‘GYPSY’: Joy Woods & Audra McDonald. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

GYPSY
Book by Arthur Laurents
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee
Music supervision, music direction &
additional arrangements by Andy Einhorn
Choreography by Camille A. Brown
Directed by George C. Wolfe
Majestic Theatre
245 W. 45^th St.
https://gypsybway.com
 

By Scott Harrah

It’s six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald’s turn to play the iconic Mama Rose—and she is one of the best yet. 

There’s a reason why Gypsy has been revived five times in the past 30 years: it remains one of the best-written, most seamless American musicals of all time, partially because it’s based on a true story, but primarily due to its unforgettable songbook.  Originally portrayed by Ethel Merman in 1959, the role of Rose is the lifeblood of this classic, and everyone from Angela Lansbury to Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone has played the part on Broadway—and Imelda Staunton in London— since then. Now, Audra McDonald takes on the iconic Seattle stage mother Rose with everything she’s got and gives the character an entirely new “spin.”

A reinvention of Mama Rose

While many actresses played Rose as an edgy, high-spirited belter, Ms. McDonald gives the woman a sense of elegance and inner dignity, singing the classic songs with her famous coloratura voice and, in a sense, reinvents them for a new generation. Rose is as demanding a role in musical theater as Lady Macbeth and Blanche DuBois are in the pantheon of drama, and Ms. McDonald’s interpretation is one of the best yet. The only other outside-of-the-box portrayal of Rose this reviewer has seen was by Imelda Staunton at the Savoy Theatre in London back in 2015.

Ms. Staunton, a petite British acting legend, exploded on the West End with an entirely original rendition of Rose. “You see her building layer after layer with every scene and song,” wrote the late David Nounou in his 2015 StageZine review. “She is raw and vulnerable; she is coiled like a cobra ready to strike, and all wrapped up in a veil of desperation to succeed.”

Fragile & vulnerable

However, while Ms. Staunton’s Rose was manic—as was Patti LuPone’s in the 2008 Broadway revival—Ms. McDonald is more subtle but equally powerful. Hers is a Rose that gains gradual momentum, bossy in the beginning, but with a touch of class. Ms. McDonald paces Rose with razor-sharp intensity, eventually evolving into an out-of-control harridan who is not exactly likeable.  We see her fragility and vulnerability. When Ms. McDonald sings “Some People” in act one, we know immediately she’s not giving us the brassy Rose of yesteryear. She is softer, gentler and more operatic in her vocal delivery, and it works beautifully. She is also sublime indeed when singing classic songs like the heartbreaking 11^th hour finale “Rose’s Turn,” and even gives a fresh take on “Have an Eggroll, Mr. Goldstone.” She’s in fine voice when singing such classics as “Together Wherever We Go” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.”

Big, bold & splashy

This production is far more lavish than the stripped-down 2008 iteration with Patti LuPone. That revival featured an on-stage orchestra but had few sets and a downsized cast. This Gypsy is truer to the show’s epic proportions of the past. It is a spectacular production, with a cast of 30, a full orchestra, great sets by Santo Loquasto, outstanding Depression-era costumes by Toni-Leslie James and marvelous lighting by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer. This is Gypsy the way it was meant to be: big, bold, splashy and spectacular.

Gypsy is “suggested” by “The Memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee,” the story of the burlesque icon’s childhood life in a traveling vaudeville act, helmed by a domineering mother. Joy Woods is entertaining indeed in role of Louise, the tomboyish child who spends most of act one in the background while her prettier sister Dainty June (Jordan Tyson) headlines the show-within-a-show. It’s not until the second act when June strikes out on her own that Louise truly blossoms as she’s forced by her mother to become the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.

Standout supporting cast

Some of the greatest performances are given by such supporting characters as Herbie (Danny Burstein), Rose’s boyfriend/manager.  Tony Award winner Mr. Burstein is always amazing, but he is one of the best Herbies this reviewer has ever seen. He’s sensitive, determined and is consistently top-notch in both his acting and singing. We really feel for the guy as he clings to the hope that Rose will one day marry him.

