Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald will return to Broadway in “Gypsy.” The production, in which McDonald will take on the central role of Rose, will begin previews on Nov. 21 and open on Dec. 19 at the Majestic Theatre. Tony winner George C. Wolfe will direct and Tony nominee Camille A. Brown will choreograph the revival, which is being produced by Tom Kirdahy, Mara Isaacs, Kevin Ryan, Diane Scott Carter, Peter May and Thomas M. Neff.
“Gypsy” will be the first production to play the Majestic since the April 2023 closing of “The Phantom of the Opera,” which, having opened in Jan. 1988, is the longest-running show in Broadway history. The Majestic has been under renovations since “Phantom” closed.
“Gypsy” features a book by Tony winner Arthur Laurents, music by Tony winner Jule Styne and lyrics by Tony winner Stephen Sondheim. Inspired by the memoirs of performer Gypsy Rose Lee, “Gypsy” chronicles the personal and professional journey of Rose Hovick (McDonald) and her daughters, June and Louise, as they traverse the 1920s Vaudeville circuit and ultimately the burlesque industry.
“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,” said Kirdahy and Isaacs in a statement. “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.”
McDonald is the winner of six Tony Awards for performance, more than any other individual. She won her first Tony for the 1994 revival of “Carousel” and racked up additional trophies for 1995’s “Master Class,” 1998’s “Ragtime,” the 2004 revival of “A Raisin in the Sun,” the 2012 revival of “Porgy and Bess” and the 2014 Main Stem mounting of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.” She most recently appeared on Broadway in a Tony-nominated turn in 2022’s “Ohio State Murders.”
As a director, Wolfe has received 10 Tony nominations, winning the award for 1993’s “Angels in America: Millennium Approaches” and 1996’s “Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk.” As a writer, he received Tony nominations for penning the books to 1992’s “Jelly’s Last Jam,” 2000’s “The Wild Party,” and 2016’s “Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed,” the latter of which featured McDonald. Wolfe is the recipient of the 2024 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Brown is one of a very small group of individuals who has received a Best Choreography Tony nomination for a straight play: Brown was nominated in the category for 2019’s “Choir Boy.” In 2022, she received nods for both her direction and choreography of another play, “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf.” She is currently nominated for choreographing the Alicia Keys tuner “Hell’s Kitchen.”
This production marks the fifth Main Stem revival of “Gypsy.” The original production opened in 1959 starring Ethel Merman as Rose. Subsequent revivals featured Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Linda Lavin (who replaced Daly), Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone.
Additional casting and members of the creative team will be announced.
A video preview for “Gypsy” starring Audra McDonald
