Exclusive Photo Coverage: Inside the SPRING AWAKENING Gypsy Robe Ceremony
By: Walter McBride Sep. 29, 2015
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Deaf West Theatre's acclaimed production of Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik's SPRING AWAKENING, directed by Michael Arden and choreographed by Spencer Liff, opened on Sunday night, September 27, at Broadway's Brooks AtkinsonTheatre. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the whole evening, starting with the sacred Gypsy Robe ceremony. Check out photos of gypsy robe recipient Van Hughes with the company!
The Gypsy Robe began in 1950, when Bill Bradley, in the chorus of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, borrowed a dressing gown from Chorus member Florence Baum and sent it to a friend in CALL ME MADAM on opening night Oct 12, 1950 saying it was worn by all the Ziegfeld beauties and would "bless" the show. A cabbage rose from Ethel Merman's gown was added and the robe was passed along to next Broadway musical on opening night. The tradition evolved so that the robe is now presented to the "gypsy" who has performed the most Broadway musicals on a chorus contract. Along the way, the robe is decorated, painted, patched, stitched, and signed by everyone in the show, becoming a fanciful patchwork for an entire Broadway season.
SPRING AWAKENING, the Tony Award-winning Best Musical of 2007, will run 18 weeks only, through Saturday, January 9. It will be performed simultaneously in American Sign Language and spoken and sung in English by a cast of 28. Deaf West Theatre was last represented on Broadway with the triumphant production of Big River in 2003.
Based on Frank Wedekind's controversial 1891 expressionist play of the same name and featuring an electrifying pop/rock score, SPRING AWAKENING follows the lives of a group of adolescents as they navigate their journey from adolescence to adulthood in a fusion of morality, sexuality and rock & roll. An extraordinary creative team includingMichael Arden and Spencer Liff has reinvented the groundbreaking musical about lost innocence and the struggles of youth in true Deaf West style.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride
Andy Mientus and Michael Arden
Marlee Matlin and Camryn Manheim
Krysta Rodriguez and Alex Wyse
Sandra Mae Frank and Daniel N. Durant
Sandra Mae Frank and Daniel N. Durant
Alex Boniello, Alex Wyse and Krysta Rodriguez
Marlee Matlin with Broadway dedut cast members
Marlee Matlin and Camryn Manheim with fellow Broadway dedut cast members
Krysta Rodriguez and David Westphal
Krysta Rodriguez and David Westphal
Sandra Mae Frank and Miles Barbee
Van Hughes and cast
Marlee Matlin, Krysta Rodriquez and cast with Van Hughes
Van Hughes and cast
Patrick Page, Michael Aeden, Alex Wyse, Andy Mientus with Van Hughes
Daniel N. Durant with Van Hughes
Marlee Matlin, Krysta Rodriquez and cast with Van Hughes
Van Hughes and cast
Krysta Rodriguez and Van Hughes
Krysta Rodriguez and Van Hughes
Marlee Matlin, Van Hughes and Camryn Manheim
Equity chorus members with Van Hughes
The ensemble company
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