GYPSY Previews — Page 15

Jvj24605 said: "QueenAlice said: "It's Louise's dressing room and the set upstages the scene that plays on it."

Louise's opulent dressing room features a stunning portrait of Gypsy Rose Lee that contrasts with the "Look Rich, Feel Rich" billboard/mural that loomsin the background during the (I think) Together, Wherever scene.

Louise is surrounded by a degree of luxurythat Rose could only have dreamed of. I think the set design perfectly helps feedthe disappointment, fury, and pathos that Audra unleashes in hersubsequent Rose's Turn."

Well the set piece distracts from the scene. Which is more important to the story. So... And sorry, yes dressing room. I dunno why I hung on to the word apartment lol.

Updated On: 11/25/24 at 12:42 PM

CurtainsUpat8 said: "I am a playwright with published works. "Gypsy" was written about the experiences of a white woman in a certain situation in a specific time and place. That experience would be different if the character was Black in the same situation and time and place. It would be written differently. You can't shoehorn the two experiences together. It doesn't do anyone any good.
Write a new Gypsy from a Black characters experience. So many of you are just reactive to anything racial and you are so sure that any show can be done by anyone. Yes, it can.. but it's not always going to work...
Write more shows for black people, that truly show the black experience. Gyspy ain't that. Neither are a lot of other shows that are being produced today. You pick a 75 year old show about white people and you wonder why things don't seem right with this new production. Something is off."

Obviously the show would be written differently if the characters were intended to be black, but I really dislike the mindset of "write a new show instead of doing this one." It ignores the obvious issues with modern Broadway producing that a revival of a beloved classic is inherently going to be more enticing that an unknown property - and unfortunately that's even more weighed down by the ghosts of A Strange Loop, which - while critically successful - flopped financially.

I LOVE seeing bold productions of classic shows that make me re-think and re-interrogate the scripts. I would see a production of A Streetcar Named Desire where Blanche was a refugee from Mars in a heartbeat. Some of my absolute favorite productions - the last revival of The Glass Menagerie, which I know was divisive on here, but I found to be a revelation, and Fish's Oklahoma! - were productions that made bold choices with existing material and unearthed new complexities in them and left the scripts virtually intact. Van Hove's Hedda Gabler remains one of my favorite pieces of directing I've ever seen. Even this year's Sunset BLVD is playing with contrasting directorial visions in ways that are both brilliant and ridiculous - sometimes at the same time. Does this mean that there should never be straight-forward productions of the shows again? No, but these productions force you to see them in a new way.

For all of its flaws, this Gypsy is playing with some really great things and exploring what it means for black bodies to inhabit these characters. Does it work all the time? No. Is there a lot of clarifying and fixing to be done throughout previews? Yes. But why not go for it and dive headfirst into an exploration of what this show means in 2024 with our more complex understandings of race and biases in America? It's a fable, not a biography.

I promise you, in 15/20 years, Gypsy will be back on Broadway. You will see it again - this isn't the last production it will ever have. The Mendes production didn't doom the material for all time. This production will work for some and not others. Maybe parts of it will work for you and not others. This board is a place to share each of our thoughts on the production.

Regardless of my qualms about the production (and I have many), I love that this show - and this production, with this vision - is on Broadway.

Updated On: 11/25/24 at 02:08 PM

Does Audra have a gay following? I noticed a lot of gay men this past weekend....or is it that just because gay men love Gypsy?

Updated On: 11/25/24 at 02:31 PM

Sally Durant Plummer said: "CurtainsUpat8 said: "I am a playwright with published works. "Gypsy" was written about the experiences of a white woman in a certain situation in a specific time and place. That experience would be different if the character was Black in the same situation and time and place. It would be written differently. You can't shoehorn the two experiences together. It doesn't do anyone any good.
Write a new Gypsy from a Black characters experience. So many of you are just reactive to anything racial and you are so sure that any show can be done by anyone. Yes, it can.. but it's not always going to work...
Write more shows for black people, that truly show the black experience. Gyspy ain't that. Neither are a lot of other shows that are being produced today. You pick a 75 year old show about white people and you wonder why things don't seem right with this new production. Something is off."

