CONFIRMED: Audra McDonald-led GYPSY to begin previews Nov 2024- Page 22

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/2/24 at 7:44am

Robbie2 said: "Did I hear Shuffle Along? Loved it and Audra was simply sublime and damn that choreography was fire.

Back down memory lane - Here:

Act 1 Finale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ziv9a8ylKYA

Show clips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtMKquSqBko"

Thank you for this!!  Someone above said the show was like a dream, or the memory of the show is like a dream. That's how I feel.  I saw it once and loved it, but the memory is so oddly ephemeral now....

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/2/24 at 10:05am

Aw man... Shuffle Along! That was a show I definitely didn't appreciate as much in the moment as I do now in hindsight. I was at the second preview and thought it was a MESS, but looking back, what a beautiful 3+ hour mess it was. I went back post-opening and it was MUCH tighter and cleaner. I will always cherish seeing that one earlier in the run, though...

[Kad]

Posted: 6/2/24 at 10:16am

Describing Shuffle Along as dreamlike is definitely correct. I remember feeling like I had seen something monumental as I walked out - I was at that first performance after their working hiatus, where every ticket in the house was $40- and then, a few months later, it was gone, as if it never happened at all.

I really hope it gets its due someday, free from all the noise that season that drowned it out and free from the pressure of opening cold and having to develop itself publicly. 

I largely stopped keeping Playbills years ago, but I did save this one, along with the handsome recreation of the program for the original 1920s production of Shuffle Along that came with it.

Updated On: 6/2/24 at 10:16 AM

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 6/2/24 at 4:20pm

BJR said: "And the deafening screams after, Sing out, Louise!"

I apologize in advance. 

[Peter Barker]

Posted: 6/2/24 at 9:39pm

BroadwayNYC2 said: "“When Pearl Bailey was cast inthe role of Dolly Levi, rather than address any racial/social issues,producer David Merrick simply turnedHello, Dolly!into an All Black extravaganza. Pearl Bailey won a special Tony Award. The year was 1967.”

the fact you think this is GOTCHA"

If that's your reaction to a nearly sixty year old theater fact, that's on you. 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 6:17am

Adrienne Warren sang “If Momma Was Married” with Ben Platt as his concert. Foreshadowing? She’s already worked with Audra and the director on Shuffle Along.

[stagepotato]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 7:12am

DramaTeach said: "Adrienne Warren sang “If Momma Was Married” with Ben Platt as his concert. Foreshadowing? She’s already worked with Audra and the directoron Shuffle Along."

I’m assuming coincidental. Platt and his guests and their songs were probably selected well before the Gypsy announcement. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 10:45am

 

[Penna2]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 12:36pm

TaffyDavenport said: "

Needs a lot of work both vocally and dramatically. Her voice doesn't work with this music and didn't get a sense of the character at all. 

"

 

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 12:44pm

Remember that this was just a concert that was almost two years ago. I am sure she has had time since then to familiarize herself more with the character and material. I think she will be able to knock it out of the ballpark come later this year. Audra is a legend! Plain and simple! 

[Kad]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 12:44pm

Penna2 said: "TaffyDavenport said: "

Needs a lot of work both vocally and dramatically. Her voice doesn't work with this music and didn't get a sense of the character at all.

It's safe to assume that how she does the song in a concert is not exactly representative of how she will do it in a production.

 



 

 

 

Updated On: 6/3/24 at 12:44 PM

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 12:45pm

Penna2 said: "TaffyDavenport said: "

Needs a lot of work both vocally and dramatically. Her voice doesn't work with this music and didn't get a sense of the character at all.

This was a concert performance, though, without all of the lead-up from a full evening in character that leads up to the moment. 

 

 

 

""

 

 

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 12:52pm

She hasn't been directed in that video! It doesn't thrill me either, but she's going to have 7 weeks of rehearsal, plus 4 weeks of previews. It's not representative of what her performance on stage will be like.

It's like when people judged Patti's acting choices in GYPSY at Ravinia, which had a few days of rehearsal and was directed by Lonny Price.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 1:01pm

Andy Einhorn is confirmed to be the Music Supervisor/Director, per the casting notice.

For all those throwing out names like Joy Woods or Izzy McCalla or others who are currently employed on Broadway: remember that these casting decisions have to be made this summer, their shows are selling fine and are unlikely to post closing notices in the next few months, and they're currently on one-year contracts. The NOTEBOOK and WATER producers are not going to let their lead actors out of their contracts for a different Broadway show. GYPSY's first rehearsal is September 30, and in an ideal world the principal actors will be fully contracted about 2 months prior to that.

