Winner Stephen Sondheim, choreography by four-time Tony Award nominated Camille A. Brown, music direction, music supervision, and additional arrangements by Andy Einhorn, and additional orchestrations and arrangements by Tony Award winner Daryl Waters.
Greg Evans, Deadline: And finally there is the inevitable “Rose’s Turn,” that very definition of the showstopping 11 o’clock number in which Rose’s pent-up ambitions and decades of resentments come roaring to the fore. There’s often a temptation to add one eruption too many – Tyne Daly famously slapped the floor – and McDonald doesn’t sidestep the urge. She plays down the soprano trills successfully enough, but in their place she chews more scenery than might be necessary. There’s no denying her power, here and throughout this revival. Her Rose is her Rose (just as – let’s not forget – her Billie Holiday was her Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill) – and who are we to do anything but treasure its fragrances?
Matt Windman, amNY: However, the text has not been altered to explicitly support this thesis, leaving the racial subtext as an intriguing but peripheral layer to an otherwise outstanding production of one of the greatest musicals. One wonders whether Wolfe intended to develop the concept further and ultimately decided against it, which may have been for the best. I look forward to seeing “Gypsy” on Broadway again in 2040 – but not before attending this remarkable production at least a few more times.
Patrick Ryan, USA Today: McDonald is surrounded by an aces supporting cast: the searing Tyson and precocious Marley Lianne Gomes, who sparkle as older and younger June; and Lesli Margherita, who makes a meal out of her limited stage time as wisecracking stripper Tessie Tura. Woods, too, brings the necessary innocence to Louise, with added moments of depth for the naïve character. You see the seeds of her sensuality blossom in “All I Need is the Girl,” and she imbues “If Momma Was Married” with palpable longing for a life away from the spotlight.
Average Rating:
86.7%
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