Finally, we can say, test This year, it seems counterintuitive to cheer for a malignant narcissist, a thieving liar, a fake patriot, and a toxic parent who exploits his children in the desperate pursuit of fame. But if the world has become a sad, dirty circus, we have all the more reason to welcome the solace of art. The amazing Audra McDonald as Rose in what might be the most heartbreaking scene Gypsy You’ll see. This is the fifth Broadway revival of this classic, and the third I’ve witnessed since starring Bernadette Peters and Patty LuPone, and the current version carries thousands of volts of electricity. Charge, landing at the Majestic Hotel with the force of a tornado. McDonald’s is the thunder center of this storm, reminding us that Audra method storm.
Surrender to Hurricane Audra and you’ll find yourself in familiar territory; rather than trying to deconstruct a masterpiece, director George C. Wolfe introduces a key distinction. Macdonald became the first black actress to play Mrs. Rose on Broadway. In Wolfe’s concept, Rose is a black character, as are her daughters who are relentlessly promoted in showbiz, the talented baby Joan (Jordan Tyson) and the introverted Louise (Joy Woods). ——The former’s skin color is obviously lighter. We can assume they are from different fathers; Ross mentions three former husbands. Ross thought Joan was the child most likely to become a vaudeville star.
Wolfe emphasized the theme of whitewash even more when Roth left Seattle after “Some People,” the searing first song from Jules Stine and Stephen Sondheim’s epic score. The mother in Stage Mother stuffed Little Jean and little Louise into Edson and took the show on the road (the talented Marley Gomez and Summer Rae Denny played Little Jean in the show I attended and Louise). In one of several time-collapsing montages created by legendary author Arthur Laurents, Rose and the girls meet three boys on their trip to Los Angeles, each named as they were discovered ( Or kidnapped? ) place names: Little Rock, Tulsa, etc. Each of the talented lads is played by a young black actor. when the child grows up GypsyIn a memorable flash-forward (to a depressing, jazzy cover of “The Star-Spangled Banner”), the boys on stage are replaced by older white actors. Apparently Mrs. Rose thought the show needed a fresh coat of paint.
These gestures toward colorism in popular entertainment of the 1920s and 1930s help underpin Macdonald’s heartbreaking performance as a woman fighting on multiple fronts and only having courage and shamelessness to get through it. To be sure, McDonald’s didn’t turn Rose into a saint. She remains a deluded bigot who lives through her children, depriving them of their freedom, happiness, and even adulthood – in their 20s they claim to be 12 years old. (The real Rose Howick was a lesbian and violent), Rose waved the promise of marriage to her suitor and manager Herbie (Superman Danny Burstein). Rose’s flinching from Herbie’s romantic advances and then using erotic charm to get her way hints at a range of backstories: from trauma to spousal abuse and, yes, orientation.
Another glaring departure is McDonald’s verbal attack. Listen to cast albums from Merman to LuPone and you’ll find Styne’s showbiz ambitions, the touring anthem “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” as well as the more modest songs “Small World” and “You’ll Never Get Away From Me.” , generally requires a head voice. Powerful, sharp, nasal: Ross is aggressive in spirit and song. The classically trained Macdonald has a soft chest voice, a bel canto soprano that creates a cognitive dissonance with her earthy working-class colloquialisms – more like Leontyne Price than Angie La Lansbury. The conflict between Rose, the street fighter, and Rose, who sees herself as a true artist, is perfectly captured in this split. Of course, McDonald’s can still be ugly. In a last-minute “Rose’s Turn,” Rose unleashes a torrent of anger, remorse and recrimination after Louise becomes known as “intellectual stripper” Gypsy Rose Lee and rejects her controlling mother of torrent. The intensity and catharsis of this opera is unmatched by any other musical and will literally flatten you. Macdonald’s performance is raw, desperate, desperate. She pushes Rose to the edge of madness and we’re crazy about it.
Wolfe and Macdonald were doing career-defining work at the height of their musical and dramatic powers. Meticulously conducted by Andy Einhorn and choreographed by Camille A. Brown, this three-hour production is fleeting and leaves you wanting more. How do I define more? I want this director to revisit caroline, or change (which he staged over 20 years ago) and took his leading lady with him. There is no doubt that this amazing Gypsy There will be a wonderful long-term development, but as carnival barkers and clowns have made the jump from comic relief to the halls of power, we all need to be hopeful for the future.
Gypsy | 3 hours. One intermission. | Majestic Theater | 245 West 44th Street | 212-239-6200 | Buy tickets here