(A two-week vacation/leave of absence to do a show at Encores, for example, is a totally different situation).

Updated On: 6/3/24 at 01:01 PM

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 1:04pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Andy Einhorn is confirmed to be the Music Supervisor/Director, per the casting notice.

For all those throwing out names like Joy Woods or Izzy McCalla or others who are currently employed on Broadway: remember that these casting decisions have to be made this summer, their shows are selling fine and are unlikely to post closing notices in the next few months, and they're currently on one-year contracts. The NOTEBOOK and WATER producers are not going to let their lead actors out of their contracts for a different Broadway show. GYPSY's first rehearsal is September 30, and in an ideal world the principal actors will be fully contracted about 2 months prior to that.

(A two-week vacation/leave of absence to do a show at Encores, for example, is a totally different situation)."

And for these roles, and this specific show, I'd love to see some new faces 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 1:29pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Andy Einhorn is confirmed to be the Music Supervisor/Director, per the casting notice.

For all those throwing out names like Joy Woods or Izzy McCalla or others who are currently employed on Broadway: remember that these casting decisions have to be made this summer, their shows are selling fine and are unlikely to post closing notices in the next few months, and they're currently on one-year contracts. The NOTEBOOK and WATER producers are not going to let their lead actors out of their contracts for a different Broadway show. GYPSY's first rehearsal is September 30, and in an ideal world the principal actors will be fully contracted about 2 months prior to that.

(A two-week vacation/leave of absence to do a show at Encores, for example, is a totally different situation)."

Tulsa will be white, per that casting notice — so there goes my dream of Jared Grimes taking it on. 

Updated On: 6/3/24 at 01:29 PM

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 1:35pm

The description of Louise made me think of Lorna Courtney but I don't know how likely it is 

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 5:41pm

I’m now curious about who could be Audra’s alternate IF she plans to take Sundays or Tuesdays off. Just a thought cause Nicole Scherzinger is likely gonna have an alternate when Sunset opens. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 5:49pm

Nicole Scherzinger's alternate starts October 29, which was made known when tickets went on sale.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 6:38pm

hearthemsing22 said: "The description of Louise made me think of Lorna Courtney but I don't know how likely it is"

She'd be good!

I don't really want to get into a colorism debate over hypotheticals and a casting notice, but just noting that Louise is intended to be a darker-skinned Black woman than June (who is listed as biracial). So with that under consideration, perhaps we should not expect someone with the complexion of Solea Pfeiffer or Isabelle McCalla or Lorna Courtney as Louise. But George Wolfe is the creative genius, not us, and it'll be a matter of seeing how Audra and her daughters look next to each other to serve his vision.

Updated On: 6/3/24 at 06:38 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 6:38pm

Dylan Smith4 said: "I’m now curious about who could be Audra’s alternate IF she plans to take Sundays or Tuesdays off. Just a thought cause Nicole Scherzinger is likely gonna have an alternate when Sunset opens."

Where are you getting the notion that Audra might not be doing Sundays and/or Tuesdays?

8 performances a week are on sale and there is nothing noting that the above-the-title performer will be out, so we should assume that she will be doing all 8.

If she has to eventually reduce to 7 (as she did with PORGY), that would be a different matter and at that point they'd probably just throw the standby/understudy on.

Updated On: 6/3/24 at 06:38 PM

[Lunalaaaaaaaa]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 7:06pm

Strange Lupone said: "Jesse St. James said: "Paul Giamatti is Herbie"

I hope that’s a joke. The NY theatre community has a crazy and ample amount of talented singers and performers who can play Herbie. I can already feel the sparks between Audra and Danny. Or Audra and Norbert. But Paul? I’ll be disappointed."

What about Brian Stokes Mitchell? A girl can dream right?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 7:18pm

Lunalaaaaaaaa said: "What about Brian Stokes Mitchell? A girl can dream right?"

Read the casting notice. The directorial vision is that Herbie is white in this revival.

[Lunalaaaaaaaa]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 7:27pm

Thank you! There goes that. :(

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/3/24 at 11:02pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Lunalaaaaaaaa said: "What about Brian Stokes Mitchell? A girl can dream right?"

Read the casting notice. The directorial vision is that Herbie is white in this revival."

I feel Brian Stokes Mitchell can pass as white or black in terms of just looking by the eye. I recall when I saw him in Kiss Me Kate back in 2000 and Man of La Mancha 2002, I thought he was white (forgive my ignorance.)