Video: Audra McDonald Shares Her Take on Mama Rose in GYPSY

Audra McDonald is sharing some insights into how she thinks about the character of Mama Rose. The Tony-winning performer will be taking on the iconic role in Gypsy beginning in November and McDonald visited Good Morning America to talk about the show and give audiences an idea of what they can expect.

In the interview, McDonald revealed that her opinion of the character has changed now that she is tackling the role. "Without ever having been inside the character, I always thought, 'Well, she's a monster of a mother... a horrible stage mother who does these horrible things to her children," she shared. "Now, I realize that this is a woman without many options and [someone] who had passion and ambition...I don't see her as a monster anymore."

This is the first time in Broadway history that the central characters- Rose, Louise, and June- are all being played by Black performers, a milestone that allows the material to take on a new resonance, McDonald says: "We're not changing a single line of dialogue [or] any of the music. But, in 2024, I think some of these lines and some of the situations that the characters find themselves in...it will hit in a different place, coming from a Black woman." 

Directed by six-time Tony Award-winning Director George C. Wolfe, GYPSY is Broadway’s ultimate tale of mothers and daughters, ambition and fame, and the lengths we’ll go in pursuit of the American dream.  GYPSY is suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee and features a book by Tony Award winner Arthur Laurents, music by Tony and Academy Award Winner Jule Styne, and lyrics by Tony, Grammy, Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize Winner Stephen Sondheim, choreography by four-time Tony Award nominated Camille A. Brown, music direction and supervision by Andy Einhorn, and additional orchestrations and arrangements by Tony Award winner Daryl Waters. 

GYPSY stars six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald (Rose), Tony Award Winner Danny Burstein (Herbie), Joy Woods (Louise), Jordan Tyson(Dainty June), Olivier Award winner Lesli Margherita (Tessie Tura), Lili Thomas (Miss Mazeppa), Mylinda Hull (Miss Electra), Jacob Ming-Trent (Uncle Jocko), Kyleigh Denae Vickers (Baby Louise), Marley Lianne Gomes & Jade Smith (Baby June), and Kevin Csolak (Tulsa). The ensemble featuresShanel Bailey, Jace Bently, Brandon Burks, Hunter Capellán, Tony d’Alelio, Summer Rae Daney, Kellie Jean Hoagland, Sasha Hutchings, Aliah James, Brittney Johnson, Zachary Daniel Jones, Ethan Joseph, Andrew Kober, Krystal Mackie, James McMenamin, Cole Newburg, Joe Osheroff,Majo Rivero, Ken Robinson, Sally Shaw, Thomas Silcott, Brendan Sheehan, Jayden Theophile, Natalie Wachen, Jordan Wynn, and Iain Young.

GYPSY has scenic design by four-time Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto, costume design by four-time Tony Award nominee Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by nine-time Tony Award winner Jules Fisher + three-time Tony Award winner Peggy Eisenhauer, sound design by Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer, hair and wig design by Academy Award winner Mia Neal, makeup design by Michael Clifton, casting by Jordan Thaler CSA/Heidi Griffiths CSA, and production stage management by Rick Steiger.

GYPSY performances will begin Thursday, November 21, 2024, at Broadway’s newly renovated Majestic Theatre and the show will officially open on Thursday, December 19, 2024.