Breaking Bway Barriers
A friend of mine tells a story about a dinner theatre in Fresno where they had a production of Evita – presumably with dinner. There was a rotating cast, and one person stood out. Eventually people would buy tickets to see the “Black Evita” – who happened to be a 16-year-old Audra McDonald. It was somewhat unusual to have an Evita of Color in the mid-‘80s. But Broadway may get to see Audra break another color barrier. Rumors are flying about that McDonald will turn up in a revival of Gypsy next season (it should be noted that Audra reportedly played a minor role in Gypsy as a kid – also in Fresno). While everyone always talks about how often Gypsy is revived, it should be noted that the last Broadway production took place in 2008 – helmed by Patti LuPone. That said, I saw another revival slightly more recently – and starring a Mama Rose of Color. Leslie Uggams led Gypsy at the Connecticut Repertory Theatre in Hartford back in 2014. What I found more jarring was that Uggams was 71 years old at the time.
Leave a Reply