GYPSY Previews- Page 23

[Penna2]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 12:48am

ManOfLaMuncha said: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGROi4dwqU8



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMpSQV1-bsA



belting~I hope Audra can let loose and do it without injuring her voice, no doubt she has the power to do it~"

As a few people have posted here, it isn't about power, it's just about training. No reason for her to injure her voice. Minelli's version is better than Audra's IMO. The shift from head to chest doesn't work for Maybe This Time. Someone mentioned Marin Mazzie and I was listening to her renditions of So In Love and Losing My Mind and the way she used her voice was simply amazing. She would have been one hell of a Rose.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 10:37am

CarlosAlberto said: "Robbie2 said: "DaveyG said: "It is truly shocking that the house lights are still up during the Overture. Blasphemy."

That's being changed by tomorrow night!"

Can they change Joy Woods by tomorrow night? Just sayin’…."

Looks like they're giving her a full media push instead:

Everything’s Coming Up Joy Woods

The Broadway breakout has a voice for the ages. Now, she’s taking on one of the greatest musicals of all time: Gypsy.

 https://www.vulture.com/article/joy-woods-gypsy-the-notebook-broadway-interview.html

Updated On: 12/13/24 at 10:37 AM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 10:51am

Also, from the above:

"Woods’s production will be the first Broadway version of Gypsy to feature a Black family, but this is not “color-blind casting” — a phrase often incorrectly thrown around at shows like Hamilton that feature nontraditional but extremely intentional casting. The family’s Blackness is central to director George C. Wolfe’s vision. In his version, Rose’s neuroses are amplified by very real systemic racism, and her preference for June is heightened by the fact that the actress playing her (Jordan Tyson) is mixed race while Woods is a dark-skinned Black woman. Louise’s strips are also explicitly influenced by Josephine Baker. “There are a lot of things in this production that make it the Black Gypsy,” Woods says, “but they’re only really available to Black eyes.”"

I'm sorry, but other than the Josephine Baker influence, none of this is landing from what's presented onstage. I understand the intention, but it's not coming across at all.

[OhHiii]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 11:01am

If the strip doesn't land, the entire journey of Louise, and thus, Rose's arc is blown to smithereens. You're meant to see an ugly duckling step into power we haven't seen through the rest of the show. And as a result, the turning point in Rose's sanity.

Joy was strongest in the dressing room scene, but it's unearned. 

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 11:03am

So far nothing’s been announced about Audra not performing all shows, right?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 11:05am

OhHiii said: "If the strip doesn't land, the entire journey of Louise, and thus, Rose's arc is blown to smithereens. You're meant to see an ugly duckling step into power we haven't seen through the rest of the show. And as a result, the turning point in Rose's sanity.

Joy was strongest in the dressing room scene, but it's unearned."

Joy has TOO much of a transformation between acts 1 and 2 imo, but then not enough of a change within the second act. She enters for Wherever We Go so much more poised and confident than in act one with her quirky mannerisms gone, when she should still be figuring herself out.

(the dressing room scene was less effective for me)

[OhHiii]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 11:08am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "OhHiii said: "If the strip doesn't land, the entire journey of Louise, and thus, Rose's arc is blown to smithereens. You're meant to see an ugly duckling step into power we haven't seen through the rest of the show. And as a result, the turning point in Rose's sanity.

Joy was strongest in the dressing room scene, but it's unearned."

Joy has TOO much of a transformation between acts 1 and 2 imo, but then not enough of a change within the second act. She enters for Wherever We Go so much more poised and confident than in act one with her quirky mannerisms gone, when she should still be figuring herself out.

(the dressing room scene was less effective for me)"

I'll be honest and say that going in I expected Joy to be a knockout based on reports of her performance/the viral My Days videos. Maybe she isn't given enough to work with here, but it made me seriously question the hype around her being a star of tomorrow. She felt out of her depth somehow. Jordan ran circles around her. Partly by nature of the roles, but I kept wanting June back on stage through Act 2. A problem.

[binau]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 11:15am

Agreed. I was expecting someone that would make Laura Benanti forgettable because there is so much hype around them but it felt to me like an understudy who has gone on for the first time without weeks and weeks of rehearsal. 

I do wonder if George C Wolfe might have lost a little bit of touch though. I am fully satisfied with Audra’s performance all things considered but feels like there is so many missteps across the production that it seems unfair to blame any one individual except for the leadership who ultimately has perhaps taken things the wrong way. 

[Lola Getz2]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 11:34am

Since so many have noted that Wolfe uses his preview period as an extended rehearsal period (but still charging huge prices for the privilege to watch his "process"), has anyone who has been back since early previews notice significant changes to this production yet? 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 11:38am

Jordan did two pages back in post #512. He said there were no discernible changes.

