Audra McDonald - Gypsy - Rose’s Turn (Broadway December 2024) Voice only.

[@twinborn3850]

This was one of the best theater moments…I have never felt more emotionally attached to an actress a play a moment…powerful..must watch

[@attonpearson1944]

I've waited for what seems like decades (two weeks) for this to drop. Absolutely not disappointed.

[@JustinRamelMusic]

The pain in her voice! Audra is in a class of her own ✨✨

[@scottc4199]

I just love everyone’s take on this character and waiting to hear their choices 😢 She’s so talented

[@markgreen9567]

Wow! Talk about taking a risk! Scary and dissonant! I can’t wait to see it!

[@brianweiner2984]

Just saw this yesterday. Audra's acting is far superior to most who have preceded her. Her voice was impeccable. We are conditioned to thinking Rose is a brash singer based on prior performances, but Audra's interpretation is controlled, desperate, and so, so smart.

[@paulcanaday-elliott9834]

I’m kind of in the “I dunno” category with this clip. I’m with her and appreciating what she’s doing up until the very end, when it becomes a little painful to listen to, and not in a good way. I love the emotional depth she’s bringing. It does sometimes feel like she’s fighting against the rhythm of the song, singing or speaking the song just ahead of or behind the beat. Like making the musical follow her emotional journey in the moment instead of riding the emotional wave in partnership with the music. I dunno. In the end, like from the 5-minute mark on, her voice doesn’t sound like it’s in a good place, like she’s trying to force her powerful soprano to meet the power belt demands of the song. For me, it doesn’t sound like it’s working and putting a strain on her voice. In fact, it makes me concerned for her voice. But what do I know, really? It’s tough because I have seen (Bernadette) and listened to (all the rest) so many perform this role, and despite the vast differences between them have become used to a certain general cadence, musically and emotionally, for how this song goes. I don’t know whether I don’t like the differences here because they’re different or because I think the differences are missing the mark. Hard to be objective about it. In either case, I did not feel myself saying, “Wow” to this. Just, “Hm, ok” and then “This is uncomfortable, I don’t like this.” Rightly or wrongly.

[@lester10023]

AUDRA! The one and only!

[@lc1715]

Incredible-better than I could've imagined. She makes Rose sound like a real person.

[@markcasenta113]

She was a real person

[@lc1715]

@@markcasenta113 Right. But I mean she sounds like she's not acting. Is that better?

[@ElizaHamilton1780]

Imelda Staunton does a better job of making Rose a real person.

[@scottmiller7779]

@@ElizaHamilton1780 I saw Imelda at the Savoy. I found her Rose a tad manic. She missed the cold determined calculation and motherly warmth that makes her so compelling and frightening. It was a fantastic production and glad to have the proshot to capture her performance but Tyne Daly (and later Linda Lavin) in the 1989 revival still reigns supreme for me.

[@Multifandom04]

Love this❤. So good. This role is one of the many demanding roles from theater so really hope that she doesn’t suffer any vocal damage.

[@Elgor-ks9cf]

Just saw Gypsy, last night. It is a great show. Audra is great in it. As, is the rest of the cast. But, the last number. Roses Turn. Sounded shrill to me. I did cringe at moments. Although, she showed lots of emotion doing it. You could see she was exhausted when she finished it. Roses anger, and disappointment were on full display. 👍⭐️

[@blasialuv8439]

I actually love this. It’s giving me a Pearl Bailey Hello Dolly. Great job Ms. Audra.

[@musicaltheatrefan2k226]

Now let’s have her duet it with Patti Lupone. PLEASE, LET’S HAVE AN ANYONE CAN WHISTLE REUNION

[@xak999]

Why? It never worked.

[@DNak-ve7ne]

I LUV Audra but I hope she’s not damaging her vocal cords when she’s trying to “belt” at the end.

[@DeanBellais]

The ending is very hard to listen to...vocal shredding. I hope she survives this.

[@carlottapelagio4354]

THIS IS PERFECT I WISH I COULD SEE HER LIVE

[@ducktastically]

saw her live, she was AMAZING

[@davidjudeallen]

This is EXCEPTIONAL which staggers me because this performance has gotten so much hate all through previews. I've read "comments" labelling it a total disappointment. Baffling.

