#76
Posted: 12/20/24 at 3:59am
Wow. What a night for the past, present, and future of American Theater!
AUDRA GYPSY Reviews — Page 4
#77
Posted: 12/20/24 at 4:07am
These reviews are insane, Audra is clearly above criticism at this point.
#78
Posted: 12/20/24 at 5:31am
These reviews are certainly surprising. Sara Holdren nails it for me as usual. I still don’t think Audra’s vocals fit the character and often sat outside of the characterization. But there’s no doubt she delivers a force of a performance. The production is what sags.
And honestly not surprising critical reaction is generally out of touch with what everyday audience members are saying (not just on this board, but in word of mouth circles and show-score). It’s kind of a microcosm of how the media is out of touch with the public on most things these days.
All that to say, I’m happy for all involved. We have to applaud the hard work that has gone into it. And they’ll be employed for a good stretch after these reviews I have no doubt.
Updated On: 12/20/24 at 05:31 AM
#79
Posted: 12/20/24 at 5:32am
Dolly80 said: "These reviews are insane, Audra is clearly above criticism at this point."
Above criticism? That's not even true. She's under heavy scrutiny. The raves that she is receiving meticulously examine and dismantle the nuts and bolts of her performance, including how often and where she switches from chest voice to head voice. Were you wishing that she'd be universally panned? Well, no - THAT DID NOT HAPPEN.
#80
Posted: 12/20/24 at 7:04am
OhHiii said: "And honestly not surprising critical reaction is generally out of touch with what everyday audience members are saying (not just on this board, but in word of mouth circles and show-score). It’s kind of a microcosm of how the media is out of touch with the public on most things these days."
I wonder just how "out of touch" critical reaction really is with everyday audience members versus those individuals with specific expectations for Gypsy. While there are only 83 ratings at Show-Score, 79% are positive, 16% are mixed, and only 5% are negative. So critical reaction is not really that far ahead of these ratings.
#81
Posted: 12/20/24 at 7:43am
Chris Jones of NY Daily News wrote in his review: "This “Gypsy” (playing across the street from “The Hills of California,” which could not have been written without it), is yet another reminder of the sacrifices show-folk make: the heartbreak,"
Last time I checked, Hills/Calif was next door, not across the street.
#82
Posted: 12/20/24 at 7:47am
I saw it in the middle of preview and absolutely loved it. I thought Audra absolutely nailed the role of grit and determination, and even Gypsy’s transformation seemed believable to me. Similar to other people here who loved it, I had never seen Gypsy before, nor familiar with the story line but I have seen a lot of musicals in the last few years so I’m not new to the genre. The comments here all made me questions if I was seeing the same show as everyone else here.
It seems rather surprising to me to see comments here that the only reason it could’ve gotten such good reviews is that the media is out of touch or that the reviewers are afraid to speak the truth.
I saw it with someone who had seen Patti LuPone in Gypsy and another who grew up listening to Ethel Merman on recordings and seen previous versions. Both thought this is the best version of Gypsy they had seen/heard. Taste is certainly subjective but I felt bad for all those people who posted that they decided not to see it based on the bad reviews here.
#83
Posted: 12/20/24 at 7:50am
Tevin Three wrote partially, "...including how often and where she switches from chest voice to head voice."
Not being a musician, I didn't know there was a difference and curious how it sounds. Learned something new.
#84
Posted: 12/20/24 at 8:11am
JasonC3 said: "OhHiii said: "And honestly not surprising critical reaction is generally out of touch with what everyday audience members are saying (not just on this board, but in word of mouth circles and show-score). It’s kind of a microcosm of how the media is out of touch with the public on most things these days."
I wonder just how "out of touch" critical reaction really is with everyday audience members versus those individuals with specific expectations for Gypsy. While there are only 83 ratings at Show-Score, 79% are positive, 16% are mixed, and only 5% are negative. So critical reaction is not really that far ahead of these ratings."
It’s objective fact that responses to this production on this board (and yes on show score) are more mixed and polarized than these wall to wall raves. But ok.
