‘Gypsy’ Broadway Review: Audra McDonald Wrestles With Rose and Wins

The George C. Wolfe-directed revival is audaciously different

Joy Woods & Audra McDonald - Photo by Julieta Cervantes
Joy Woods and Audra McDonald in "Gypsy" (Credit: Julieta Cervantes)

Back in 2003, when the third revival of “Gypsy” opened on Broadway, the big behind-the-scenes news was a spat that broke out in previews between the show’s director, Sam Mendes, and Arthur Laurents’ longtime partner, Tom Hatcher. Laurents wrote the book for the 1959 classic, and went on to direct the first Broadway revival starring Angela Lansbury in 1974, and the second one, starring Tyne Daly in 1989. In other words, the show’s book writer-turned-director harbored proprietary feelings, and Hatcher was there to defend his boyfriend’s prized possession.

There had been doubts about the 2003 revival’s Mama Rose – shouldn’t Bernadette Peters be playing Baby June instead? – but Hatcher voiced much bigger concerns.

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