Exclusive Photo Coverage: Inside the WAITRESS Gypsy Robe Ceremony!
By: Walter McBride Apr. 26, 2016
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WAITRESS is officially serving it up on Broadway! Earlier this week, the company of the new musical took their first bows at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the whole evening, starting with the sacred Gypsy Robe ceremony. Below, check out photos of gypsy robe recipient Charity Angel Dawson 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.
Dawson last appeared in the Broadway revival of Side Show (Fortune Teller). National Tour credits include The Color Purple (Darlene), Dreamgirls (Effie White). Regional: Waitress, A.R.T.; Kiss Me Kate (Hattie), Hartford Stage Company; Smokey Joe's Cafe (BJ), Heberger Theater Center;Beehive (Wanda), Arts Center of Coastal Carolina; Aida (Aida), Moscow Regional Theater; The Wiz (Evilene), Valley Youth Theater; West Side Story (Rosalia), Baltimore Lyric Opera House. Education: The American Musical and Dramatic Academy.
Photos by Walter McBride
Sara Bareilles and Diane Paulus
Kimiko Glenn, Sara Bareilles, Keala Settle and Jessie Mueller
Kimiko Glenn, Sara Bareilles, Keala Settle and Jessie Mueller
Kimiko Glenn, Sara Bareilles, Keala Settle and Jessie Mueller
Kimiko Glenn, Sara Bareilles, Keala Settle and Jessie Mueller d
Sara Bareilles and Kimiko Glenn
Diane Paulus and Sara Bareilles
Jessie Mueller with the cast
Nick Cordero, Keala Settle and Jessie Mueller
Kimiko Glenn, Keala Settle and Molly Hager
Henry Gottfried, Drew Gehling and Max Kumangai
Dakin Matthews, Nick Cordero, Christopher Fitzgerald and Eric Anderson during the Actors' Equity Gypsy Robe Ceremony honoring Charity Angel Dawson for 'Waitress' at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on April 24, 2016 in New York City.
Henry Gottfried and Kimiko Glenn
Max Kumangai and Alex Michael Stoll
Eric Anderson and Christopher Fitzgerald
Sara Bareilles with the cast making their Broadway debuts
Dakin Matthews, Nick Cordero, Christopher Fitzgerald, Eric Anderson, Kimiko Glenn, Keala Settle, Jessie Mueller and Molly Hager
Charity Angel Dawson with Nick Cordero, Eric Anderson and Christopher Fitzgerald
Charity Angel Dawson with the cast
Charity Angel Dawson and Alex Michael Stoll
Sara Bareilles, Jessie Mueller and Diane Paulus with the cast & creative team
Lorin Latarro and Charity Angel Dawson
Lorin Latarro and Charity Angel Dawson
Sara Bareilles, Jessie Mueller and Diane Paulus with the cast & creative team
Sara Bareilles, Jessie Mueller and Diane Paulus with the cast & creative team
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