Guide to 'Gypsy' on Broadway starring Audra McDonald

The six-time Tony Award-winning actress plays the iconic role of Mama Rose in the latest revival of the classic musical at the Majestic Theatre from November.

Caroline CaoJuly 10, 2024, 04:00

Prepare to drop your jaws in awe — and perhaps terror — at the mother of all stage mothers that is Rose in the musical Gypsy. After all, the real-life burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee once called her mom “in her own words, a jungle mother.” To navigate showbiz is like walking through the wild.

The musical classic Gypsy, about the fraught relationship between Rose and her daughters, now returns to the Broadway stage for the first time since 2008. Theatre legend Audra McDonald is having her turn as Rose, a highly anticipated performance in a role historically played by white actresses.

Starting with its 1959 Broadway premiere, Gypsy has attracted many celebrity performers and cemented its place in theatre history. Learn more about the show — come, we’ll have a real good time.

Check back for information on Gypsy tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

What is Gypsy about?

Gypsy follows stage mother Rose as she manages her two daughters, June and Louise, and scrapes up every penny to fund their tour in the hopes of making them famous. When June, her favorite, runs away to do her own act, Rose re-channels her ambitions on the plain and shy Louise and vows to mold her into the star — but as Louise comes into her own, Rose must face her own regrets.

Along the way, Rose acquires the support of candy-seller-turned-agent Herbie, who hopes Rose will settle down and marry him. It’s a sentiment shared by her daughters, who imagine life without vaudeville pressures.

Where is Gypsy playing?

Beginning November 21, 2024, Gypsy is playing at the Majestic Theatre on 245 W. 44th St. between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. With 1,681 seats, the Majestic is famous for housing the record-breaking 35-year run of The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway's longest-running show of all time.

Prior to Phantom, the Majestic Theatre premiered other famous musicals like Carousel, Camelot, A Little Night Music, and The Wiz.

How long is Gypsy?

While a running time has yet to be announced for the 2024 Gypsy revival, previous productions typically ran between 2.5 and 3 hours, including a 15-minute intermission.

What days is Gypsy playing?

Gypsy plays eight performances a week at the Majestic Theatre, typically with two performances each on Wednesday and Saturday and no performance on Monday. For the complete performance schedule and show times, please visit the Gypsy page.

When did Gypsy premiere?

In 1957, striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee published the book Gypsy: A Memoir. The Broadway musical adaptation premiered in April 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before opening at the Broadway Theatre in New York the next month. The production starred Ethel Merman as Rose and Sandra Church as Louise.

Gypsy ran for 702 performances before its closing in March 1961. The original production was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins and earned eight Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical.

The 2024 Gypsy Broadway revival is scheduled to begin performances on November 21, 2024, with an official opening night of December 19.

Who wrote Gypsy?

Arthur Laurents (West Side Story) penned the musical's script, loosely adapted from Gypsy Rose Lee's 1957 book Gypsy: A Memoir. Music is by Jule Styne (Funny Girl) and lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim, who previously wrote lyrics for West Side Story.

After Gypsy, Sondheim continued to work with Laurents on Do I Hear a Waltz? and Anyone Can Whistle.

Gypsy characters

The characters in the Gypsy musical are based on the colorful family members and acquaintances Gypsy Rose Lee documented in her memoir. Here are the major ones.

Rose: Modeled after the real-life Rose Thompson Hovick, Momma Rose is the overbearing stage mom who lives vicariously through her daughters, pushing them through vaudeville performances and hustling for gigs. The character has been heralded as one of the most compelling, tragic leads in theatre.
Herbie: The love interest of Rose and father figure to June and Louise. A candy seller-turned-agent, he hopes Rose will marry him.
June: Often sporting golden locks, June is a versatile singer and dancer whom Rose dotes on. Soon, however, she escapes Rose’s iron grip to establish her own act.
Louise: Rose's second daughter, who often danced in the shadow of the conventionally pretty June. She eventually finds her place in the burlesque profession.
Tulsa: One of the showboys Rose recruits on their early tour. While he’s a minor character, he sings and dances one of the famous numbers, “All I Need Is the Girl.”
Tessie Tura: A stripper who dispenses burlesque advice to Louise in the song “You Gotta Get a Gimmick.” Tessie has a sexy ballerina gimmick, so the ballerina Maria Karnilova originated the role.

Who is in the cast of Gypsy on Broadway?

Rose is a plum role for a diva to flex and flaunt her talents, so it’s natural that a six-time Tony Award winner and two-time Grammy winner Audra McDonald would fit the bill for the 2024 revival.

McDonald’s award-winning Broadway roles include Sarah in Ragtime, Bess in Porgy and Bess, Billie Holliday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun, Sharon in Master Class, and Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel. Her other recent Broadway credits include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune and Ohio State Murders.