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 11:41am

The issues with the Strip sequence aren't based in the actor, they're based in the changes made to the structure of the number. There are four "Performances" in the strip - the first time Gypsy goes onstage in Witchita, the Philadelphia Strip where she is growing in confidence, the Detroit strip, where her stage persona is more polished, and then the Minsky's strip, where she is a fully-formed star. (I think the city names changed a bit from production to production?) Each of these has a monologue and a bit of singing attached to it and we watch Louise's act evolve from nervous stammers to flawlessly-delivered stand-up comedy. Wolfe changes this. He puts the monologue from the Minsky's section into the Detroit section and climaxes the strip with a Josephine Baker dance number. And we are told, repeatedly, that Louise cannot sing and cannot dance. That she has no talent. that's the whole point of her arc, that she finds a talent that's not the ones that her mother values. If she can dance the whole time, she has talent, and it makes no sense! No knock on Joy Woods, necessarily, and since I saw the show on the first preview, when the quick changes were still not fully worked out in their timings (I imagine this has improved). I'm not sure if this choice was driven by Wolfe's conception or by wanting to show off Joy Woods' skills as a dancer (which she absolutely has) but in either case it's not a great call. It's the one scene where I was really let down by Wolfe's concept, which I generally liked quite a lot, and it seriously affected my opinion on the production. 

[Lola Getz2]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 11:44am

MemorableUserName said: "Jordan did two pages back in post#512. He said there were no discernible changes."

 

Thanks, missed that post. 

 

[Kad]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 11:46am

I'm picking up tickets for me and my mom for Christmas week, and we found tickets in row C of the center mezz a few seats off the aisle (C111-112) that are less than half the price of all the seats around them (seats in row B and other seats in center row C are $421, these were $196). I've never seen a price discrepancy like that for comparable seats- and this is on Telecharge directly with no promo codes applied. It looks like there's an aisle seat in center row C on 12/25 that is $176 while everything else in the row is $421, as well. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, but is there any discernible reason for this sizable price difference?

Updated On: 12/13/24 at 11:46 AM

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 12:05pm

that might be a coding error that you found...grab em before they fix it! L'chaim!

[Huss417]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 1:05pm

Kad said: "I'm picking up tickets for me and my mom for Christmas week, and we found tickets in row C of the center mezz a few seats off the aisle (C111-112) that are less than half the price of all the seats around them (seats in row B and other seats in center row C are $421, these were $196). I've never seen a price discrepancy like that for comparable seats- and this is on Telecharge directly with no promo codes applied. It looks like there's an aisle seat in center row C on 12/25 that is $176 while everything else in the row is $421, as well. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, but is there any discernible reason for this sizable price difference?"

I had the same thing happen when I saw Oh Mary! Seats on either side of mine were 355.00 and the two I bought were 225.00. I also didnt think twice but just grabbed them. First I thought they were possibly returns purchased prior to the seats going up in price but never could figure out why.

[saxpower]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 1:09pm

With the renovations and everything done to the Majestic (which unless I've missed it, haven't really heard anyone comment on them...) I'm really surprised to see this.

I (probably like most here) had only been in the Majestic previously for Phantom, so its difficult to compare.  The theatre definitely looks gorgeous.  The men's room, at least was spacious and appeared new (I saw Phantom soon after the post-COVID reopening and I remember it being more crowded),

That said, the seats (which were apprently replaced, based on comparing Phantom and Gypsy photos on View from My Seat) are still quite time.  Leg room was fine (I'm about 6 feet) but I was shoulder to shoulder with the person next to me (and neither of us were large people). 

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 1:09pm

Huss417 said: "Kad said: "I'm picking up tickets for me and my mom for Christmas week, and we found tickets in row C of the center mezz a few seats off the aisle (C111-112) that are less than half the price of all the seats around them (seats in row B and other seats in center row C are $421, these were $196). I've never seen a price discrepancy like that for comparable seats- and this is on Telecharge directly with no promo codes applied. It looks like there's an aisle seat in center row C on 12/25 that is $176 while everything else in the row is $421, as well. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, but is there any discernible reason for this sizable price difference?"

I had the same thing happen when I saw Oh Mary! Seats on either side of mine were 355.00 and the two I bought were 225.00. I also didnt think twice but just grabbed them. First I thought they were possibly returns purchased prior to the seats going up in price but never could figure out why."

Same with Othello during the AMEX presale. 

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 1:54pm

To paraphrase Star Wars (a SW reference on a Bway board?):

This isn’t the Gypsy you’re looking for.

Full disclosure: when I first heard of this production and the casting I thought it was miscast. However, leaving that aside I was fortunate to pick up tickets to it on Wednesday night.  A bit concerned that a two show day would tax their voices especially since they’re still in previews and conceivably rehearsing during the day.

That being said I thought it was a solid production for the most part, however, NOT the production everyone was expecting.  This is a Gypsy for 2025, although I believe it’s not what the original creatives intended for this show.  It made me wonder if this particular production had been the first production of Gypsy as to whether the show itself would be as heralded as it is.

You can see it in the show ads in the subway, it’s about FAMILY, not Rose.  Yes she is the center of the family but her drive is to get her girls ahead which kinda falls at the end during Rose’s Turn because it’s not the pay off for the storyline they’ve been telling for the 2+ hours beforehand.  It’s a kinder gentler Rose, not the backstage scheming mom we come to expect, everything is about her children so the ending doesn’t quite fit.  Add to it dreary dowdy costumes and the leads tend to blend into the background. 