#85
Posted: 12/20/24 at 8:23am
Taken in their entirety, the reviews do reflect the board's reservations. I started with Deadline last night, and maybe because it parses the very issues that have driven the debate here, it seemed to be the best overall take on this revival's strengths and vulnerabilities, fully endorsing the production's success. And that last paragraph of the Green take, which brings up an inevitability: any revival of Gypsy conjures memories of all of the others. Every other Rose is unavoidably in the Majestic with the audience. Musical theater devotees bring the Merman-thru-Lupone readings and vocal performances with them, in their heads. We can try to ignore them, but they're present. It's not like Lear; where line readings disappear into the ether; defining signatures of each Rose anoint the glorious recordings. Green nails the honest need to grapple with great singing actors who've played it, and the oft-restaged first Robbins frame on the story. With that caveat, the reviews strike me as honest, fair, and again, not entirely inconsistent with the preview takeaways.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
Updated On: 12/20/24 at 08:23 AM
#86
Posted: 12/20/24 at 8:33am
OhHiii said: "It’s objective fact that responses to this production on this board (and yes on show score) are more mixed and polarized than these wall to wall raves. But ok."
Defensive much?
I didn't say you were wrong. I said I wonder—as in I don't know but am curious to see—how much of a disconnect there is between the critical response and "everyday audience members" (your words).
People on this board are not everyday audience members.
Updated On: 12/20/24 at 08:33 AM
#87
Posted: 12/20/24 at 8:56am
These reviews are surprising but I am over the moon happy for Audra! I don't know why Jesse Greene felt he had to bend himself over backwards to justify George C Wolf's concept. I don't understand this protection of Joy Woods where no one actually said she was great (in fact some of my favorite critics almost completely ignored her) but no one spoke about how essentially mediocre she is in the role. I like how Sarah Haldren dissected and commented on how the concept doesn't work, however. But even she gave more kudos to Woods than she deserved. But again, these reviews cement Audra as probably theatrical history's greatest Rose. So I'm very happy.
#88
Posted: 12/20/24 at 9:00am
Can anyone please post the “shareable” NYT review? Thank you so much in advance.
Happy Holidays
#89
Posted: 12/20/24 at 9:01am
Almost no critic would be willing to pan this production, let's just leave it at that.
#90
Posted: 12/20/24 at 9:08am
Yet some in this board are dumb enough to make comments like that. Let’s not leave it at that. Go ahead, explain why. Use your words.
#91
Posted: 12/20/24 at 9:18am
Owen22 said: "These reviews are surprising but I am over the moon happy for Audra! I don't know why Jesse Greene felt he had to bend himself over backwards to justify George C Wolf's concept. I don't understand this protection of Joy Woods where no one actually said she was great (in fact some of my favorite criticsalmost completely ignored her) but no one spoke about how essentially mediocre she is in the role. I like how Sarah Haldren dissected and commented on how the concept doesn't work, however. But even she gave more kudos to Woods than she deserved. But again, these reviews cement Audra as probably theatrical history'sgreatest Rose. SoI'm very happy."
I'm not sure, reading the review, that Jesse Greene UNDERSTOOD the concept.
He writes: ". Race is real but not the point and not even solid-state. (When the newsboys age up, they go from Black to white.)"
That's not -- what's happening. This production gets rid of the strobe light and goes to great lengths to make it VERY clear that Rose is replacing the young Black boys with older white ones.
#92
Posted: 12/20/24 at 9:25am
HunterK said: "Can anyone please post the “shareable” NYT review? Thank you so much in advance.
Happy Holidays"
NYT review (gift link)
Updated On: 12/20/24 at 09:25 AM
#93
Posted: 12/20/24 at 9:31am
To me these reviews are very comparable to those of Sunset Blvd. Everyone seems to agree there is a must-see performance from the lead, but some reviewers have issues with the direction/production.
#94
Posted: 12/20/24 at 9:43am
In a way, yes the reviews are comparable. In another way, 14 Positive/1 Mixed/1 Negative for Gypsy and 7 Positive/8 Mixed/1 Negative for Sunset, according to didtheylikeit.
The framing is also somewhat useful. Nicole is "the performance of the season" in her reviews (and her performance received glaring reservations in NYT). Audra is "the performance of a lifetime". It'll be close, but I don't see how Audra didn't just take primacy in the race to Tony.
