Six-time Tony Award Winner Audra McDonald will return to Broadway this fall in considered one of musical theater’s biggest roles: “Mama” Rose of Gypsy.
The revival shall be directed by George C. Wolfe, with choreography by Camille A. Brown. Previews start Thursday, November 21, at Broadway’s newly renovated Majestic Theatre, with opening night time set for Thursday, December 19.
Further casting and inventive group members shall be introduced at a later date.
Primarily based on the 1957 memoirs of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, the musical largely focuses on her mom Rose, the basic stage monster-mother. Different distinguished roles embrace Rose’s daughters Louise, who would grow to be Gypsy Rose Lee, and June, primarily based on actress June Havoc.
With a ebook by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Gypsy options one of the beloved scores in American musical theater, with such numbers as “Every little thing’s Coming Up Roses”, “Small World”, “Collectively (Wherever We Go)”, “You Gotta Get a Gimmick”, “Let Me Entertain You” and the epitome of showstopper “Rose’s Flip.”
Producers Tom Kirdahy and Mara Isaacs stated in a press release, “Once we started this journey we had the particular dream of pairing Audra McDonald, our most lauded stage actress, with legendary director George C. Wolfe in a musical deemed by many to be the best. Generally the theatre gods smile upon us. That is one such time. We couldn’t be extra honored to convey this explicit Gypsy to the Broadway stage and likewise embrace the singular Camille A. Brown as a part of our inventive group.”
Gypsy premiered on Broadway in 1959 with Ethel Merman in her career-defining efficiency as Rose. Since then, the difficult position has been tackled by a few of musical theater’s greatest stars, together with Angela Lansbury (1974), Tyne Daly (1989), Bernadette Peters (2003) and, most not too long ago, Patti LuPone (2008).
The revival is produced by Kirdahy, Isaacs, Kevin Ryan, Diane Scott Carter, Peter Could, and Thomas M. Neff.
McDonald has received a record-breaking six Tonys (Carousel, Grasp Class, Ragtime, A Raisin within the Solar, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and Girl Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill), and most not too long ago starred on Broadway in 2022 in Adrienne Kennedy’s play Ohio State Murders. Different credit embrace The Secret Backyard, Frankie and Johnny within the Clair de Lune, and, on TV, NBC’s The Sound of Music Reside!, Non-public Follow, The Good Spouse, and at present HBO’s The Gilded Age.