AUDRA GYPSY Reviews — Page 23

VanillaIceCream2 said: "Has anyone sat in a box for this production? I'm leaning away from purchasing a box ticket because I don't want to be so far to the side, but I'd like to consider all of my affordable-ish options."

I'm going tonight and if I can remember I'll check out the view from the boxes before the show or during intermission.

TellZ said: "VanillaIceCream2 said: "Has anyone sat in a box for this production? I'm leaning away from purchasing a box ticket because I don't want to be so far to the side, but I'd like to consider all of my affordable-ish options."

If the GIMMICK code is valid for your performance, run that promo code on Telecharge and pick something else. You can get row A or B mezz on the sides for cheaper than a box and a guaranteed better view. The box seats in the Majestic are extreme side views."

However a lot of this show is staged further downstage, so the view from the boxes is better than it traditionally would be.

I saw this last night. I went in with low expectations and somehow was still extremely disappointed. What a tacky, cheap and messy production this was. The sets, costumes and lighting were all hideous and didn't feel period-specific at all. There were also many sound issues especially at the beginning with Uncle Jocko - I think his big collar kept hitting his mic, not sure why there are major sound issues this far into the run. I have no idea why this production insisted on adding boring extended dance breaks that just ruined the pacing of the show. The show is long enough we don't need to extend it!

I agreed with almost everything negative that has been said about the production but I feel alone in my opinion that Jordan Tyson was horrible. It was the most deranged, over-the-top caricature of Baby June I have ever seen or heard. I felt the same way about the 3 strippers, where it feels like we are at a point where every new production of Gypsy must have more and more deranged and crazier performances from June and the strippers. Now that I think of it, the entire production lacked subtlety except for Joy Woods and Danny Burstein, whose performances were so small they barely registered.

This production actually really reminded me of the recent Sweeney Todd revival where it felt like there was no director. Every performance and design choice seems to be in it's own world with no consistent vision or point of view. I left really feeling nothing, including from Audra. I think she has all the ingredients for a great Rose (and I actually loved 90% of her vocals) but the production just sabotaged her at every turn.

On my recent trip to NYC I saw this show twice and loved it. Surprised by the negative reviews on this board. I wouldn't say the production is perfect, the strippers are a bit over the top for example, but it's hard to imagine anyone not enjoying this production and Audra's performance. From the very beginning, her version of Rose draws you in and you see and understand her flaws but at the same time you are rooting for her!

Audra's Zoe Caldwell story/impression on her instagram is great.

Seems inevitable that someday she will play Callas in MASTER CLASS, given her association with that play, with McNally, and with Kirdahy.

Does anyone know if Audra McDonald has any vacation weeks scheduled yet?

I hope to god they have or are secretly recording a cast recording and release it unexpectedly. We need Audra's vocals in a studio ASAP.

I actually LOVE Jordan Tyson's choices as June -- driven to madness by her mother, forced to perform girlhood onstage with no end in sight -- but she's certainly taking a big swing and I get why other people wouldn't like it. I particularly love her reaction to Louise saying that Herbie only cares about the act and doesn't want to marry Rose, just absolute deranged disbelief.

I went back to the show this weekend (inlovewithjerryherman, I think we were at the same performance) and while I think Joy Woods has improved a lot since I first saw it in mid-previews, she just isn't a match for Audra. In the dressing room scene, she powered through her monologue like a steamroller but without feeling like they came from her character, just reciting words she'd memorized, and gave Audra no space to react.

I’m really fascinated by the amount of posters who think “All I Need is the Girl” doesn’t work in this production. Kevin Csolak is almost overwhelmingly charismatic in that song (if not technically the strongest singer) and it got the next biggest round of applause after Rose’s two numbers both times I saw it. Maybe because I’m not a Gypsy purist, but I thought it was dynamite and danced to perfection.

I didn’t mind the garden but the ending to the strip was terrible. The audience gave it a timid applause. They were trying to be different but it didn’t work as a whole piece

I wouldn't say it does nothing to show Louise's desire to be with him. It's very clear she likes him, even though she doesn't pantomime dancing with him like in prior productions (which I agree is a weird choice to cut this).

Too bad the Garden of Eden sequence doesn't show Louise's talent (or lack thereof), it just marks time without adding anything to Louise's arc (even while shredding her dialogue in the Strip to pieces).

I saw this near the end of previews in rear orchestra and gave my review earlier, but what it basically amounted to was that while I enjoyed Audra's performance very much, I found pacing to be an issue and the show overall felt a little sluggish (despite some great musical performances).

This past weekend I got a front row lottery ticket (off to the side) and wow has my perspective changed. The stage is a great height for being so close, and I really felt immersed in the action and everything felt dialed up a notch. I'm not sure how much of this is just the time that they had to refine performances and everything and how much was being up close, but I didn't find a single moment that dragged.

Audra is of course Audra, but she's even more magnetic up close, and knowing what to expect, it was fun to watch her before she makes herself known with "sing out, Louise". But her Rose's Turn absolutely devastated me even more than before, and I thought her relationships with Herbie and Louise felt more genuine and lived in.

To me, it seems like Joy Woods does more nuanced acting up close, so I did appreciate her characterization of Louise much more when I was 5 feet away from her and I felt that I understood her more. I saw more of her yearning during All I Need is the Girl--they remove the part where Tulsa talks about lifting the girl and Louise imagines herself being lifted, but she does mirror some of his motions and I think it's still clear she's imagining herself to be that girl (though it was far less clear from my first vantage point). I still wish they could've taken a bit more time to let the strip sequence breathe a bit more, but I think it was easier to see the bridge between Louise and Gypsy Rose Lee. I found a lot more subtext in the post-Rose's Turn scene and overall found the show to be magnificent.

I was a bit surprised at how unanimous the raves were when reviews came out, but if all the critics got prime seats in the first few rows, I totally understand why they felt that way now.