Also have to say, nowhere else have I read a group as negative on this production as this message board. They're more positive on ATC. They're more positive on social media. And the people I know in real life have definitely had much better experiences than those in here.
Theatrely had my favorite comment: "I thought I was a Gypsy purist, ready to disavow a new take on the show and cross my arms at McDonald’s attempts. But maybe to be a purist here is not to hold onto individual entry points into a long-beloved show, but to trust the material, trust the talent, and let the fabulous story – it’s not subtitled A Musical Fable for nothing – do its thing."
#95
Posted: 12/20/24 at 10:02am
pagereynolds said: "Owen22 said: "These reviews are surprising but I am over the moon happy for Audra! I don't know why Jesse Greene felt he had to bend himself over backwards to justify George C Wolf's concept. I don't understand this protection of Joy Woods where no one actually said she was great (in fact some of my favorite criticsalmost completely ignored her) but no one spoke about how essentially mediocre she is in the role. I like how Sarah Haldren dissected and commented on how the concept doesn't work, however. But even she gave more kudos to Woods than she deserved. But again, these reviews cement Audra as probably theatrical history'sgreatest Rose. SoI'm very happy."
I'm not sure, reading the review, that Jesse Greene UNDERSTOOD the concept.
He writes: ". Race is real but not the point and not even solid-state. (When the newsboys age up, they go from Black to white.)"
That's not -- what's happening. This production gets rid of the strobe light and goes to great lengths to make it VERY clear that Rose is replacing the young Black boys with older white ones."
I guess my point is that it is an incomplete or unfulfilled concept. As for Greene not understanding the concept... I personally do not think there is anything there to really understand besides some surface conceits. For Wolfe to actually completely demonstrate what he was going for (without changing a word of the book) he would almost have to take a Daniel Fish deconstruction of the piece which would no longer make it commercial.
#96
Posted: 12/20/24 at 10:29am
Just read Sara Holden's review at Vulture. Wow.
Single best and most insightful review of Gypsy that I've ever read, and my first Gypsy was London, June 1973, with the Lansbury Rose. The analysis of the artistic disconnect baked into any production - Rose has zero cash to create theatrical magic, yet the vehicle around her has plenty, so the newsboy shtick is framed in heavy B'way accoutrements - is so spot on, it's shocking that we haven't confronted it before. A Gypsy with genuine grit in its verisimilitude would illustrate the poverty, offer a capture of the stakes beyond stolen flatware and pet chow. No one dares, and here, maybe - as Holden brilliantly argues - an opportunity was missed to remint the Rose-Gypsy origin story with more accuracy about being poor in America. The story's real focus is a class of citizens suffering from chronic want and hoping that dreamy ambition not only lifts lives but pays the bills. That more honest Gypsy remains to be seen, but I so appreciate Holden's beautifully shaped, detailed deconstruction of the show and the case made for a needed infusion of reality.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
#97
Posted: 12/20/24 at 10:32am
The microaggressions in these comments from, no doubt, white folks claiming that the concept doesn't work is truly hysterical. And instead of reading the raves and saying, "Well, maybe I missed something," they ignore their own small mindedness and continue to dig their own graves. Well, guess what. Audra is a hit. The show is a hit. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it.
Updated On: 12/20/24 at 10:32 AM
#98
Posted: 12/20/24 at 10:45am
RememberTheDay said: "The microagressions in these comments from, no doubt, white folks claiming that the concept doesn't work is truly hysterical. And instead of reading the raves and saying, "Well, maybe I missed something," they ignore their own small mindedness andcontinue to dig their own graves. Well, guess what. Audra is a hit. The show is a hit. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it."
Here we go again. People are allowed to dislike things that you like and are allowed to have different experiences with the material than you. I didn't think the show worked, but glad others did.
And the assumption that all of us who think the concept doesn't land are white is actually embarrassing for you.
Updated On: 12/20/24 at 10:45 AM
#99
Posted: 12/20/24 at 10:45am
RAVES......
I was the show last week and it is fantastic.......Audra is sensational.
RUN, RUN RUN to get tickets.
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