In a new conversation for VARIETY’s first-ever Broadway “Actors on Actors” issue, Audra McDonald and Jake Gyllenhaal discuss playing iconic villains in “Gypsy” and “Othello,” respectively. They talk about the pressure McDonald faces playing Rose, pre-show superstitions, preserving their voices during lengthy runs, cellphones going off during performances, and more. Handouts, highlights, and guidelines for image use below.
McDonald on the pressure she faces playing Rose: “After ‘Gypsy,’ I’m going to lie down for a year. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life…I’ve played hard roles before, but this vibrates on such a high level. I describe her as a hurricane. Not just vocally, but when you’re playing an iconic role, there’s the judgment that comes with it: ‘I saw Merman. I saw Tyne Daly. I saw Patti LuPone. And this is how it’s supposed to be done.’…We’ve turned the show on its head through a Black lens. All of a sudden, motivation seems different, even though we haven’t changed a word. Also, I have a voice that’s different than prior Roses.”
McDonald on how she approaches the iconic “Rose’s Turn”: “When we started, I was bombarded with other iconic performances in my head, and I was like, ‘Oh, hi, ladies. I have to figure out who I am in this song.’ There’s so much in ‘Rose’s Turn’ that can be about someone being held back because of their color and because they’re a woman. Once I let go of the iconic sound and how this has to be a big, bring-the-house-down, 11 o’clock number, I’ve been able to explore the abyss that Rose has fallen into at this point.”
Gyllenhaal on playing Iago: “I find Iago is different every night. Sometimes it veers into mustache-twirling more than it should, and sometimes he’s just brokenhearted. What’s most interesting about him is he’s not the guy who’s killing people right and left. He’s saying, ‘There’s a knife over there,’ and then somebody else goes and stabs the person with it. It’s very prescient in that way.”
Gyllenhaal and McDonald on their pre-show superstitions:
Gyllenhaal: “But I have weird superstitions. I have a thing about tying my shoelaces really tight. I have a quick change in the middle of the show, and people help me. When we were in the first run-through, one person had to tie my left shoe, and I had to tie the other one. I was literally like, ‘Are you sure you can tie it tight enough?’ What are your superstitions?”
McDonald: “I have the old-school ones. Don’t whistle backstage. Don’t say the title of the Scottish play inside of the theater.”
McDonald and Gyllenhaal on preserving their voices during lengthy runs:
McDonald: “Plays are harder than musicals because we think, ‘Well, I’m just talking,’ and forget to support our voice. I’ve found when I’ve done just straight plays, I’ve been in more vocal trouble. How are you handling that?
Gyllenhaal: “I struggled in the first few previews. To fall back on techniques makes me feel insecure. I’m used to doing 10 takes [on film]. If you go home and your voice is shot, you’re like, ‘At least they got it.’ So I do vocal warm-ups before the show. But forget about me. I love how meticulous a real, true singer is with their voice.”
McDonald: “It’s the neurosis of the singer. Every waking moment is ‘Oh my God, am I going to make it through the show tonight?’”
Gyllenhaal and McDonald on cellphones going off during their performances:
Gyllenhaal: “I did this monologue play, ‘Sea Wall/A Life,’ in 2019 and was instructed by the director that whatever happens, we would respond to it. But it’s different when it actually happens. It’s a little weird when a cellphone goes off, but our play is in modern times. I don’t call it out now. What about you?”
McDonald: “I have a little watergun…When I was doing ‘Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill,’ a cellphone went off close to the end, when Billie Holiday is high and drunk and dying at this point. At first I tried to ignore it, but then I was like, ‘What would Billie Holiday do?’ She’s slurring her words, refusing to sing and telling these horrible stories. The person is not turning their cellphone off, so I just went, ‘What the fuck is that?’ I snapped, and I’m sure I scared the shit out of the audience. But I had to acknowledge it.”
[Photo Credit: Emilio Madrid for Variety]
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