Joy Woods as Louise is another standout. She starts out shy and unassuming, but her transformation in the second act as Gypsy Rose Lee is remarkable, even if it seems a bit rushed and awkward. Watching Ms. Woods’ Louise go from a modest, awkward teen to the glamorous Gypsy Rose Lee is delightful, especially when she sings the showstopper “Let Me Entertain You.”

One of the show’s highlights is watching the trio of seasoned strippers in a Wichita burlesque grindhouse (Lesli Margherita as Tessie Tura, Lili Thomas as Mazeppa and Melinda Hull as Electra). The three burlesque queens show Gypsy how to take it all off in the razzle-dazzle number “You’ve Gotta Get a Gimmick.”

One of the greatest show-business stories ever told

However, there is nothing gimmicky about Gypsy. Despite its feel-good songs and breezy narrative, it’s essentially a tragedy as intricately crafted as anything by Shakespeare or the great American dramatists of the 20^th century. Director George C. Wolfe allows each cast member to shine, and Camille A. Brown’s choreography is energetic and effusive.

Gypsy peels back the emotional layers of a mother’s megalomania and strong drive to see her children succeed to expose the vulnerability beneath her iron-clad exterior. It’s a fable of sacrifice, the death of vaudeville in America, and the agony of broken dreams that still packs an emotional punch with new generations of audiences. That’s why more than six decades after it was first produced, Gypsy still holds up as one of the greatest show-business stories ever told.

Published January 9, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on January 8, 2025

‘GYPSY’: Audra McDonald. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: Audra McDonald & Joy Woods. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: (left to right) Danny Burstein, Joy Woods & Audra McDonald. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: (left to right) Zachary Daniel Jones, Brendan Sheehan, Audra McDonald, Andrew Kober, Danny Burstein & Jordan Tyson. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: Joy Woods. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: (left to right) Mylinda Hull, Joy Woods, Lesli Margherita & Lili Thomas. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: Zachary Daniel Jones, Tony d’Alelio, Jordan Tyson, Kevin Csolak & Brendan Sheehan. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: Jade Smith. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

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‘HELL’S KITCHEN’: Kecia Lewis & Maleah Joi Moon. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

HELL’S KITCHEN
Music & lyrics by Alicia Keys
Book by Kristoffer Diaz
Directed by Michael Greif
Sam S. Shubert Theatre
225 West 44^th Street
https://www.hellskitchen.com/

By Scott Harrah

Loosely based on R&B superstar Alicia Keys’ real life, Hell’s Kitchen has arrived on Broadway after playing at the Public Theater downtown. The off-Broadway production received mixed reviews, but director Michael Greif has made many changes and the Broadway production is simply exhilarating and sublime, featuring some of the best songs and vocal talent on the New York stage in years. It received 13 Tony nominations, including one for Best Musical, and rightfully so.

The story focuses on Ms. Keys’ life in the 1990s, growing up in Manhattan Plaza, an affordable-housing complex that provides residences for many in the arts. Ali (beautifully portrayed by Maleah Joi Moon) is 17 when the show starts, raised by her single mom Jersey (Shoshana Bean). Her mother Jersey is protective of her daughter and doesn’t want her hanging out with the “wrong” crowd. Ali gets caught talking to Knuck (Chris Lee), a bucket drummer and part of a group that hangs out in the building. Her mother is not pleased.

Drummers in the complex practice in Manhattan Plaza’s courtyard, and Ali’s friends Tiny (Vanessa Ferguson) and Jessica (Jackie Leon) insist that she pursue Knuck. He turns her down, and shortly afterward her mother Jersey calls the police and has the group thrown out of the building. After leaving her apartment in anger, Ali visits the building’s music-practice area, the Ellington Room, and sees Miss Liza Jane (the outstanding Kecia Lewis) playing the piano. Miss Liza Jane is an older woman, wise and a piano virtuoso. She offers to teach Ali to play piano.

