GYPSY Previews — Page 25

ManOfLaMuncha said: "I was just on youtube and this new Rita Moreno Googie Gomez came up out of nowhere lol ....hilarious. It is from a fundraiser or something in L.A. hehe~~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C6H2iufYrw

It’s not new, this is from 2011.

theblackumbrella said: "Leslie Uggams, Whoopi Goldberg, Jenifer Lewis as Madame Armfeldt?"

Phylicia Rashad seems like an obvious choice as well.

Rashad would be well into her 80's the next time this show is revived, for everyone who complains Rose is always played by someone too old for the role. My dream ever since hearing this is for Olivia Coleman to play Rose. Obviously, this sample of her singing isn't a perfect fit for the character buy she DOES sing and I wonder if she could pull it off. She'd be a incredible.

Oh. Well that's different lol. And would be great.

Out of obligation I also have to throw Bernadette's name into the ring for Madame Armfeldt.

Okay, I didn't write a review after I saw the show a few weeks ago, both because most of my thoughts had been covered by others and I was hoping they would make changes. But since it sounds like they haven't made changes, and there's one aspect that hasn't been mentioned enough...:

I'd never seen a fully staged production of Gypsy, though I'm familiar with the material. I thought it was...fine. It was competent. It was also lifeless. It played like a museum piece, an adequate presentation that gives a respectable idea of the show without justifying its existence or demonstrating why this is supposed to be the greatest musical. There was a moment during "Everything's Coming Up..." when Audra was working furiously, and I was kind of getting into it just watching her, but then I glanced over at Burstein standing in place with no discernible expression, and Woods standing there with her shoulders slumped and curved inward, a blank, glazed look on her face like she'd gone numb, neither of them really reacting to what Audra was doing, and I thought that was the production in a nutshell. Nothing was connecting, even among the performers onstage. The fact that that huge stage was so sparsely decorated, forcing Audra to work harder to generate energy on that big empty stage, didn't help. But then the sets often felt too small for the stage. (The "Rose" sign in "Rose's Turn" was pathetically small and one of the saddest things I've ever seen. I'm sure some will argue there was a point to it, like a Black woman in this time period would know that there's a limit to her dreams so she can't imagine anything larger than that even in a fantasy, but it just seemed part of how small everything felt.)

The only signs of life in the show, IMO, came from Brittney Johnson in the very minor role of Agnes/Amanda. When she came onstage, I was immediately like, "Oh. Who's that?" I learned afterward she was Glinda in Wicked a few years back, and I wish I had seen her now. It's such a small part, but I hope she gets some notices in the reviews. Every time she was onstage it seemed like she was making the most of the least, and while everyone else was dutifully going through the paces, she actually seemed like a living, breathing person, with joy and energy and life. I wanted more of her and hope to see her in a better production of something in the future.

Updated On: 12/16/24 at 05:21 PM

The current rating on show score has this below back to the future. eek. I am so curious how long the grosses will remain high for.

Also, I noticed Cole Escola at one of the early previews (the Monday night). Several audience members approached them to compliment ‘oh, Mary!

I guess regardless of reviews Gypsy is a bit like gay mecca!!!

I also thought it was a specific choice to make the set look small, and it sort of harkened back to the "flatness" of the sets that might've been used in that era (though I don't know if it's actually historically accurate). There are some scenes like Grantziger's office and the Garden of Eden sets that do actually fill the stage, which makes sense because those are more lavish settings. I thought the dressing room could've been larger though (they seemed a little cramped there) and it drove me a little crazy they made some entrances/exits off the "fourth wall" of the dressing room. But I suppose it has to be able to disappear fairly quickly so Rose's Turn can happen.

Am I the only one who liked the set? This musical is constantly moving cities and spaces, more than a suggestion of the locations is an unreasonable expectation. They were a little too squeaky clean for my liking and the stage did look enormous but I didn’t think they looked cheap or bad.

Updated On: 12/16/24 at 10:05 PM

Helping “Gypsy” ’s Strippers Take It All Off Anew

George C. Wolfe finds inspiration for his production—starring Audra McDonald as Broadway’s first Black Mama Rose—watching the pasties twirl at a burlesque show.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/11/25/helping-gypsys-strippers-take-it-all-off-anew

Just got in from 2nd to last preview. Wanted to see the changes before opening this week. A few thoughts, overall the show has been cleaned up nicely and for me is firing on all cylinders now. The clarity the creative team worked through is just fantastic. I disagree with the previous post above there were and are tons of laughs that are mined the restaurant scene was a riot while she was stealing the silverware.

