GYPSY, Broadway 2024

[scenicdesign71]

My impression of it was somewhat fragmentary; I'm afraid it's become one of those shows that inhabits my brain in an idealized mashup of various versions, to which no new production is likely to measure up.  Wolfe's was fine, but didn't blow me away, probably through no fault of his or his cast's.  (Ironically, jolting my mind out of its groove might require a thorough-enough reimagining to risk breaking what's great about the show; for one thing, these days a Broadway stage is just about the last spot I can imagine that occurring).

I had heard that, due to the show's longish runtime, it starts promptly at curtain time (without the usual 7-minute hold for stragglers).  While the resulting audience-settling during the overture is somewhat distracting, the overall time issue also made me realize how fast-paced the production is overall, especially in its first act, which occasionally felt a bit rushed to me.

Audra is extraordinary, but you knew that.  Of her tessitura, in relation to Rose's: I wasn't bothered by the classical-ish tones, but it seems to me that her upper range isn't aging all that gracefully, whereas her lower tones are more thrilling than ever — which led me to question the wisdom of transposing things up.  But instances in which it mattered were vanishingly rare, and were invariably mooted by the unwavering power and specificity of her acting.  It's a virtuosic performance — and at times a harrowing one, for all the right reasons.