The little I knew about Gypsy going into the latest revival was limited to a couple songs and an overbearing mother. Rose certainly is overbearing. No one else can barely get a word in. She's the original Dance Mom. It's sometimes painful to watch. As far as I know, Audra McDonald is the first black Rose on Broadway. And it adds a different dimension to the character, dreaming a delusional dream in the 1920s, dooming her children every time she denies them an opportunity to go to school. That both daughters eventually found success is a testament to their resilience. They humor their mother at their own cost. It's a tragedy, dressed (or undressed) in glitz at the end with a tinge of hope at reconciliation, but really tragic nonetheless.
Audra McDonald is a treasure. She is capital-A acting in those book scenes, heavy accent, emphasizing words, throwing around her stage presence like no one else matters. I'm used to hearing her beautiful singing voice but here she strains her voice. It's not effortless. It's not pretty. It's pained. Her Rose's Turn and Everything's Coming Up Roses hit a register of her voice that's very uncomfortable. It's a tour de force. That's what musical theater is about--it's not just singing, it's acting singing. It's not about sounding good, it's about sounding a character. The power comes from her vision of who Rose is and her embodiment of the tragedy of her life.
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