Audra McDonald Dazzles In Broadway’s Revival Of ‘Gypsy’ As The First Black Rose

In multiple outstanding reviews of the newly revived Broadway musical Gypsy, six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald has been applauded for her outstanding performance as the main character Mama Rose.

Gypsy, set during the Great Depression, follows Mama Rose as she desperately tries to support her daughter’s dreams of being a vaudeville star. When her daughter does eventually get her big break, Rose is left feeling abandoned after the success of her efforts.

A historically beloved story often referred to as the “Mt. Everest” of musical theater, the central role of Rose has been passed down through a series of impressive actresses over the years, from Ethel Merman in the 1959 original, and on to Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, Bette Midler and Patti LuPone.

An actress who is known for defying racial typecasting in her career, McDonald broke barriers in the 1994 revival of the play Carousel in which she became the first black woman to ever be cast as the second lead. McDonald is now the first black woman to play Rose, and subsequently adds another layer of emotional depth to the role, with new themes of race and family dynamic.

The author of When Broadway Was Black Caseen Gaines emphasized the significance of such casting, both within the play’s story and the public reaction to the play in an interview with NPR. “There is colorblind casting, then there is intentionally casting black actors in roles that have been historically written for white performers,” she said. “Rose becomes a very different character in the body of Audra McDonald, and her journey is so different.”

Gaines underscored a previously unexplored theme that race introduces in the play: “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.”

McDonald also commented on how the role resonated with her: “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.”

Gypsy is now playing at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. Get tickets here.

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