The plot focuses on several themes, from a single mother raising a biracial teenager daughter and struggles with the father who abandoned them long ago to racism, coming of age and grappling with grief when someone passes away. The musical showcases all of Alicia Keys’ iconic hits, from “Like You’ll Never See Me Again” and  “You Don’t Know My Name” and “Girl On Fire,” “Fallin’” to “If I Ain’t Got You,” “No One,” and “Empire State of Mind,” and many more.

The flawless performances and outstanding vocal talent are two of the best aspects of Hell’s Kitchen. Standouts include Ms. Moon as Ali. She has the spunk, sass and vulnerability required for the role. Shoshana Bean as Jersey gives a sincere and touching performance as the doting mother, and Ms. Bean’s powerful vocals are sheer heaven for listeners, particularly in the song “Pawn It All.”

The excellent Kecia Lewis is incandescent and brings down the house whenever she sings, especially at the end of the first act when she beautifully belts out “Perfect Way to Die,” a song about unjust killings of innocent people, police brutality and systemic racism. Brandon Victor Dixon’s vocals are wonderfully melodic on the song “Fallin’,” a jazzy duet with Ms. Bean that is another showstopping number.

Camille A. Brown’s choreography is inventive and wonderfully visual, especially during a new Alicia Keys song “Kaleidoscope” in which dancers twirl around Ali with beautiful kinetic energy.

Hell’s Kitchen is a quintessential New York story about how life is rough here on these mean and dirty city streets, but love from family and friends and neighbors gets us through tough times. It’s a tribute to all who have ever struggled in Manhattan, and one of the spring 2024 season’s best musicals.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published June 1, 2024
Reviewed at May 23, 2024 performance

‘HELL’S KITCHEN’: Shoshana Bean & Maleah Joi Moon. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘HELL’S KITCHEN’ Maleah Joi Moon, Chris Lee & cast. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘HELL’S KITCHEN’: The cast. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘HELL’S KITCHEN’: The cast. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘HELL’S KITCHEN’: Brandon Victor Dixon & cast. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

The post ‘Hell’s Kitchen’: Alicia Keys’ tribute to NY life appeared first on StageZine.

‘FOR COLORED GIRLS’: (left to right) Stacey Sargeant, Amara Granderson, Okwui Okpokwasili, Tendayi Kuumba, Kenita R. Miller, D. Woods & Alexandria Wailes. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE/WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF
Written By Ntozake Shange
Directed & choreographed by Camille A. Brown
Through June 5, 2022
Booth Theatre
222 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.forcoloredgirlsbway.com

By David NouNou

The late Ntozake Shange and her play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf were both ground-breaking. Ms. Shange was only the second African-American woman to have a play produced on Broadway by 1976. The first was Lorraine Hansberry and her immortal 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun.  Ms. Shange coined the term “Choreopoem” for her play, meaning poetic monologues accompanied by dance movement and music.  It tells the stories of seven African-American women who have suffered in a sexist society.

The seven women in the play have no names except for the beautiful colors of the rainbow. They are simply known as (placed in alphabetical order): Lady in Blue (Stacey Sargeant), Lady in Brown (Tendayi Kuumba), Lady in Green (Alexis Sims), Lady in Orange (McKenzie Frye), Lady in Purple (Treshelle Edmond), Lady in Red (Kenita R. Miller) and Lady in Yellow (D. Woods), and beautiful they are.

Their stories are many: They are singular but yet they blend into each other, lyrical and yet poetic. Some have been battered but they are survivors; they have been abused by their men but have come out the other end of the rainbow stronger. They celebrate their color and their womanhood through dance, music and the joy of their lives.

The women are a cohesive unit. They are the perfect ensemble that is so intertwined, they pick up where the other leaves off. They are in sync together; it is impossible to single out one from the other; they are a beautiful rainbow team, all of whom I mentioned by name earlier. These magical performances are beautifully staged by Camille A. Brown, an actress, dancer and choreographer. Ms. Brown has used her talent and expertise injecting the show with rhythm, passion and joy. The stage is in constant motion. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf is an ode to the women in the play and the women they represent.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 27, 2022
Reviewed at April 26, 2022 press performance.

