Gypsy has been called the best musical of all time, by critics and historians. Its central character, Mama Rose, is the ultimate stage mother and has been catnip for some of the finest musical theater actresses for generations; from Ethel Merman, the 1959 original, to Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, Bette Midler and Patti LuPone.
It's now being given a big revival on Broadway, where Mama Rose is being played by six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald.
But she's not the only Black actor in a show that is often cast with white actors. Caseen Gaines, author of When Broadway Was Black, said that this race-conscious casting means Gypsy hits different.
"There is colorblind casting and then there is intentional casting for Black actors in roles that have been historically written for white performers," said Gaines.
He believes this version of Gypsy makes audiences see the musical in a new way, even though not one line or lyric has been changed. "Rose becomes a very different character in the body of Audra McDonald, and her journey is so different."
Not the Chitlin' Circuit. The Orpheum Circuit.
The show — with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Arthur Laurents — is set during the Great Depression. Rose is a larger-than-life stage mother doing everything she can to make her daughter June a vaudeville star. Despite her dreams, the odds are stacked against her.
McDonald said that playing the role gave her empathy for a character often seen as a monster. "Thinking about opportunities for women in that particular era ... And then, because I am a Black woman playing her, opportunities for Black women in that era ... there weren't a lot."
This feeling of scarcity was important to director George C. Wolfe. He said every character in the show is desperately looking for something.
"I became fascinated with the idea of people operating inside of a world where there is not enough," Wolfe said. "There's not enough food, there's not enough money, there's not enough love, there's not enough respect, there's not enough possibilities, there's not enough freedom, there's not enough joy."
So when Rose meets Herbie, an agent who here is white, played by Danny Burstein, Rose sees — and seizes — an opportunity.
"She's charming him so that he can help her, because then that's what happens, right?" McDonald said. "Herbie then is able to be the one that opens the doors for her to get this little Black troupe into these places."
And these places are the white vaudeville houses. In one dazzling time lapse sequence choreographed by Camille A. Brown, the audience sees Rose replace the Black boys in June's act with young white men.
Wolfe said Rose knows that if she wants to achieve success with white audiences, the act needs to transform.
"There's only so far one can go in America if you are a certain color," Wolfe said. He channeled Rose's thoughts: "So, let me change that and then I'll push this act further and I'll push my daughter further. And [June is] of a certain hue, so she's passable. So, I don't want to be a hit on the Chitlin' Circuit. I want to be a hit on the Orpheum Circuit."
From shy to sexy
Rose invests all her energy in making her daughter June succeed, but after June abandons her, Rose turns to her shy, awkward daughter Louise. By the end of the show, Louise has transformed into Gypsy Rose Lee, the world-famous stripper, best known more for speaking from the stage than taking her clothes off. In this production, Gypsy resembles a different historical performer: Josephine Baker.
"In that time period, for us, accentuating that sort of sexuality was really the only way for us to be seen," said Joy Woods, the actor who plays Louise/Gypsy. "So, I think to have a more realistic approach to honoring both the cast and the production in this way, taking a Josephine Baker route was the best idea. I think it was a fantastic idea."
One of the finest moments in musical theater
But Gypsy Rose Lee's success triggers Rose's feelings of abandonment again. It leads to what many think is one of the finest moments in musical theater history: "Rose's Turn," where she questions why she did everything for her daughters but was, in her mind, still unappreciated. She has a breakdown.
"It's an incredibly constructed piece," said McDonald, who received the blessing of lyricist Stephen Sondheim to step in the role, before he died in 2021. "It is a monologue set to music. And so, the work is all been done for you right there. It's just perfect."
Gaines, the historian, was impressed by the raw power of McDonald's performance when he saw the production in previews. "I was moved to tears just by watching not only a Black performer, but Audra McDonald performing this role and performing "Rose's Turn," he said.
Having a Black mother sing the song made the character feel less selfish, he said. "It reads as something any parent should do, right? And something that every Black parent, every immigrant parent, everyone who is a part of a marginalized community in this country, they will do anything for their children to have it easier than they did. And that's what I received from this Rose."
Jennifer Vanasco edited this story for broadcast and digital. Chloee Weiner mixed the audio.
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