Obviously the show would be written differently if the characters were intended to be black, but I really dislike the mindset of "write a new show instead of doing this one." It ignores the obvious issues with modern Broadway producing that a revival of a beloved classic is inherently going to be more enticing that an unknown property - and unfortunately that's even more weighed down by the ghosts of A Strange Loop, which - while critically successful - flopped financially.

I LOVE seeing bold productions of classic shows that make me re-think and re-interrogate the scripts. I would see a production of A Streetcar Named Desire where Blanche was a refugee from Mars in a heartbeat. Some of my absolute favorite productions - the last revival of The Glass Menagerie, which I know was divisive on here, but I found to be a revelation, and Fish's Oklahoma! - were productions that made bold choices with existing material and unearthed new complexities in them and left the scripts virtually intact. Van Hove's Hedda Gabler remains one of my favorite pieces of directing I've ever seen. Even this year's Sunset BLVD is playing with contrasting directorial visions in ways that are both brilliant and ridiculous - sometimes at the same time. Does this mean that there should never be straight-forward productions of the shows again? No, but these productions force you to see them in a new way.

For all of its flaws, this Gypsy is playing with some really great things and exploring what it means for black bodies to inhabit these characters. Does it work all the time? No. Is there a lot of clarifying and fixing to be done throughout previews? Yes. But why not go for it and dive headfirst into an exploration of what this show means in 2024 with our more complex understandings of race and biases in America? It's a fable, not a biography.

I promise you, in 15/20 years, Gypsy will be back on Broadway. You will see it again - this isn't the last production it will ever have. The Mendes production didn't doom the material for all time. This production will work for some and not others. Maybe parts of it will work for you and not others. This board is a place to share each of our thoughts on the production.

Regardless of my qualms about the production (and I have many), I love that this show - and this production, with this vision - is on Broadway."

This, all of this. Follow the advice in Sally's signature and take a ****in' Valium, the lot of you.

Oy.

You know.... a play or musical belongs to the WRITER(S) of that show. Not the Director or anyone else. I'm not a fan of "blind casting" because... we aren't blind. Words have meanings. Playwrights don't just pull them out of their asses. Again, this musical was written for a specific woman and her family and they are all white. Why doesn't "blind casting" ever work in reverse? Can we cast a white Dorothy in the Wiz? Or a white actor as CoalHouse Walker? No, it would be a betrayal of the playwright. And audiences, like most of the people here, would have a lot to say about that and rightfully so. I have people writing me to ask me if females can play the male characters in my show that I have published. I say NO everytime. I don't care about losing royalties.

The decendents of some of these authors are greedy and should be ashamed of themselves. They don't care what happens with the material as long as they are collecting huge dividends. I am not really talkiing about Gypsy with this comment. It's a general comment.

When you rent a script... you are not even allowed to change a STAGE DIRECTION if it's written in the published script. Of course, I don't agree with that... but the script belongs to the Playwright. Not the Director.

As for Strange Loop... It failed because it was an incredibly awful musical. It was a MESS. I don't care if it won the Pulitzer and the Tony. It was an awful musical on all levels, aside from the amazing actors. The script, the music and lyrics, were terrible.

I couldn't be more liberal. But I have been in this business a long, long time. It's not evolving... it's devolving. It's going backwards.

And yes, Hamilton is brilliant and the casting works incredibly well because it was WRITTEN THAT WAY.... See how that works? It was the intention of the author and he created the piece in a specific way.
You want to know why Kamala lost and Trump won? I was fully supportive of Kamala. Because people look at bull**** like the 1776 from a few years ago and think it's ridiculous. Again, I could not be more liberal but some of what happens on Broadway is absurd. I agree with Bill Maher, who is also a progressive, if you watch him. Some liberals are bat**** crazy.

I suggest before you disparage me., you self reflect on what I am saying.

PS... Wicked also sucks! lol Terrible musical.