House lights dim at the top of the overture, people definitely still talked and are seated. I don't understand why folx on this board want a silent theatre, that ain't gonna happen and I don't think it's necessary, it got rousing applause as the orchestra finished before the curtain rose. Overall the show is clean and tight.

Some changes I noticed: The choreography has been fleshed out in more than a few moments but it is always done towards an eye for the storytelling and not just for dance or choreography sake. The change over from baby to dainty June and the farmboys is a little more fleshed out now. The costumes (the overalls in particular) have been distressed as I knew they would be. Rose now removes Louise from the line intentionally, taking the Abe Lincoln hat and gives it to one of the white boy dancers. She puts Louise in the back, then comes back with a American flag, puts her off to the side SR. When she returns to the other side of the stage, she made Louise pull the flag down to cover her face, and Gahdayumm it was it heartbreaking looking at Joy's face. That bit of story telling alone was so clear and the choreography worked great.

Everyone's acting has taken leaps forward from already well on their way performances. The transition into If mama was married was beautiful and Jordyn was on fire pretty much seething before they went into the song. Joy and Jordyn have found a lovely bond and I felt for them so much. I thought Kevin was much better tonight. His All I Need Is The Girl dance solo was fantastic and I still wish it got applause at the end (but I have a theory about that, will share later, gonna piss some folx off I'm sure but it's just a theory.) Then way Joy is choreographed now to find her way into joining him has also been redone and has grown and feels more natural and lovely to watch them. I thought Joy's acting in Everything Coming Up Roses was especially interesting in ways, I had not seen before. Audra is practically squeezing the life outta her at one point, and the fear in her eyes and desperation in Audra's was a gut-wrenching end to Act 1!

Act 2 - The Toreable's number has been cleaned up quite a bit and now feels like its clean for the show, but a very bad act for the troupe. It's just clearer. You Gotta Have a Gimmick was great. The ladies are showstoppers. The strip worked so much better for me tonight, the transformation starting when she takes off the 2nd glove and drops the shoulder strap. Joy has done some WORK and I am very proud of her and the team for the growth over this month. The Garden of Eden still looks great and again I wish the choreography got applause at the end of the dance break.(same theory). The transformation into Gypsy Rose Lee worked for me this time. The dressing room scene works great, Joy is digging and I thought she had many lovely new discoveries and it is a deeper richer performance than I saw at 6th preview. I personally wish she had stronger acting chops, but it works. It's not the most intense Gypsy Rose Lee we have seen in that scene however it is more than enough of a foil to launch Rose into her turn.

Okay my theory as a trained dancer since childhood....

I think although not all culturally specific the choreography looks different on white bodies than it does on Black bodies. I think this is a Camille thing (problem?) tbh, everyone has commented about how the numbers aren't better than the original and they don't feel something with them. I honestly think it's because except for Garden of Eden and even then it is mostly white men doing a lot of the choreography and it just looks different on their bodies. Not to say it is all choreographed in some specific Black style and the dancers are doing a phenomenal job, but the soul of the moves don't always translate as performed. I just feel that if it were mostly dancers of color the audience response and the kinesthetic response from the numbers would be different. Also they don't have ending buttons (Tulsa's solo and GOE particularly) and that drives me insane as a director and choreographer. I don't have a solution or a fix for it, but after seeing it twice this is my observation and theory. I don't think the choreography is bad though, I will say that. If anything is is uniquely period choreography and that might be part of it's constraints overall in audience reception. I was reminded of when I see white dancers in the Alvin Ailey company, obviously that company is mostly Black and Brown people with the occasional white dancer but because Revelations is so culturally specific when you see white dancers do it, it feels like it ain't got all the sauce on it even if they are killing it and they ALWAYS kill it cause AILEY!

Audra has deepend every moment, it's thrilling and heartbreaking to watch. She sounds simply amazing, and the higher register was as strong as ever and was her belt. What a powerhouse titan performance. It is the most human and thoroughly lived in Rose I have ever seen. She has excavated something in this character audiences have never seen before and that is truly exciting.

Looking forward to what the critics say on Thursday. What time is the press embargo lifted, does anyone know?

Updated On: 12/18/24 at 12:15 AM

Thanks for the in-depth thoughts, Ohara! I could've sworn on Friday she didn't drop a shoulder strap but glad to hear that's fixed, though I did notice the lack of button on All I Need is the Girl which also seemed strange to me.

I heard that the embargo is midnight so we might be waiting around for a bit before reviews come out.