‘FOR COLORED GIRLS’: (left to right) D. Woods, Kenita R. Miller, Alexandria Wailes, Tendayi Kuumba, Okwui Okpokwasili, Amara Granderson & Stacey Sargeant. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

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‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: (left to right) Alex Newell, Lea Salonga & Merle Dandridge. Photo: Joan Marcus

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND
Book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Based on the novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy
Directed by Michael Arden
Choreographed by Camille A. Brown
Circle In The Square
235 West 50th Street
212-239-6200, www.OnceOnThisIsland.com

By Scott Harrah

Tales of star-crossed lovers might be nothing new, but director Michael Arden offers a unique twist in this charming, innovative revival of Once On This Island, the 1990 Lynn Ahrens and Steven Flaherty musical, based on a Rosa Guy novel. Set on an island in the French Antilles, this Caribbean fantasy is beautifully re-conceived by Mr. Arden, with clever sets by Dane Laffrey, lavish period costumes by Clint Ramos and imaginative lighting design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer. With the help of his scenic and lighting team, Mr. Arden offers a vivid “theater in the round” experience that works well in the confines of Circle in the Square, totally enveloping the audience and making us feel as if we are there on a windswept tropical island, complete with sand, a live goat, water, etc.

The rhythmic score by Ahrens and Flaherty transports us to a mythical time and place with a story paralleling Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Instead of the Montagues and Capulets, we have a beautiful Afro-Caribbean native girl, Ti Moune (the outstanding Hailey Kilgore), rescued from a near-fatal accident during a storm. She is adopted by two islanders, Mama Euralie (Kenita R. Miller) and Tonton Julian (Phillip Boykin), both of whom raise the orphan child as their own. Later, Ti Moune falls for the lighter-skinned, aristocratic native Daniel (Isaac Powell), an upper-class guy from the other side of the island who lives in a gated community.

Once On This Island relies heavily on the mystical superstition, voodoo and folklore of the French-speaking Caribbean, offering an endless parade of Calypso-infused songs like “We Dance,” “And the Gods Heard Her Prayer,” ‘The Sad Tale of the Beauxhommes,” and more. The songs propel the story forward like any well-made musical should, filled with the faith and rituals of the islanders. Granted, there’s a lot of confusing talk about gods and sorcery, but all one needs to believe in is the magic of the music while marveling at Camille A. Brown’s winning choreography.

Although the narrative conflict is fairly standard (dark-skinned Ti Moune can never truly be accepted by lighter-skinned Daniel’s family), the message still packs an emotional punch, considering the current political climate in America. However, under Michael Arden’s trenchant direction, the musical is more about the celebration of life and the gorgeous Afro-Caribbean songbook than anything else, so the story never seems heavy-handed.

This revival works so well thanks to the near-seismic energy of the cast, all brimming with talent. The multi-ethnic cast members gel together marvelously, but a few stand out. Ms. Kilgore gives a vivacious, sincere and truly heartbreaking performance as Ti Moune, the “peasant” girl, but Mr. Powell as Daniel is somewhat forgettable in comparison. Mr. Powell’s Daniel doesn’t always convince us that he’s someone Ti Moune would risk her life for, but without this notion there would be no story. Love perpetuates life, it seems.

Some of the show’s greatest performances are given by supporting cast members, like Tony winner Lea Salonga, bewitching us with her mellifluous voice as goddess Erzulie in such songs as “The Human Heart.” Kenita R. Miller, as Mama Eurlie, is often haunting as she sings of the love she has for Ti Moune, while Alex Newell, as gender-bending Asaka, has the whole house grooving as she belts out the rousing “Mama Will Provide.”

Once On This Island is a colorful, immersive experience for everyone, giving audiences a helluva joyful ride, making it one of the season’s freshest surprises.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 5, 2017
Reviewed at December 4, 2017 press performance.

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Hailey Kilgore. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Lea Salonga. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Hailey Kilgore. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Kenita R. Miller. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Quentin Earl Darrington. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Phillip Boykin. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Isaac Powell & Merle Dandridge. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: (left to right) Emerson Davis, Lea Salonga, Alex Newell, Quentin Earl Darrington & Merle Dandridge. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Isaac Powell & Quentin Earl Darrington. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

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