‘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.

The post ‘Gypsy’: Audra McDonald is best Mama Rose yet appeared first on StageZine.

‘ONLY HUMAN’: Gary Busey & Mike Squillante. Photo: Ahron R. Foster.

ONLY HUMAN
Book by Jess Carson
Story by Jesse Murphy & Mike Squillante
Music & lyrics by Mike Squillante
Directed by NJ Agwuna
Theatre at St. Clement’s
423 West 46th Street
(866-811-4111), www.onlyhumanmusical.com

By David NouNou

Would you ever think of going to a musical and be yearning for fewer songs and more Gary Busey? When you have Mr. Busey playing (The Boss) “God” ⁠— which is your ace in the hole ⁠— why wouldn’t you have Him all over the place (after all, He is omnipresent) and believe it or not, Mr. Busey plays Him convincingly.

In addition to Gary Busey, there is a well-conceived and crafted book by Jess Carson. Pity there isn’t more of it. Only Human uses the premise that The Boss, having created light on the fifth day, still feels there is something missing. The hard-working, ambitious and calculating Lou “Lucifer” (Mike Squillante) comes up with the solution of creating humans: 75% men and 25% women and making them in his image, perfect. Maggie (Kim Steele) — I don’t need to explain her identity— is The Boss’ invaluable assistant, doesn’t see it that way and deems there should be a 50/50 split and have humans have the ability to make their own choices.

Chaos and wars ensue. As a punishment Lou is banished from heaven to what must be hell.

The slacker of the piece is the pot-smoking, pizza-eating, trust fund baby, Jay (Evan Maltby). In order to please his father, you guessed it, he is ultimately sent to earth to do good, to bring order to chaos, and what is his reward? He is crucified and sent back to his father.

This may sound a tad blasphemous, but in reality, it is not. As written by Ms. Carson, it is a most interesting concept of the symmetry up in heaven versus the chaos on Earth, and the dynamics of hell and Satan. What a shame there wasn’t more of Ms. Carson’s spoken words and less of Mike Squillante’s score. This is not to say that the score doesn’t have a rhyming cadence to it; it just has one song after another. Fewer songs and more dialogue would have been justifiable.

Kim Steele as Maggie is pure dynamite; her gorgeous singing and seamless acting both give the show its sensibility and the voice of reason. Mike Squillante works better as a songsmith and singer (he wrote himself a lot of songs). Both he and Evan Maltby do their best in the acting arena, but lack the chemistry to work off each other. They come off more as squabbling kids than their dynamic counterparts Lou and Jay.

There is also the ensemble of Ben Bogen and Lili Thomas to complete the cast and do the required dance pieces. You may not come out any the wiser, but you will come out having the pleasure of seeing the legendary Gary Busey, The Boss.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 21, 2019
Reviewed at October 19, 2019 press performance.

‘ONLY HUMAN’: (Left to right) Kim Steele, Lili Thomas, Mike Squillante, Gary Busey, Ben Bogen & Evan Maltby. Photo by Ahron R. Foster.

‘ONLY HUMAN’; (Left to right) Ben Bogen, Kim Steele, Evan Maltby, Gary Busey (above), Mike Squillante & Lili Thomas. Photo: Ahron R. Foster.

‘ONLY HUMAN’: (Left to right) Ben Bogen, Evan Maltby, Mike Squillante, Kim Steele & Gary Busey. Photo: Ahron R. Foster.

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