[@alvinmedina7121]

wow !!!!!!!

[@geaj]

I like it!

[@thrillingopera8125]

I was at the first preview and this is about aa bad as I remember it being. The issue is not just that she just cannot belt beyond a certain point. It's also that her chesty belt is eo strong and present on the lower parts that when she switches into that mix or straight up head voice, the difference in vocal intensity is so stark it's SCARY. Not in a good way where it intensifies the drama. In fact it does the exact opposite. It strips the entire moment of all dramatic intensity because the way she sings is so jarring. I never thought in the over 20 years I have been listening to Audra McDonald that I would describe her singing as a DISASTER or a MESS. But unfortunately, that's exactly what this is. 😢

[@s1drful]

When she was announced, I suspected this might happen.

[@JackMason-oq8lf]

She doesn't sound rehearsed

[@JackMason-oq8lf]

Where is Tyne Daly when we need her?

[@scottmiller7779]

@@JackMason-oq8lf tunes performance still ranks as my personal favorite. She is not a trained singer but is one helluva actress and she used both to her advantage.

[@cskyler7091]

Does Audra sound incredible? Yes. But do I absolutely hate how they changed the key of the song’s climax? Also yes. Very much yes.

[@hanschristianbrando5588]

Unlike Louise, no one ever had to tell Audra McDonald to sing out.

[@jaltman1981]

Neither Vaudeville nor Burlesque were integrated in the 20s and 30s, but Audra brings the Black into this interpretation

[@trumpet71]

Darn, I wish the applause had been left in lol..

[@jhc18823]

Did they raise the key? It started to sound that way to me in the instrumentation before she goes "Why did I do it?" If she was going to have trouble belting to begin with, why make it higher? It sounds like she's acting her face off, but it's just not sitting well vocally, in my opinion. I was actually pleasantly suprised for a lot of it, particularly in the beginning, but the end just didn't have the impact that's usually there. That being said, Bernadette Peters also doesn't have a really chesty belt, and she made it work. I don't think it's bad (it's Audra, duh), it's just different.

[@s1drful]

The original ends on a C5. This ends on an E-flat 5 - a minor third higher.

[@jhc18823]

@s1drful That's baffling to me. She could have belted it out in the original key.

[@Luchino]

The high contralto elements that keep coming in don’t really fit.

[@tarakwannabe675]

Amen to that!

[@robertsandybeach9990]

Oooh beginning is fine but ending is shrill and flat..i did a production played Tulsa.. conducted by Michael Rafter..who did Bette and Tyne..so i have some experience talking Gypsy.

[@jacquelinedalamal]

Fantastic!❤

[@dlcnsfo]

I'll have to see it to really tell, and I understand some of the uncomfortabilty people are with her stark mix of voices. Hope to see it.

[@darreylhenderson702]

Is there a reason why it cuts off Before she ends?

[@scottmiller7779]

Audra is an amazing talent. I think we all can agree on that. Amazing vocal range and a phenomenal actor. That said I have to agree with others that this rendering of Roses Turn is missing the mark and I think it all stems from the change in key to show her soprano range which just doesn’t fit in this moment. Had she sung the song in the original key and applied the superb acting skill she displays in the first half this would be legendary. As is it’s sadly a miss for me. Maybe I’d feel different seeing it live as intended and being able to see the physicality of what Rose is experiencing at that moment when she snaps and finally lets everything out.

[@johnflynn9619]

Ethel Merman was the Greatest Rose. Lansbury would be 2nd Best for her dramatics.

[@unclealand]

Rose gets off easier in this version. By portraying her as a victim of time and place we get an unusual feminist statement, which I don't remember anyone else giving. It's a new take on Rose, but it lets her off the hook as a woman who robbed her children of their childhoods just to draw attention to herself. "Rose's Turn" loses something here, because her cries of "For Me!" seem like Judy Garland's 1960's persona, the "Poor Judy, the victim" show. Audra McDonald sounds a little forced in places, but I'm sure that will get worked out by the time the show opens. On stage she's the greatest talent since Judy Garland; better, really, because Audra McDonald doesn't come with the "Judy baggage." She knows who she is, what she's worth as a performer, and she connects with her audiences through her hard work. I can only wish her another remarkable hit.

