GYPSY Previews — Page 20

I am a voice teacher and i have been for decades. At the University level and a private studio. It doesn't mean I know everything.  Let me say I have not seen the show, so I know a lot of people will jump on me for that, but I have heard plenty of audio of Audra ( who I love!) singing.

This observation is for other voice teachers.

I don't believe Audra is belting at all... or very little if she is. She is "belting" in the same space as her head voice resonates. That is not a belt.  That is bringing your chest voice up higher.

I have worked with many, many "legit" "Opera" singers...  many of them have had it ingrained in them that BELTING is bad, "Don't do it! You'll hurt your voice".....  They are afraid!  I believe Audra is falling into this trap.  She CAN BELT... I know she can... she is choosing not to, imho.  Or maybe she doesn't "get" how to belt and needs a coach.

Yes, I understand Audra is incredibly talented and could care less about my opinon of her voice,  but I am convinced this is what is happening. She isn't belting, because she is afraid she is going th hurt her voice and she is doing everything in her vocal bag of tricks to NOT belt... and it's a wrong choice. If she let go with a real belt.. I think we would all be surprised. I'd love to work with her for one hour to get her to belt.

Just passing opinions on - my friend saw it last night and had all the same complaints that I, and many others here, have had. Cheap/sloppy design, Audra is miscast, choreography is bad, loved the Gimmick Girls, etc. Our biggest difference is that I thought Joy was fine and she just lacked chemistry with the cast. They HATED Joy and thought she was a terribly weak performance. 
 

Though I’m happy to report that some other friends of mine did love the show all around. Seems this will just be a really divided one. 

FANtomFollies said: "Has anyone gone more than once yet? Really curious if they are making changes or if the show is still 'messy' as many folks reported in early previews."

 

Nope as we go next weekend. What's with curtain call and house lights during overture....any changes with that?

Jordan Catalano said: "Someone the the other day said the overture is still starting while people are being seated."

It is.  Unfortunately it sets the tone for an unbalanced evening .  This production is full of little fixable things that don’t seem to be going anywhere.  Still… much to enjoy .  But not at these prices.  Not sure I needed another Gypsy just yet.

Updated On: 12/7/24 at 04:35 PM

CurtainsUpat8 said: "I am a voice teacher and i have been for decades...I have worked with many, many "legit" "Opera" singers... many of them have had it ingrained in them that BELTING is bad, "Don't do it! You'll hurt your voice"..... They are afraid! I believe Audra is falling into this trap. She CAN BELT... I know she can... she is choosing not to, imho. Or maybe she doesn't "get" how to belt and needs a coach....I'd love to work with her for one hour to get her to belt."

This is genuinely one of the most hilarious things I've ever read on this board. 

Putting that aside, I saw this earlier this week on a rush ticket and had a great time. Audra was fabulous and captivating to watch (as always). I loved hearing her sing this role and am excited to see it again once they are open and more settled in. The way Jordan sang during the Farmboys sequence had me mouth agape, loved it. I do wish that the Garden of Eden strip was taken in a different direction, but on the only I had a lovely night at the theatre (except for the gentleman behind me (in the second row) who was plastered and slept/snored through the entirety of the show only to wake up during intermission, drink more wine, and fall back asleep. Fortunately, he did wake up to watch Together Wherever We Go and exclaim very loudly how amazing Audra was. Then he fell back asleep and snored his way through the rest of the act...haha)

Saw this tonight. Clocked in at 2:50 

It felt a LOT like Funny Girl pre Les Michele to me. A show that needs … something. Joy Woods and Audra bring it, but otherwise it is missing something. I can see the Audra miscast belief because she plays Rose as much more angsty but it worked for me. 

its a ho-hum revival, not bringing all that much, but at its center is one of the best stage performers of our time, so what is everyone complaining about?

yes, audra's voice doesnt "fit" the two big numbers that close each act of the show--at least not in the way we are used to. she is definitely belting and doing some great things with her chest-voice throughout, but those big closing numbers are lilt-y and operatic and i get it doesnt sit right in the ear of someone who is familiar with the score. but it doesnt sound bad, it sounds different. and regardless, shes giving a piercing, fully-invested and mostly PERFECT performance for 2.5+ hours. Its truly fantastic- I have only seen Patti LuPone, but Audra brings a sensitivity and vulnerability just beneath the bravado that is pure joy to watch. Her Rose is funny, whipsmart, and just batty enough to be tragic/dangerous. She is excellent and y'all are nuts if you're letting her soprano get in the way of seeing it. Rose's Turn is a psychotic break that few can pull off. Give Audra her due.

With Audra burning at its center, the show relies on little else. I know some have tried to read some racial commentary here, and there were a few lines from Audra where I detected a bit of it, but overall its just a totally straightforward, unoriginal but perfectly adequate revival of a show that many love but i find mostly OK. the sets are fine, the dancing is fine, the cast is very large but there are no big numbers to show them all off at once so the curtain call seemed like a prank. (they did a U shape with Audra/Danny/Joy in the center and towards the back, which felt odd?)

