GYPSY Previews — Page 7

pagereynolds said: "I actually thought Danny was stunning. He was already wonderful casting, but he really found and made Herbie a real person."

He was swallowed by this production.

Have seen Audra multiple times on stage...Ragtime, Marie Christine and Lady Day were top-tier performances for me, Porgy and Bess/Shuffle Along and 110


I’ve seen most of these: they were all better than tonight. I’ve never gone to an Audra performance and thought, she’s finding her way. I’ve seen her in an early previews of each of those shows and thought: she’s got it. Especially her Bess, which I saw her early on in Boston.

I wasn’t there, but a shame to hear about the passarelle/sightline issues.

These old houses are pretty rigid. The only way to create intimacy is to bring the audience forward, not pull the stage out. If the show doesn’t work from nearly every zone of the theatre, it’s a failure of the director, designer, AND producer and GM. (Looking at you, too, MHE.)

As for some of these other reports…Many of us warned you that GCW first previews are notoriously messy and long and not a representation of the finished show! Looking forward to seeing it in December.

Play Esq. said: "Have seen Audra multiple times on stage...Ragtime, Marie Christine and Lady Day were top-tierperformancesfor me, Porgy and Bess/Shuffle Along and 110


I’ve seen most of these: they were all better than tonight. I’ve never gone to an Audra performance and thought, she’s finding her way. I’ve seen her in an early previews of each of those shows and thought: she’s got it. Especially her Bess, which I saw her early on in Boston.
"

Happy to respectfully disagree. Plus, I would much rather have a compelling, thought-out performance by someone "finding her way" then a performance that seems predetermined and over directed, with every vocal trick and gesture predetermined from the get-go.

It was a first preview. Cut her some damn slack."

No. Her’s was a perfectly fine performance, for someone who isn’t Audra. Enjoy your perfectly fine performance and come back and tell us how much you enjoyed it.

My point about Lenk is that she never seemed totally comfortable vocally in the role and I saw her do it three times.

I agree that this is similar to Lenk, though I thought Lenk acted Company much better than Audra acted Gypsy. And I saw Lenk’s first preview as well as much later in her run. Lenk never really clicked with the vocals and I don’t think Audra will here either.

My goodness these reviews are making me so sad. I got to see La LuPone, La Daly, and La Lavin on Broadway as "Madam" (NOT Mama!) Rose and they were all various forms of wonderful.

Here's hoping that Audra finds her way. I bet that while she's sad about Steve not being able to see it, she's happy to be spared the kind of tongue lashing La Buckley got down at the Papermill! Oy Gevalt that scene with the two of them and Art Laurents sounded BRUTAL.

I thought tonight was particularly thrilling. I've always loved Audra and I admit I was side eyeing when I first heard she would be Rose. Those ideas changed pretty quickly. One thing the bitter people in the back need to hear is that it's ok to have different voices playing roles that are "only for brassy belters". Audra sang in her voice , but with the fire and passion of Rose. Here voice also gave the ballads and introspective moments such lusciousness.



I agree that she's obviously working out the character still, but she has more than just foundation there. Tying all her individual scenes together and finding the pacing and beats is most of what's left to do. Whoever said she looked bored was not watching the same show. Gypsy is a role that women dream of play even when they're young, and certainly one that rests on then shoulders of its star. Audra wouldn't be there is she didn't care deeply about this.



I couldn't tell if it was the direction or the acting choices that Joy made which left me wanting more. I've never had the pleasure of seeing her perform live, so I have nothing to compare it to. I'll say her stand out was the last part of "Let me entertain you". By time show opens , I think there will be big improvements.

Danny Burstein was solid, and there was great chemistry between the three of them. The "Best Actor" category won't be a blood bath like "Best Actress". A nom would make sense but I don't see a Tony.



Kevin Csolak as Tulsa... I really hope he was just nervous. I am almost sure he had to be, because I refuse to believe that's his performance capabilities. I do have to say his song and dance was the weakest portion of tonight's performance.



There is one amazing and effective set piece in the show. The rest was what you would expect from a good regional theater. Skilled craftsmen, but the budget isn't large enough. So there's really no excuse for productions with this much money invested. They should not be lacking in set design.



The actress playing June was very good, until she got to her monologue about Rose messing up her life. For whatever reason that part just isn't polished yet. That also tumbled into "If mama was married", so the energy seemed off.



Who ever stated that the dance is mediocre was right. It was serviceable, but didn't add much.



The last thing I'll share, and hopefully there are other black folx in here who can respond to this. When rumors were first going around, and I learned the direction of the show I was definitely interested. I don't think they leaned enough into the topic of colorism (also racism), which was supposedly one of the focal points of the production. There were SEVERAL moments that could have been played and were very necessary, but they weren't used, or didn't read.



PS- Audra ate that score up. I don't care what you think you know. I don't care if you think she can only play lyrical ingenues. Hell, if you've ever watched her sing "Daddy's Son", you'd know her voice has more than enough power and drama. One of the thing's Audra is known for is her strong soprano mixed voice notes. The texture of her voice is really pleasing as well. Rebecca Luker I feel like had a similar feeling. Like the spinto and lyric sopranos of 30s-50s Bway. Once she's comfortable in front of the audience, which she definitely knows is filled with people who will come in already thinking she's miscast, she will be able to focus on how she does Rose. That's when we will see her really shine.

Updated On: 11/22/24 at 02:40 AM

Did anyone else notice some bits of dialogue that didn’t sound familiar? I also have no idea where they got this new musical introduction to “Small World” from. I don’t think it’s from “Mama’s Talkin Soft.”

I know Gypsy doesn’t call for an extravagant set, but it’s a pity how cheap and unappealing the sets are here. The 2008 revival took some crap for those sets, and they aren’t much different here. I’ve only seen the filming of the Imelda revival, but those sets blew these away.


I hope they do plenty of work during previews, but as of now it’s missing the weight and power of the 08 revival. It fails in comparison in almost every aspect.

I’m glad you enjoyed her performance and you bring up a lot of interesting critiques and points. I, however, don’t agree that all voice types are fit for all scores. Just like all instruments aren’t fit for all songs. Imagine if Gypsy’s score was played on only cowbells and clarinets. Or Rent was played without a single electric guitar or drum set. Audra is obviously an incredible vocalist, this is not a discredit to her talent. But a lot of people are going to find her voice to be very awkward on this score

Did anyone stage door tonight? Wondering if anyone came out? I know the Majestic Stage Door can be a bit awkward sharing between the Golden and Jacobs, and am curious as to how that played out at least for tonight’s show.