Additional Gypsy casting has yet to be announced.

Gypsy songs

The songs in Gypsy, written by Jule Styne (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), are steeped in the sounds of vaudeville and classic Broadway. Here are all the songs in Gypsy, including famous showstoppers like "Rose's Turn."

Act 1

"Overture"
"May We Entertain You"
"Some People"
"Some People (Reprise)"
"Small World"
"Baby June and Her Newsboys"
"Mr. Goldstone, I Love You"
"Little Lamb"
"You'll Never Get Away From Me"
"Dainty June and Her Farmboys"
"Broadway"
"If Momma Was Married"
"All I Need Is the Girl"
"Everything's Coming Up Roses"

Act 2

"Entr'acte"
"Madame Rose's Toreadorables"
"Together, Wherever We Go"
"You Gotta Get a Gimmick"
"Small World (Reprise)"
"Let Me Entertain You"
"Rose's Turn"
"Finale"

Major productions of Gypsy

Beyond the 1959 premiere on Broadway, Gypsy has had numerous high-profile productions. Read on for a timeline of the musical.

April 1959: Gypsy makes its world premiere in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
May 1959: Gypsy premieres on Broadway with Ethel Merman in the title role.
1961: Gypsy launches its first U.S. national tour, also starring Merman.
1973: Angela Lansbury stars in the U.K. premiere of Gypsy in London's West End.
1974: The West End production transfers to become the first Gypsy Broadway revival. Lansbury won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and bookwriter Arthur Laurents directed.
1989: Another Laurents-directed Broadway revival stars Tyne Daly as Rose. Daly won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical, and the production won Best Revival of a Musical.
2003: Sam Mendes directs a Broadway revival starring Bernadette Peters. It was nominated for the Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical Tony Awards.
2007: New York City Center hosts a limited-run Off-Broadway production as part of its annual series of musical revivals titled Encores! It starred Patti LuPone as Rose, Laura Benanti as Louise, and Boyd Gaines as Herbie.
2008: Most of the City Center cast transfers for a Broadway revival. Although it lost the Best Revival of a Musical Tony, LuPone, Gaines, and Benanti all scored awards. This is the final Gypsy Laurents directed before his death.
2015: Jonathan Kent directs a West End revival starring Imelda Staunton as Rose and Laura Pulver as Louise. This production was nominated for eight Laurence Olivier Awards, taking the Best Actress for Staunton and Best Musical Revival. This version is currently streaming for free on Tubi.
2024: A Broadway revival, starring Audra McDonald as Rose, is directed by George C. Wolfe and choreographed by Camille A. Brown.

Onscreen adaptations of Gypsy

Gypsy birthed two film adaptations in the 20th century.

1962: Mervyn LeRoy directed and produced a film adaptation starring Rosalind Russell as Rose, Karl Malden as Herbie, and Natalie Wood as Louise. The film earned three Academy Award nominations. It is rentable on various platforms including Prime Video.
1993: Emile Ardolino directed a televised film starring Bette Midler as Rose. It can be streamed on BroadwayHD.

Throughout the 2010s, Barbra Streisand shared plans to produce, direct, and star as Rose in a new adaptation, but the project never happened. In 2019, Deadline reported that Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino was in negotiations to write and direct a Gypsy film, but there have been no updates since.

Celebrities who have performed in Gypsy

Numerous high-profile acting titans have performed in the coveted lead roles of Gypsy. It’s essentially acres of Roses. Here they are, world!