CurtainsUpat8 said: "You know.... a play or musical belongs to the WRITER(S) of that show. Not the Director or anyone else. I'm not a fan of "blind casting" because... we aren't blind. Words have meanings. Playwrights don't just pull them out of their asses. Again, this musical was written for a specific woman and her family and they are all white. Why doesn't "blind casting" ever work in reverse? Can we cast a white Dorothy in the Wiz? Or a white actor as CoalHouse Walker? No, it would be a betrayal of the playwright. And audiences, like most of the people here, would have a lot to say about that and rightfully so. I have people writing me to ask me if females can play the male characters in my show that I have published. I say NO everytime. I don't care about losing royalties.

The decendents of some of these authors are greedy and should be ashamed of themselves. They don't care what happens with the material as long as they are collecting huge dividends. I am not really talkiing about Gypsy with this comment. It's a general comment.

When you rent a script... you are not even allowed to change a STAGE DIRECTION if it's written in the published script. Of course, I don't agree with that... but the script belongs to the Playwright. Not the Director.

As for Strange Loop... It failed because it was an incredibly awful musical. It was a MESS. I don't care if it won the Pulitzer and the Tony. It was an awful musical on all levels, aside from the amazing actors. The script, the music and lyrics, were terrible.

I couldn't be more liberal. But I have been in this business a long, long time. It's not evolving... it's devolving. It's going backwards.

And yes, Hamilton is brilliant and the casting works incredibly well because it was WRITTEN THAT WAY.... See how that works? It was the intention of the author and he created the piece in a specific way.
You want to know why Kamala lost and Trump won? I was fully supportive of Kamala. Because people look at bull**** like the 1776 from a few years ago and think it's ridiculous. Again, I could not be more liberal but some of what happens on Broadway is absurd. I agree with Bill Maher, who is also a progressive, if you watch him. Some liberals are bat**** crazy.

I suggest before you disparage me., you self reflect on what I am saying.

PS... Wicked also sucks! lol Terrible musical.

"

I assume this is some sort of troll post, but okay. I assume you think Shakespeare should always be staged like it was hundreds of years ago as well?

CurtainsUpat8 said: "You know.... a play or musical belongs to the WRITER(S) of that show. Not the Director or anyone else. I'm not a fan of "blind casting" because... we aren't blind. Words have meanings. Playwrights don't just pull them out of their asses. Again, this musical was written for a specific woman and her family and they are all white. Why doesn't "blind casting" ever work in reverse? Can we cast a white Dorothy in the Wiz? Or a white actor as CoalHouse Walker? No, it would be a betrayal of the playwright. And audiences, like most of the people here, would have a lot to say about that and rightfully so. I have people writing me to ask me if females can play the male characters in my show that I have published. I say NO everytime. I don't care about losing royalties.

The decendents of some of these authors are greedy and should be ashamed of themselves. They don't care what happens with the material as long as they are collecting huge dividends. I am not really talkiing about Gypsy with this comment. It's a general comment.

When you rent a script... you are not even allowed to change a STAGE DIRECTION if it's written in the published script. Of course, I don't agree with that... but the script belongs to the Playwright. Not the Director.

As for Strange Loop... It failed because it was an incredibly awful musical. It was a MESS. I don't care if it won the Pulitzer and the Tony. It was an awful musical on all levels, aside from the amazing actors. The script, the music and lyrics, were terrible.

I couldn't be more liberal. But I have been in this business a long, long time. It's not evolving... it's devolving. It's going backwards.

And yes, Hamilton is brilliant and the casting works incredibly well because it was WRITTEN THAT WAY.... See how that works? It was the intention of the author and he created the piece in a specific way.
You want to know why Kamala lost and Trump won? I was fully supportive of Kamala. Because people look at bull**** like the 1776 from a few years ago and think it's ridiculous. Again, I could not be more liberal but some of what happens on Broadway is absurd. I agree with Bill Maher, who is also a progressive, if you watch him. Some liberals are bat**** crazy.

I suggest before you disparage me., you self reflect on what I am saying.

PS... Wicked also sucks! lol Terrible musical.

"

I assume you are trying to trigger people with this ridiculous post. Unfortunately for you, it didn’t work.

Nice ageism, bro.

verywellthensigh said: "Nice ageism, bro."

Ageism against young people by patronizing older folks who cannot get over their conservative, reactionary views on art. Who still pearl-clutch over seeing black people in classic musicals.