Yahoo News Audra McDonald to Lead ‘Gypsy’ Revival on Broadway
Audra McDonald will reopen Broadway’s Majestic Theatre with a new production of Gypsy.
McDonald will play Rose, one of the top roles in musical theater, which has been played by the likes of Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone. George C. Wolfe, a five time Tony-Award winning director, will helm the revival. Camille A. Brown (Hell’s Kitchen) has been tapped as choreographer.
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Performances begin Nov. 21, with an opening night Dec. 19. This production will be the first to play the Majestic Theatre, which was the longtime home to The Phantom of the Opera. The theater closed for renovations after the production ended its 35-year run in April 2023.
McDonald is a six-time Tony Award winning actor, with wins for her roles in Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. She last appeared on Broadway in 2022 in Ohio State Murders, and previously worked with Wolfe on the 2016 production on Shuffle Along, or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. McDonald is also known for her television work, which include leading roles on Private Practice and The Good Fight.
Tom Kirdahy and Mara Isaacs, who both produced Hadestown, are the lead producers on the production.
“When we began this journey we had the specific 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 greatest. Sometimes the theater gods smile upon us. This is one such time. We could not be more honored to bring this particular Gypsy to the Broadway stage and also include the singular Camille A. Brown as part of our creative team,” said Kirdahy and Isaacs.
Wolfe, whose credits also include Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk, Jelly’s Last Jam and Caroline, or Change, is being honored with a lifetime achievement Tony Award this June.
Gypsy, which features a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, first premiered on Broadway in 1959. The musical follows Rose, the ultimate stage mother as she tries to propel her daughters to stardom. There have been four subsequent Broadway revivals, with the latest, starring LuPone, running from March 2008 through January 2009.
Additional casting for Gypsy will be announced at a later date.
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