Audra McDonald: The six-time Tony Award-winning actress plays Rose in the 2024 Broadway revival. She and Julie Harris are the performers with the most Tonys in history, but one of Harris's is a special award, while all of McDonald's are competitive.
Ethel Merman: Long associated with "There's No Business Like Show Business" from Annie Get Your Gun, Merman is "the undisputed First Lady” of musical comedy. She won a Tony for Call Me Madam and was nominated for originating the role of Rose in Gypsy. In 1972, she earned a Special Tony Award.
Angela Lansbury: Her Broadway-legend status was cemented by her leading role in Mame, and her other award-winning roles included Rose in 1974. Her movie work includes The Manchurian Candidate, Murder, She Wrote, and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast as the voice of Mrs. Potts.
Bernadette Peters: A leading Sondheimic interpreter, Peters has also performed in Into the Woods, Mack and Mabel, Sunday in the Park with George, Follies, and Hello Dolly! Peters’s 2003 role as Rose marked a full-circle career moment, as she understudied Dainty June in a touring Gypsy production at age 13.
Patti LuPone: Watching Patti LuPone sing “Rose’s Turn” at the 2008 Tony Awards ceremony was a formative moment for many theatre kids. She is also known for originating the title role in Evita on Broadway in 1979. Beginning in August 2024, LuPone stars in The Roommate on Broadway opposite Mia Farrow.
Imelda Staunton: The London stage legend played Rose in 2015 in the West End. Film and TV viewers know her as the villainous Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter film series and as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix's The Crown.
Bette Midler: Midler won a Golden Globe for starring in the 1979 movie The Rose and sang a rendition of the pop song “The Rose” before she became the Rose of the 1993 Gypsy film adaptation. Post-Gypsy, she starred as Dolly Levi in the 2017 Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! and played buck-toothed witch Winifred Sanderson in the 1993 film Hocus Pocus and its 2022 sequel.
Tyne Daly: Aside from winning the Tony for playing Rose in the 1989 Gypsy Broadway revival, this television and stage veteran gained nominations for 2006's Rabbit Hole and 2014's Mothers and Sons. She won four Emmys for her role as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the 1980s show Cagney & Lacey.
Laura Benanti: Benanti had a celebrated theatre career before playing Louise in the 2008 Broadway revival, but Gypsy was her career-defining moment, which earned her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Benanti’s buttery voice can also be heard in She Loves Me, which was filmed on Broadway and is streaming on BroadwayHD.
Natalie Wood: She is known for playing Maria in the original 1961 West Side Story movie adaptation, although her singing voice was dubbed by Marni Nixon. Wood got to do her own singing as Louise in the 1962 Gypsy film.
Jack Klugman: The original Herbie in Gypsy on Broadway, Klugman won Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for starring in the TV adaptation of Neil Simon's play The Odd Couple. He also performed in the original Broadway production.
Boyd Gaines: Before winning a Tony for playing Herbie in the 2008 Gypsy Broadway revival, he earned fame for playing Mark Royer on the '80s sitcom One Day at a Time.

What awards has Gypsy won?

Gypsy is one of those darling musicals that always sweeps armfuls of award nominations and wins.

Tony Awards: The original production earned eight Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. Every Broadway revival and actress playing Rose has gotten at least a nomination for Best Revival and Best Leading Actress, respectively. The 1990 Broadway revival won both, and the 2008 revival scored acting prizes for Boyd Gaines as Herbie, Laura Benanti as Louise, and Patti LuPone as Rose.
Grammy Awards: Ethel Merman and the original production won Best Musical Theater Album. All future Broadway revivals got nominated for the award; the 2004 staging also won.
Drama Desk Awards: All previous Broadway revivals have received at least Best Revival of a Musical and Best Leading Actress nominations. The 2008 Broadway revival won Best Leading Actress for Patti LuPone and Best Featured Actress for Laura Benanti.
Laurence Olivier Awards: The 2015 West End staging earned eight Olivier Award nominations, winning Best Musical Revival and Best Actress for Imelda Staunton.

Fun facts about Gypsy

The inherent mayhem of vaudeville and theatre makes Gypsy ripe for drama both on stage and backstage. Discover fun facts about the making of the musical and the connections among those involved.

Certain parts of Gypsy Rose Lee’s memoir are omitted from the show, including animal deaths. Plenty of performers brought pets on the road, but one passage depicts Rose accidentally shooting a cow near their tent. Rose, Gypsy, and their troupe buried the cow and ignored the farmer searching for it.
As recounted in the book Sondheim & Co. by Craig Zadan, Stephen Sondheim initially resisted involvement because he wanted to write the lyrics and music, but Ethel Merman wouldn’t take a chance on a new composer. Sondheim’s mentor, Oscar Hammerstein, urged him to join.
According to Sondheim & Co., writer George Oppenheimer witnessed a “fracas” when Ethel Merman screamed at Jule Styne over the phone when film director Mervyn LeRoy reneged on a promise and signed Rosalind Russell as Rose for the 1962 Gypsy movie.
“If Momma Was Married” name-drops Fanny Brice, a contemporary of Gypsy Rose Lee. After Gypsy, one of Jule Styne’s most famous musicals would be Funny Girl, about Brice. The real-life Lee wrote of a nerve-wracking childhood memory of performing alongside Brice. As adults, Lee became roommates with Brice, who painted her.
In the original production, director/choreographer Jerome Robbins initially envisioned "Rose's Turn" as an ensemble ballet, a far cry from the final product, a solo for Rose.
Numerous headlines — and memes — erupted after an infamous incident when Patti LuPone stopped a performance of “Rose’s Turn” to scold an audience member snapping flash photos.

How to get Gypsy tickets

You might go the theatre for the star power of Audra McDonald and stay for the talent surrounding her. A reimagined Gypsy, with a majority Black main cast and creative team, might provide an enthralling gateway for both theatre buffs and casual fans to discover (or rediscover) the classic musical. Gypsy has proven its staying power over 60-plus years, and fresh roses are the way to go.