CONFIRMED: Audra McDonald-led GYPSY to begin previews Nov 2024- Page 36
CONFIRMED: Audra McDonald-led GYPSY to begin previews Nov 2024
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#875
Posted: 9/11/24 at 11:41am
This line from the Majestic reno press release struck me as odd. By what metric is this true??
"Guests were invited on stage to experience the original orchestrations from Gypsy with a 26-piece orchestra, which have not been heard live in nearly 60 years."
The original orchestration for the show was restored in 2011 and premiered at the Lyric Theatre in Texas (including the reinstatement of a guitar part cut prior to Broadway). There have been slight modifications over the years, but to most ears the GYPSY orchestration has remained iconic since the original. The 08 revival had a 26-piece orchestra, the 03 revival had a 24-piece orchestra, and the 89 revival had a 25-piece orchestra.
From the 2011 article on the restored orchestration:
"When the show opened at the Broadway Theatre in 1959, Jule Styne had orchestrators Sid Ramin and Robert Ginzler use a string section that consisted of violins, cellos, and bass. After the initial Broadway run closed, the orchestration was adjusted to allow for theatres to use a more conventional string section division. For the Lyric Stage production, Jule Styne's estate and Sid Ramin himself have not only given permission for the original Gypsy cello parts to be restored, but an originally written acoustic guitar part, cut before the first rehearsal due to budget and seating capacity of the pit, will finally be heard. Lyric Stage's production will form the basis for the Jule Styne estate's work on the critical edition of the score, and it's quite a thrill that Lyric Stage audiences will soon be part of this major step in the restoration of one of the greatest scores in American musical theatre."
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#876
Posted: 9/11/24 at 1:13pm
He does qualify as a Tony winner (for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Catch Me If You Can) who has done drag (in Is He Dead?). I think he's a great choice for Herbie.
Is Danny Burstein doing anything? He's won a Tony and would have appeared "in drag" for the "Honey Bun" sequence in South Pacific.
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#877
Posted: 9/11/24 at 2:43pm
Butz and Burstein are both bland choices for this role, IMO. They are also capable of tackling more challenging roles.
As someone else had said, Herbie would be best for a Film/TV name that has done some theater in the past.
Also, that's a relief they're using the original orchestrations. The "new" Staunton orchestrations/reduction were pretty dreadful.
Updated On: 9/11/24 at 02:43 PM
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#878
Posted: 9/11/24 at 3:29pm
Of course it is sensible to offer Herbie and/or Louise to actors with box office clout, but you must remember that in the grand scheme of things these roles aren’t THAT great. They are very much in support of Rose. And nobody of legitimate fame should want to be below the title on something being billed as AUDRA GYPSY. And throwing money at most actors will not solve that problem, in-demand actors turn down a lot of stuff.
Tony winners like Burstein or Butz would be an absolute best case scenario at this point. If the producers aren’t close to a deal with someone of value, now’s the time to stop dreaming and go with a good journeyman actor who auditioned.
Has anyone seen a production of GYPSY that lived or died on its Herbie or Louise? I have not.
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#879
Posted: 9/11/24 at 3:36pm
I agree with everything you say Ermengarde but I would say that Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti did give a good case for their unusually strong contributions to Patti's GYPSY. If this production can capture that again I will be (very pleasantly) surprised.
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#880
Posted: 9/11/24 at 3:42pm
The show sure doesn't hinge on the Herbie but a bit of exciting casting of the role, especially for this revival, could be a get...
Sam Rockwell
Chris Dowd
Bobby Cannavale
Patrick Wilson
BDJ
Too bad Denis O'Hare has aged out...He would be tremendous
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#881
Posted: 9/11/24 at 4:48pm
If they do go with a "name," it's certainly not going to be a bigger name than Audra. It would throw off expectations and the dynamics of the show.
Louise could accommodate star casting a bit more, but Herbie just doesn't have that much to do to entice a big celebrity onboard.
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#882
Posted: 9/11/24 at 5:03pm
Bill Snibson said: "Too bad Denis O'Hare has aged out...He would be tremendous"
I'd hardly say he's aged out. He's only 8 years older than Audra, which for this era in particular, would be a very common age gap.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#883
Posted: 9/11/24 at 5:24pm
Is Danny Burstein doing anything? He's won a Tony and would have appeared "in drag" for the "Honey Bun" sequence in South Pacific."
I always enjoy seeing Danny but I think the role of Herbie would be wasted on someone as tremendous and talented as he is.
Featured Actor Joined: 5/16/03
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#884
Posted: 9/11/24 at 6:28pm
Ash sees all the theater uploaded the overture
Overture
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#885
Posted: 9/12/24 at 3:06am
26 piece orchestra, two less than Phantom. When you’re already at 26, might as well just go to 28. Isn’t that the union minimum?
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#886
Posted: 9/12/24 at 3:13am
...because the orchestrations are for 26 players. And it appears that's the union minimum for the Majestic, too.
