CONFIRMED: Audra McDonald-led GYPSY to begin previews Nov 2024 — Page 28

Burkha also outright said most of the stuff Laurents refused to let Mendes do he himself did with the Patti Gypsy.

I'm going to hesitantly throw out a Herbie suggestion who I don't think has been named on this thread yet:

Matthew Broderick.

His stage work is erratic of late but he has two Tonys, isn't above playing second-banana to big performances, has a good recoupment track-record, and might be a best-case scenario if they want a "name". This is the type of role where even if he's not great it probably wouldn't be ruinous to the production. There's also a chance that Wolfe brings out a wonderful performance from him.

Updated On: 7/6/24 at 11:19 PM

Santino Fontana?

In a weird way, can see them all?

Updated On: 7/7/24 at 08:40 AM

Birney would certainly be a more typical sort of casting for Herbie, though he’d obviously be excellent.

Mays is so associated with more showy, flamboyant character roles even in plays like Oslo that it’s hard for me to imagine him as Herbie. He could do it, of course.

Having a younger Herbie like Santino could make some sense, if Wolfe is exploring race here.

The Distinctive Baritone said: "Reed Birney is almost 70…

Of the list provided, Jefferson Mays seems the most “Herbie-ish” to me, and the most believable as a romantic partner to Audra."

At 69, I don't think Reed reads significantly older than Jefferson (59) or Audra (54) or the previously-rumored Giamatti (57). In theory, Herbie could be convincing as 40 or 70 or anywhere in between.

If the pair was a 24-year-old who looked 18 and a 37-year-old who looked 40, this would Maybe not be a Happy Ending

It could also be none of these people! One person posted this unsubstantiated rumor!

Updated On: 7/7/24 at 10:22 AM

Dan6 said: "Wouldn’t J. Harrison Ghee also be on that list?"

It was confirmed earlier Herbie will be played by a white actor.

Accidental double post - delete

Updated On: 7/7/24 at 12:47 PM

I just remembered that he is set to do the West End this fall until November 23.

So I don’t think that would work - at least at first.

I would say those Rylance logistics are definitively impossible: GYPSY begins rehearsal Sept 30 and previews Nov 21; JUNO runs through Nov 23 and I bet there’s another 4-6 weeks built in as an extension. And no way they’re going to push the GYPSY dates by two+ months and refund everyone. This is not a Lea Salonga in HLL “special guest star” situation.

Rylance has been offered many musicals over the years (including pitches to craft a musical around him) so I highly doubt that Herbie — a pretty boring role — is the one that finally makes him say yes.

Some of y’all are sounding a little delulu and not being realistic about the level of name that is attainable for this.

Thanks! Didn't realize that about Oliver, but still doesn't change the Gypsy situation.

A 2025 Broadway bow for JUNO would make sense considering the involvement of Sonia, Rylance, J. Smith Cameron, and Warchus.

I've been let down by Broderick onstage too many times to even muster excitement for that, even as a hypothetical.

Broderick is doing Babbit in Washington DC through October. I expect, that hopes are to bring that to Broadway eventually. It already had an earlier run in San Diego last year.