Audra McDonald to star in Broadway revival of 'Gypsy'

"I can finally say ‘curtain up,’ ‘light the lights,’" said McDonald in a video.

May 29, 2024, 6:32 PM

"Gypsy" is coming back to Broadway, this time with six-time Tony Award-winning star Audra McDonald attached, according to the Majestic Theatre and social media accounts.

The show first made its debut on Broadway in 1959 and has been revived multiple times, most recently on London's West End in 2015.

The show, about a mother aiming to make her children stars, has music from Jule Styne and lyrics from Stephen Sondheim.

McDonald will play Rose, the controlling mother pushing her children to the stage.

PHOTO: In this Jan. 26, 2022, file photo, Audra McDonald appears onstage during an event in Orlando, Fla.
In this Jan. 26, 2022, file photo, Audra McDonald appears onstage during an event in Orlando, Fla.
Gerardo Mora/Getty Images, FILE

"Gypsy" will premiere at Majestic Theatre on Broadway.

"'Gypsy' is the landmark Broadway musical about a domineering mother in the early 20th Century who will do anything to make her young daughters Vaudeville stars," reads a description for the show on the Shubert Organization's Majestic Theatre's website.

The original show is based off of burlesque entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee's early childhood.

The show will be directed by George C. Wolfe and choreographed by Camille A. Brown.

"Gypsy" featured the original versions of now classic tunes "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Let Me Entertain You," and "You Gotta Get a Gimmick."

According to the show's Instagram page, tickets will go on sale on May 30 and previews will begin Nov. 21.

"I just want to set the record straight about something…I can finally say 'curtain up,' 'light the lights,' I am returning to Broadway this fall," said McDonald in an Instagram video on Wednesday.

McDonald's long and illustrious Broadway career began in the early 1990's and has lasted over three decades and included six Tony Awards and two Grammy Awards. Along with a career in film and television, McDonald has recently played in "Ragtime" and "Ohio State Murders" on Broadway.