Audra McDonald
(Photo: Marc J. Franklin)

Audra McDonald, currently in rehearsals for a Broadway return Gypsiessays her late friend Gavin Creel, who gave her the idea of ​​playing the classic role of Momma Rose.

“He put it in my head,” she told Broadway.com editor-in-chief Paul Wontorek at a press event for the anticipated musical revival. McDonald is the first black actress to play the role on Broadway. “I looked at that role and thought, ‘Well, no one will ever cast me in that.'”

Creel visited McDonald and his husband Will Swenson (his co-star from hair on Broadway) at her home on Thanksgiving “about eight years ago,” she shared. “We spent many Thanksgivings together. He was a very close family member to us.”

“Anyway, after dinner he dragged me into my garage,” she continued. “He says, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you about something. You have to play Rose Gypsies. You have to do it. It’s exactly right. And it should be a black woman and honey, you have to do that. You have to figure out how to do it.”

McDonald added that Creel also advocated for it Gypsies Director George C. Wolfe. “A few years ago, Gavin cornered George and said, ‘Are you going to direct Audra on this?’ Because you have to!”

Find out more about McDonald and her Gypsies Co-stars in this week’s episode The Broadway show with Tamsen Fadal.

Gypsies begins November 21, 2024 at the Majestic Theater.