[@Lp7809-s3d]

I love this. I think from the minute she comes on stage, you can see that she really and genuinely loves her daughters. Audra’s take on Rose made you able to empathise with the character. She started to lose and dive into her unconsciousness and desire as the show progresses which lend it self the the perfect rendition of Rose’s turn. George C. Wolfe’s direction was also brilliant in the show and it’s just perfection.

[@unclealand]

@@Lp7809-s3d Pushing your children onto the stage and dragging them around from city to city without a home base or education even when they beg you to settle down is hardly an expression of love. Rose is a narcissistic woman who drove her oldest daughter away at the age of 14. You can believe what you want, but asking us to sympathize with a woman who objectified her two daughters and robbed them of their childhoods is a little weird.

[@RobertSchumann-ox6eh]

BRILLIANT. She deserves another Tony! 🔥

[@unclealand]

@@RobertSchumann-ox6eh So anyone who opens in a show after this one couldn't possibly give a Tony-worthy performance?

[@Lp7809-s3d]

⁠@@unclealandI don’t think anyone was asked to sympathise with rose but I think the point of it is to see a character as human who has both good and bad. Yes, Rose might be narcissistic and have more bads than good but I feel like to play any character in one light is a disservice to a character. I think you missed the point that I’m trying to make which is Audra’s take on Rose made the character more rounded and not just a narcissistic villain.

[@krazykittymatt]

:/ Girl I love you but this is giving me Bernadette war flashbacks

[@LuisRodriguez-bo4xg]

I love my Audra. but for my personal opinion. (and I had this issue with Bernadette too), Mama is written for an actress who sings . My first Mama was Tyne Daly and for me only Patti & Bette have matched her. But Audra is still very, very good.

[@breezingby2611]

Rose was written for Ethel Merman which is reflected by the character’s notoriously demanding vocal workload. It’s a huge acting showcase but definitely not in “actor who sings” territory.

[@matthewhenrickson2911]

Not a fan of the slowing down of “Someone tell me” that section is suppose to drive to the end.

[@jordoncarnegie1206]

This is NOT good. She's brilliant in her lane. This just isn't the role for her. She simply cannot turn off her "pretty" voice. She tofgles between trying way to hard to sound bawdy and bright and then slips into her heavy vibratoo pretty tones. Not to mention her line read was .... interesting

[@smurf902]

Orchestra is way too "muted" (on purpose) - this number is blasted out by those horns usually.

[@sushicourier]

Mama Rose Realness. Not Mama Rose "Broadway nice"

[@Chaneloweenz]

Oh!....

[@inahandbag]

Wow, I’m almost sorry I found this - it’s extraordinary, so different than the criticism I’ve been reading. Now I just need to sell my right arm get a ticket! Oh well, 2 arms are overrated anyway. And this sounds superb.

[@ElizaHamilton1780]

Mmmm…no thanks. She sounds like Deena from Dreamgirls on a shrill bender. My favorite Mama Rose is Imelda Staunton. She is AMAZING.

[@lamariooo]

do you have you’ve gotta have a gimmick

[@drewy412]

I absolutely love Audra, but I believe she is vocally miscast. If that is as thing.

[@victordunson719]

The standing ovation she received on the December 7th evening says differently 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@joshdukie998]

​@@victordunson719That just means people respect her performance and that fact that she is a Broadway icon. I respect Audra as well but I can clearly hear her voice doesn't fit the role.

[@victordunson719]

@ I actually saw the show and if anything the soprano voice adds to the insanity of Mama Rose. It was easily one of the best performances I have seen on a Broadway stage and it’s been 45 years worth. So we’ll have to agree to disagree.

[@PaulMiller-s5l]

NO SHE NOT!!!!!! miscast.

[@hnc52]

I wanted to love this, but I do not. It was okay until " someone tell me when is it my turn". After that, shrill and all over the place. I love Audra, but her Rose is not FOR ME!

[@robertgrady5509]

😮😱

[@cherylkoski7184]

In 2002, I saw Liza Minnelli belt out Rose's Turn at the Beacon Theater (in "Liza's Back") like nobody's business. Audra's voice just isn't right for the part.

[@yaycoffe123]

Ummm that was a choice.

