CONFIRMED: Audra McDonald-led GYPSY to begin previews Nov 2024- Page 36

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

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."

Updated On: 9/11/24 at 11:41 AM

[saxpower]

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.  

[ljay889]

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

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

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. 

[binau]

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. 

[Bill Snibson]

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

[Kad]

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.

[Broadway61004]

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.

[Sutton Ross]

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. 
 

 

Updated On: 9/11/24 at 05:24 PM

[Kavana]

Posted: 9/11/24 at 6:28pm

Ash sees all the theater uploaded the overture

 

Overture

 

[Broadway Flash]

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?  

[TheatreMonkey]

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. 

[Broadway Flash]

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 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

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)

[FANtomFollies]

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...

[Kad]

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.

Updated On: 9/12/24 at 10:59 AM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

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.

[Soaring29]

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. 

 

[TheatreMonkey]

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!)

[BalconyClub]

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.

Updated On: 9/12/24 at 06:57 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

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!

[Broadway Flash]

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

[Soaring29]

Posted: 9/12/24 at 11:02pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bx-p70VmH8  This is the definitive version of Gypsy.

[Penna2]

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.

 

[TBFL]

Posted: 9/13/24 at 12:18am

Broadway 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?