Danny Burstein is great as expected in what always seems to be a relatively thankless small role. Jordan Tyson is better than great in a normally more forgetful role. I wasn't enamored with anyone else, really. Joy Woods does well as the ugly duckling ("Momma Got Married" was a knockout from the two of them) but the production is really unkind to her- she doesnt emerge into a butterfly, she rather awkwardly and suddenly turns into a whole new person. They dont really have her slowly strip, which I thought was the whole point, she just emerges in this tiny costume and then she closes the number with a vocal whimper despite having one of the best voices on Broadway today. Truly strange. 

Still, it doesnt bug me to have a traditional revival of a classic, with a legitimate star in the lead--I found myself relieved to see a show that wasnt trying too hard. With That Other Show across the street doing EVERYTHING TO BE DIFFERENT AND NEW, there is some comfort in just a lot of talented people singing some classics and acting the hell out of a familiar story. 

We sat at the very back of the front mezz- the theater was packed and enthusiastic. Roses Turn got a long and passionate standing ovation, well deserved. The Majestic looks gorgeous (i was last inside it in 1988 or something!) but i had not realized the orchestra is so sloped. 

Updated On: 12/8/24 at 12:00 AM

Sure, I guess you could rationalize the overture this way. Personally, I wanted the house lights to dim and be washed over by those first horns of what we know is the greatest musical overture of all time and feel the excitement of an audience ready to see something great…sadly it all started abruptly while the house lights were up, people were talking, finding their seats, taking off their coats etc etc… it wasn’t unti the “ You’ll Never Get Away from Me” section when things quieted and the house lights slowly went out. It just set the tone and kinda made the evening feel a little less Broadway and a bit more amateur for me. I get that they are trying to avoid paying OT for crossing the 3hr mark. I can’t remember? Does “Gypsy” always push the three hour mark? Are there areas to be cut?

Heather Headley! 

La Chanze and Celia? 

I saw the show last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. The timing of the overture and the lighting were as previously described, and a proper curtain call was blocked last night.

After reading the comments, I tempered my expectations, but I found this production to be strong overall. Despite the run time, the show moved along at a good pace, and I was never bored—unlike during other productions of "Gypsy." A few summers ago, I saw the Shaw Festival's revival with Kate Hennig as Rose, which dragged on. Some scenes from the book seemed to have been trimmed or tightened for pacing.

Audra is definitely putting her own stamp on this role, and it's working well. Joy's portrayal of Louise during the strip number still needs some work; this is one area where the pacing feels rushed, making it difficult to build her character's rise to stardom. However, the dressing room scene was better last night compared to previous reports.

The Gimmick women delivered strong performances, and Lesli was fantastic, though I was slightly underwhelmed given the other posts that heralded her as the show-stealer and suggested she was a frontrunner for a Tony win.

Updated On: 12/8/24 at 09:37 AM

I don’t think Audra is the issue here. She’s not conventional, but she works, and she sells most of the big moments. Her vocals are interesting, if sometimes jarring because of the transpositions. There are A LOT of other problems, some of which weigh her down. I can’t put my finger on it but it just feels off. Rose feels a little less central to this production, AND the other roles don’t feel elevated?

After all the ballyhooing about race and colorism, my mind really never focused on that.

The production has a Louise problem. Joy isn’t there yet in act 2. Maybe she’ll be there in 6 weeks but I doubt she’ll be there by opening night. I actually liked her better in act one as an awkward noodly girl. The ending and the dressing room scene don’t land. The “new” Laurents ending really is superior but was also building upon those two volcanic performances. Laura Benanti is both an Actor and a musical theatre performer…....maybe Joy is just a musical theatre performer.

Louise's Strip is failed by some of the new arrangements & choreo. It is written to build and it doesn’t…but it climaxes in a dance sequence that shows her off as more talented than we previously were aware of?? With that sequence, there’s always an element of “how far will she go??” From where I was sitting — not exactly close — she was very clearly wearing a leotard that was poorly matched to her skin tone, killing any suspense. Obviously productions should cater to actors’ comfort levels, but this specific element feels like a failure of costuming.

All I Need Is The Girl also doesn’t work because of the dance arrangement and choreo and actor. Louise is basically just a bystander, so there is no romantic heartbreak? I wonder if it was a deliberate decision to cast someone who cannot sing Tulsa and has no special zing? (Leaning into the “mediocre white men can do anything” idea)

Everything else is a mixed bag. Danny’s fine but Herbie feels like a smaller character than normal here. The two Junes are standouts, which is kind of a problem when you miss June in act 2. Odd design: Sometimes there are flats, sometimes there are lavishly designed units, and sometimes it’s more vague. I could have actually used less set.

I am very curious to see what Jesse Green and Sara Holdren and Stephen Suskin and others think of this production. With more time, most problems would be fixable, but they don’t have time.

Updated On: 12/8/24 at 11:45 AM

Great points by Emrmengarde re the Strip, Joy Woods, Tulsa, and the way the Baby Junes steal the show.  I had forgotten how Tulsa's number is staged so Louise is in the background, and how the betrayal/tragedy of his departure is completely lost here. Its also true that Audra's Rose feels more like part of an ensemble (in 2008 it was The Patti Show stop to finish) but also none of the supporting characters stand out somehow? 

I guess I just found Audra's actual performance thrilling enough to carry me through. 

And I too found Lesli Margherita underwhelming--shes great, and makes a meal out of her role, but she hardly steals the show and is way over the top before shes joined by the other ladies (Lili Thomas' vocals stole the actual number).