Ppl have talked about Joy Woods, I liked her.  Yeah, she doesn’t have much time to go from mousey 2nd banana to striptease star but the performance I saw she made it work.  I also did mind the choreography and thought the Garden of Eden number still works.

Audra can hit all the notes, the question is whether you can appareciate what she does to the songs. She’s not belting like previous Rose’s but is adequate.  Now is adequate enough for a role or this stature?  unfortunately, I don’t think so but I think it’s the Directors fault not the preformers.

Am I glad a saw it, yes, but it made me long for other Rose’s of the past and want to hear and see them command the stage.

The orchestra started exactly at 8 while the lights were still up and the production ended at 10:55.  I wonder if they have the orchestra start on time so they can be out by 11.  I don’t see this production getting any tighter because Audra’s choices in various scenes are just too time consuming and I suspect they need filler for other scenes (like what’s with the dancing road signs? And do we really need a car for such a brief interlude?)

[OhHiii]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 5:29pm

ChairinMain said: "The issues with the Strip sequence aren't based in the actor, they're based in the changes made to the structure of the number."

It's can be and is both of these things. She's not delivering much of anything in that number. The staging isn't helping her, but it's built around her. The strip as a whole isn't landing and to say the actress isn't integral in that is funny. Even so, her journey just isn't there through the entire show. People can disagree, that's fine. And it may be that, like Audra's vocal performance sits with some of us, Joy's strength is in what she displayed in The Notebook. She doesn't get to do the vocal pyrotechnics here which are undeniably impressive.  

[ManOfLaMuncha]

Posted: 12/13/24 at 11:43pm

verywellthensigh said: "Still the definitive "Roses":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUI2cYJQRhU"

 

That was hilarious.  I saw it on Broadway and loved it.  We happened to be near the Tony awards when stars were entering and my friend screamed "Rita Moreno, you wild woman!"  She turned and hugged him and he lifted her up at the velvet rope next to carpet.  I was at the store and bought the nytimes and that snap shot was in the paper.  The only part of my friend Joey in the pic was his arm lol.  I cut it out and put it in a clear plastic folder and he kept showing people that his arm was in the new york times haha~

 

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 12/14/24 at 12:30am

Robbie2 said: "DaveyG said: "It is truly shocking that the house lights are still up during the Overture. Blasphemy."



That's being changed by tomorrow night!"

First time seeing the show tonight so I can't compare to the previous previews, but I can confirm that yes, right at 8 on the dot, the house lights dimmed, a spot came over the conductor, he bowed and the overture began. Lots of people still trickling in, so still something they need to work out there, but the lights were definitely dimmed.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/14/24 at 7:07am

Broadway61004 said: "Robbie2 said: "DaveyG said: "It is truly shocking that the house lights are still up during the Overture. Blasphemy."



That's being changed by tomorrow night!"

First time seeing the show tonight so I can't compare to the previous previews, but I can confirm that yes, right at 8 on the dot, the house lights dimmed, a spot came over the conductor, he bowed and the overture began. Lots of people still trickling in, so still something they need to work out there, but the lights were definitely dimmed."

Well, HALLELUJAH AND PRAISE THE LORD! About time they made this change. A minor, but important tweak that should have been implemented MUCH earlier in the preview process...

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 12/14/24 at 1:42pm

ManOfLaMuncha said: "verywellthensigh said: "Still the definitive "Roses":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUI2cYJQRhU"



That was hilarious. I saw it on Broadway and loved it. We happened to be near the Tony awards when stars were entering and my friend screamed "Rita Moreno, you wild woman!" She turned and hugged him and he lifted her up at the velvet rope next to carpet. I was at the store and bought the nytimes and that snap shot was in the paper. The only part of my friend Joey in the pic was his arm lol. I cut it out and put it in a clear plastic folder and he kept showing people that his arm was in the new york times haha~

"

In all seriousness, I think Moreno would have made a genuinely good Mama Rose. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 12/14/24 at 1:47pm

verywellthensigh said: "In all seriousness, I think Moreno would have made a genuinely good Mama Rose."

Same here. She would have been terrifying, funny, and incredibly sexy. At a minimum she would have sung it as well as or better than Daly.

Timing would have had to be in the 70s-80s, around the time of the Lansbury or Daly revivals, which was kind of a fallow period for Rita post-THE RITZ.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 12/14/24 at 1:49pm

Broadway61004 said: "Robbie2 said: "DaveyG said: "It is truly shocking that the house lights are still up during the Overture. Blasphemy."



That's being changed by tomorrow night!"

First time seeing the show tonight so I can't compare to the previous previews, but I can confirm that yes, right at 8 on the dot, the house lights dimmed, a spot came over the conductor, he bowed and the overture began. Lots of people still trickling in, so still something they need to work out there, but the lights were definitely dimmed."

:) yup and hear they are working on letting people in 5 minutes earlier and getting everyone seated right before 8 as the overture is now starting then sharp-lights dimmed!