Dec 23
Review Round-up: 'Here She Is World': Audra McDonald in 'Gypsy'
Robert Nesti READ TIME: 14 MIN.
Adrian Horton, The Guardian
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"The mother of all stage mothers, based on the domineering matriarch in the burlesque icon Gypsy Rose Lee's 1957 memoir, has earned her reputation as a destination for musical theater divas. The role is, as some have argued, Everest for a Broadway actor, pioneered by Ethel Merman in 1959 and since scaled by Angela Lansbury, Bette Midler, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters and most recently Patti LuPone in the 2008 revival. . . .
"But from the minute Audra McDonald's Rose appears in the latest revival, directed by George C Wolfe at the Majestic Theatre, she is a different flavor of unmissable. . . This is the first time on Broadway that Rose and her family have been played by Black actors, and McDonald imbues her with an extra layer of tragic defiance; her uphill climb is extra steep. . . .
"Her Rose trembles as much as she blusters. A classical soprano, McDonald possesses a voice more operatic and delicate than bombastic, an occasionally odd fit for a character of uncompromising, ruinous force. Her voice, gorgeous by any measure, carries the sound of inner tears – though you might wish, in a show-stopping number like 'Everything's Coming Up Roses,' that it plaster you against the back wall instead. . . .
"McDonald's rendition of the second show-stopper, 'Rose's Turn.' Alone on the stage apron, every bead of sweat and spit and tears alit, she channels a performer of abject desire, love and desperation. It's a true bravura performance, the type of mesmeric, shamanistic, nearly unbelievable wattage promised by the best of musical theater. No matter your defenses – the skepticism of another Broadway revival, our collective inurement to the pursuit of attention, up to 70 years of experience with this particular show – McDonald makes it sting, and makes this evergreen show business tragedy stick."
David Rooney, the Hollywood Reporter
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"It's a cliché to call Rose, the archetypal pushy stage mother at the show's center, the King Lear of musical theater. But that's hard to dispute when you watch a consummate performer like Audra McDonald pour her heart and soul and every ounce of her gumption, her supple vocals and finely nuanced acting skills into the titanic role.
"The six-time Tony winner humanizes this driven, achingly unfulfilled woman without ever softening her abrasive edges, her relentlessly self-serving determination, her refusal to prioritize her daughters' well-being in her quest for the vicarious elation of stardom she herself feels she was denied. McDonald's Rose is a monstrous product of her misplaced ambition – manipulative, exploitative, maybe even emotionally abusive. But she's also a figure of shattering pathos. . . .
"The seemingly radical departure of casting Black and mixed-race actors as Rose, her daughters and other characters remains largely subtextual, though in McDonald's performance there are subtle suggestions that Rose sees racism as one of many factors that have held her back, denying her the acceptance she craves. Even subliminally, the casting adds a different texture to the character's grit and tenacity; she's a force of nature because that's what she had to be as a Black woman trying to get a foot in the door of the vaudeville circuit. . . .
"Some might say the star's voice is not an ideal fit for the role – too pure, too warm, too elegant, maybe – but McDonald is a resourceful actress, more than capable of molding the role to her glorious voice. What's arguably even more significant here is the complexity of her characterization. It's a vitally inhabited, deeply felt performance that finds the vulnerability beneath the tough steamroller. . .
"I could pick faults with the production. Camille A. Brown's choreography is more often busy than effective, notably in Gypsy Rose Lee's Ziegfeld-esque 'Garden of Eden' number, in which the chorus in sheer body stockings and strategic fig leaves look like they've stepped out of 'Showgirls.' And Louise's transformation from a shy kid just wanting her mother to notice her into a resplendent glamazon feels too abrupt. But rising star Woods looks so sensational in a Marcel wave and a shimmering red gown that she makes it work, a lifetime's dejection melting away as Louise seizes her liberation from the shadows.
"In any case, no minor flaw can diminish the impact of this masterful show in such a beautifully acted production – all of it orbiting around the blazing force that is McDonald."
Adam Feldman, Time Out
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"How is she? Ever since May, when it was confirmed that Audra McDonald would star in the latest revival of 'Gypsy,' Broadway fans have speculated about how Audra would be as Mama Rose–or, more nervously, whether Audra could be Mama Rose, the implacable stage mother who sacrifices everything to make her two daughters into stars, including those two daughters themselves. The casting seemed inevitable: the pinnacle role for a woman in musical theater, essayed by the most accomplished musical-theater actress of her generation. It's Audra's turn. Yet to some, the casting also seemed unlikely: Rose has traditionally been played by big belters, from Ethel Merman in 1959 through Patti LuPone in 2008, not dramatic sopranos like McDonald. So let's get that question out of the way up front. How is Audra as Rose? She's a revelation.
"So, too, is the rest of George C. Wolfe's deeply intelligent and beautifully mounted production, which comes as a happy surprise. 'Gypsy' is a model musical in every regard, from Arthur Laurents's airtight book, inspired by the memoirs of striptease queen Gypsy Rose Lee, to Jule Styne's thrilling music, which grabs you at the overture and doesn't let go, to Stephen Sondheim's dazzlingly witty and insightful lyrics. But this is the show's fifth Broadway revival, and its third in the 21st century alone. One might reasonably wonder what is left to reveal in a show as well-known as this one. But like the monster some people believe her to be, Mama Rose refuses to die. Here she is again, boys: Rose is risen anew.
"In many ways, this Gypsy is grandly old-fashioned: It has a cast of 30 and an orchestra of 25; the set (by Santo Loquasto), costumes (by Toni-Leslie James), hair (by Mia Neal) and lighting (by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer) are worthy of the Majestic Theatre's name. This is a tree with all the trimmings–including restored bits of text that Laurents trimmed from previous revivals; there's even new musical material, such as a brief introductory duet for 'Small World.' "
Robert Nesti can be reached at [email protected].