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#887
Posted: 9/12/24 at 10:15am
Ohhh I just saw ermengardestopsniveling’s post on this. I didn’t realize that was the original orchestration. Good for them, I hope they don’t skimp on the scenery and costumes
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#888
Posted: 9/12/24 at 10:32am
House minimum for the Majestic is 18 IIRC. 20+ minimums are a thing of the past (and frankly are prohibitive for shows with a different style of music)
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#889
Posted: 9/12/24 at 10:59am
I can't seem to find who the design team is for this? I seem to remember Santo Loquasto as the set designer but maybe I'm remembering wrong...
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#890
Posted: 9/12/24 at 10:59am
FANtomFollies said: "I can't seem to find who the design team is for this? I seem to remember Santo Loquasto as the set designer but maybe I'm remembering wrong..."
I don't think they ever announced creatives other than Wolfe and Camille A. Brown.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#891
Posted: 9/12/24 at 11:10am
Designers weren’t announced but someone on here claimed it was Santo Loquasto (scenic), Toni-Leslie James (costumes), Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer (lighting), and Scott Lehrer (sound), which is more or less Wolfe’s go-to team of the past decade and all would be very right for this show.
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#892
Posted: 9/12/24 at 4:10pm
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Of course it is sensible to offer Herbie and/or Louise to actors with box office clout, but you must remember that in the grand scheme of things these roles aren’t THAT great. They are very much in support of Rose. And nobody of legitimate fame should want to be below the title on something being billed as AUDRA GYPSY. And throwing money at most actors will not solve that problem, in-demand actors turn down a lot of stuff.
Tony winners like Burstein or Butz would be an absolute best case scenario at this point. If the producers aren’t close to a deal with someone of value, now’s the time to stop dreaming and go with agood journeyman actor who auditioned.
Has anyone seen a production of GYPSY that lived or died on its Herbie or Louise? I have not."
I think Louise is a central part of the story- without her transformation, the play doesn't make sense. Herbie is also important in terms of understanding Rose's conflicting motivations.
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#893
Posted: 9/12/24 at 4:29pm
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "House minimum for the Majestic is 18 IIRC. 20+ minimums are a thing of the past (and frankly are prohibitive for shows with a different style of music)"
I did some more digging, and you're correct -- before the negotiations in 2003, the minimum was 26, but then changed to 18. And that number could not be altered for a decade -- there's been no apparent change either since that decade elapsed in 2013. (Google's AI search overview needs to learn context!)
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#894
Posted: 9/12/24 at 6:57pm
One reason I keep watching Survivor season after season is to see the difficult relationships, backstabbing, and ugly competition.
I want to petition CBS to place 18 BWW posters on the show. As always, there will be be contestants we love and contestants we hate.
Immunity competitions could include painting a theatre interior, playing GYPSY’s trumpet music, or reciting Herbie’s Act 2 dialogue in reverse.
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#895
Posted: 9/12/24 at 7:01pm
BalconyClub said: "One reason I keep watching Survivor season after season is to see the difficult relationships, backstabbing, and ugly competition.
I want to petition CBS to place18 BWW posters on the show. As always, there will be be contestants we love and contestants we hate.
Immunity competitions could include painting a theatre interior, playing GYPSY’s trumpet music, or reciting Herbie’s Act 2 dialogue in reverse."
Get Andy Blankenbuehler to host, as he is, IMO, Jeff Probst's B'way doppelgänger!
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#896
Posted: 9/12/24 at 8:08pm
They will need to bring in tons and tons of money if they want to recoup. This is going to be a big show. They have to get people to pay full price, no discount tickets. It’ll be interesting to see if Sunset Blvd ends up at Tkts
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#897
Posted: 9/12/24 at 11:02pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bx-p70VmH8 This is the definitive version of Gypsy.
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#898
Posted: 9/13/24 at 12:16am
Soaring29 said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Of course it is sensible to offer Herbie and/or Louise to actors with box office clout, but you must remember that in the grand scheme of things these roles aren’t THAT great. They are very much in support of Rose. And nobody of legitimate fame should want to be below the title on something being billed as AUDRA GYPSY. And throwing money at most actors will not solve that problem, in-demand actors turn down a lot of stuff.
Tony winners like Burstein or Butz would be an absolute best case scenario at this point. If the producers aren’t close to a deal with someone of value, now’s the time to stop dreaming and go with agood journeyman actor who auditioned.
Has anyone seen a production of GYPSY that lived or died on its Herbie or Louise? I have not."
I think Louise is a central part of the story- without her transformation, the play doesn't make sense. Herbie is also important in terms of understanding Rose's conflicting motivations.
AND the show is called Gypsy, not Rose.
Audra McDonald-led GYPSY for 2024-2025 Season!#899
Posted: 9/13/24 at 12:18amBroadway Flash said: "They will need to bring in tons and tons of money if they want to recoup. This is going to be a big show. They have to get people to pay full price, no discount tickets. It’ll be interesting to see if Sunset Blvd ends up at Tkts"
Has there ever been a show at that theatre, that hasnt been at Tkts?
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