Review Round-up: 'Here She Is World': Audra McDonald in 'Gypsy'

Jesse Greene, New York Times

"That not all this revival's choices will please everyone is probably a good thing. On occasion, I found myself recalling moments that moved or thrilled me more in earlier productions, just as I did when I saw those productions in the first place. "Gypsy," like other great works of midcentury American drama – it opened the same season as Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" – rewards a layering of lifetime impressions. Wolfe offers a rich new layer, sufficient in itself, and more so as part of history.

"Most important, he has given us a way of seeing a star who had to be seen in this role. As "Gypsy" suggests, and McDonald keeps proving, a pioneer woman needs a frontier."

Sara Holdren, Vulture

"Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald shoulders the big handbag and small dog as she stomps down the aisle at the top of George C. Wolfe's revival to thrilled applause, and she earns it – the production as a whole, less convincingly so. . .

"Despite its indestructible book and score and several strong performances, the show Wolfe has built never quite hangs together. Its gestures at times feel stock, at other times scattered, and as in much of Wolfe's work with Loquasto, there's a sense of getting stuck somewhere between worlds. Is this a scrappy production, or isn't it? Well, of course it isn't, but one gets the sense that somewhere along the line, it might secretly have wanted to be. . .

"If you're a Mermanite when it comes to Roses, McDonald's classically beautiful, honey-golden voice might throw you. There's no honk or bellow about her. She doesn't rail; she resonates. But she also acts the pants off the role. She makes clear why Momma Rose has famously traveled through so many types of voices, drawing fans and defenders with every transformation: because truly, the part is a great acting role. You can sing it beautifully or you can sing it ugly, but any way you try it, you've got to be able to rip it and the audience to emotional shreds, both in and out of song."

Aramide Tinubu, Variety

"Sixty-five years after it first premiered on Broadway, "Gypsy" is still known as one of the greatest theater masterpieces of the 20th century. There have been stellar productions of the play from New York to London, led by icons including Angela Lansbury and Imelda Staunton. However, the latest revival, shepherded by legendary director and playwright George C. Wolfe and starring Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, is an electric and truly unique production that will undoubtedly become a crowning jewel in the canon of 'Gypsy.' . . .

"Ribboned with glorious melodies including 'Some People,' 'You'll Never Get Away From Me' and the beloved 'Everything's Coming Up Roses,' which put McDonald's robust, crisp and exhilarating voice front and center, every second of the two-act musical is an immersive experience. From the flow and rhythm of Camille A. Brown's dazzling choreography to the set and sound design by Santo Loquasto and Scott Lehrer, respectively, and certainly the glimmering costuming by Toni-Leslie James (especially in Act II), it's evident why 'Gypsy' has withstood the test of time."