| My Thoughts on Audra in Gypsy and all the drama people come up with | |
| Posted by: IvyLeagueDropout 12:30 am EDT 05/30/24 | |
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| I'm delighted to hear of this revival. I will make a rare return to NYC to see it. Gypsy is probably my favorite show, and I have seen and loved it with both Peters and LuPone. I've also adored bootlegs and albums with Merman, Lansbury, Daly and Buckley. I have seen it performed in 1 good and 1 poor quality community theatre production. I am always enthralled, and loved to see each actor and actress in their takes on the roles (not just Rose). The Herbies and Amandas are also worth exploring for me. Here are some general thoughts on topics mentioned on this board about this revival: -"Audra isn't the right 'type' for the part" (not referring to race here). Nonsense. Lansbury is very dissimilar to Merman but made it work. Peters and LuPone were both terrific and quite different from one another. Audra does project a stunning physical beauty and a certain elegance we don't generally associate with Rose. But I think her Lady Day especially established that she can inhabit spaces we never expected to see her. -"Race is an issue." It sure can be, or it can't be. The interesting questions on this for me are about the director. It would be fine and normal for this to play it traditionally with an all black cast. It would fine and normal to do it with a mixed race cast. If the leads have chemistry it won't matter what color Herbie she kisses. My very first Gypsy was the Park Playhouse in Albany, where Tony winner Ernestine Jackson was (an excellent) Rose, with both actresses playing Louise also African-American in an otherwise white cast. I believed from the very first scene that Rose was the mother of both of her kids, not just the one that looked like her. I saw August: Osage County with Phylicia Rashad. I noted she was a different color than her family for the first 10 seconds, and then the magnificent play took me away. I think it will be interesting to see how (if at all) Wolfe uses race in establishing subtext. As long as it is both interesting and entertaining, I don't care either way. -"Audra is a soprano..." Merman initially sang (and recorded) the show in a higher key than her own later performances or those of the subsequent Roses. I think Audra could very comfortably sing it in the original key, and I would love to hear that live. She is capable of projecting an earthier timbre as well, if they want to do that. -As a personal preference I hope they keep most of the Laurents edits from the LuPone revival (no eating dog food, no Kringelein "rape", no Small World reprise). I would have Mazzeppa go back to her Gladiator persona, though. It's funnier. I assume that Robbins' estate will still require use of the original major choreography, which is so rich and perfectly paired to the text and score. -Casting. If they want to pair Audra with former costars, I think Norm Lewis and Michael Cerveris could both be an interesting and believable Herbie. As for the rest of the cast, I have no idea. Unknowns for the kids, I assume. Hopefully super quirky and original talents as the strippers. In my dreams LuPone would be Mazeppa, Daly Electra, and Peters as Tessie Tura. I do think the casting of the the Rose understudy/standby is more vital than it is for most shows. I can also envision Audra perhaps doing 6 or 7 perfornances a week in a longer run. Darlesia Cearcy? I can't wait. Sometimes shows can be less than the sum of their parts, but this revival is starting off with great parts! |
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| Previous: | Tony nominees Branden Jacobs-Jenkins & Lila Neugebauer on what's 'Appropriate' for their family drama - WaymanWong 12:48 am EDT 05/30/24 |
| Next: | re: My Thoughts on Audra in Gypsy and all the drama people come up with - Zelgo 04:46 pm EDT 05/30/24 |
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