[@hieuscottle2494]

Not a fan of this version. I blame the director more than anyone because I bet Audra’s rendition could be much better than what it is here if she was given different direction.

[@mattthepianist8313]

Careful she might scream at the audience for taking pictures

[@fashionablechangeling2003]

That’s Patti LuPone you’re thinking of

[@singasong718]

That was awful. Sorry.

[@JackMason-oq8lf]

Doesn't sound "right"

[@nubndigger]

This is utterly atrocious. She is hideously miscast and what's with all the pauses? Harold Pinter has no place in GYPSY.

[@richardbocanegra5945]

The worst Rose's Turn I've ever heard..

[@royperez8965]

imelda staunton better

[@JP-sj5zn]

Hmmmmm . . . Just not sure if I like this or not! I love Audra but she just doesn't seem suited to this role. Not a patch on Imelda Staunton (who completely left EVERYTHING on that stage in this number). Seems like an "Audra In Concert" interpretation. Not a fan. Sorry!

[@ragtmt15]

Meh… lack luster no pain or discomfort

[@dougkurtz7597]

I’m a huge Audra McDonald fan but this is awful and definitely not the right part for her vocally.

[@billknight9378]

A lot of screeching. Too bad.

[@torysmith2986]

This is an incredibly desperate and revealing moment for the character at this point of the musical. She should be screeching, the character is delirious at this moment. Audra sounds incredible!!!

[@wwozanewmusical]

@@torysmith2986 she's not supposed to sound like she's from the South the real life mama Rose, and the character and play have them from Seattle, she wouldn't have a southern accent. And you don't have to sound like Ethel Merman, but you do have to play it the way the original writers wrote the character based off of the biography books that the musical is based on. Did they remove her and the kids from being from Seattle?

[@Harpfrmhel]

@@wwozanewmusical They gave her a southern accent because she's being played by a black actress. It makes sense that a black actress playing a woman in the 1920s would use a southern accent.

[@luc9388]

@@Harpfrmhel black people from Seattle didn’t speak in a southern drawl especially back in the early 1900s…

[@MJay-ny5bb]

@@Harpfrmhel In the 1920s black women only lived in the south?! How condescending! And inaccurate. There’s a long history of blacks in King County, WA, which includes Seattle, starting with Manuel Lopes in 1858. Wokeness has infected Broadway for at least the last ten years and has ruined many a show. Tootsie was cringe, just to name one. The Lehman Trilogy was rewritten after George Floyd; and while it’s still great, it’s not as good as it was. That said, Adrian Lester was superb.

[@DJGNYC]

NO. It’s a no. No no no. Glenn couldn’t act her way out of singing a score properly & neither can Audra. This is not for her.

[@eugenelaw5294]

Totally disagree!!

[@KajiVocals]

Not a good pick at all.

[@jeffersonjefferson2883]

Audra is not a BELTER.....She is a soprano. It is an epic failure...Sondheim would have said no to this casting choice...A black actress playing a real life white person is a gimmick..It does not work....Rose is a white woman's life choice....A black woman has totally different life choices.

[@patrickquinn9567]

I mean, you had me until you started talking about “a black actress…” Rose is a fictionalized version of a real person. Emphasis on fictionalized. It’s a musical, not a biopic.

[@Lp7809-s3d]

I mean if we talked about the idea of Sondheim disapproval of casting, I’d say look at the recent Sweeney’s casting… lol i think he’d be more interested in the right actor over the right style of singing but what do I know? I just based of when he said he prefer actors who sing over singers who act… 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@jayplays1434]

As inarguably wonderful as Audra is, this is NOT the role for her! I worry that she'll damage her wonderful instrument forcing what just is not there.

[@ritabrennan4464]

Absolutely wrong for the role…in every way. Why arent they writing original musicals for this amazingly talented performer

[@greeley56]

So bad in my opinion

[@francobertacci819]

🤮

[@johntwinam7214]

Dreadful.

[@howardmarren3199]

You know this is illegal. It's a copyright violation.

[@williammclean5897]

Go play in traffic

[@johni0666]

Bet you still listened to it…….

[@DJGNYC]

Go finish your homework

[@howardmarren3199]

@@johni0666

[@howardmarren3199]

I did not.