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Jordan Tyson and Joy Woods in Gypsy
Jordan Tyson and Joy Woods in Gypsy

Gypsy Marks a Broadway Reunion for Jordan Tyson and Joy Woods

It’s a Broadway reunion for actresses Jordan Tyson and Joy Woods, who are taking center stage once again — this time as sisters — in the critically acclaimed revival of Gypsy. The duo last performed together on the Main Stem in The Notebook, in which Tyson portrayed Young Allie and Woods played Middle Allie. Now, in Gypsy, Woods plays Louise (a.k.a. Gypsy Rose Lee) and Tyson takes on June. As for their onstage mom? None other than six-time Tony Award–winning powerhouse Audra McDonald, bringing her unparalleled talent to the role of Momma Rose. Entertainment reporter Frank DiLella of Spectrum News NY1 recently caught up with Tyson and Woods to talk about their Broadway reunion and the excitement of reopening the Majestic Theatre with this historic revival.


Congratulations on Gypsy! This revival is an event! Joy, how did you book the coveted role of Gypsy Rose Lee?

JOY WOODS: I did a self-tape on Tony Sunday in 2024. I ran to Open Jar Studios to use the self-tape room before our matinee of The Notebook. And I did a bunch of in-person callbacks and did as much research as I could. I’m glad they all agreed I could do this.

Jordan, what was your audition like?

JORDAN TYSON: Joy told me earlier in 2024, she said, “Did you hear Audra is doing Gypsy?” And I thought, “Great! Can’t wait to see it!” I knew some of the music from Gypsy, but I never saw myself in it. The role of June came to me. I was invited into an audition, and I checked off my bucket list being in the room with George C. Wolfe and Camille A. Brown. Then they kept calling me back, and I thought, “Is this really happening?”

Maryann Plunkett, Joy Woods, and Jordan Tyson in The Notebook. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

The Joy and Jordan connection is so special. You both were just on Broadway last season playing the roles of Allie in The Notebook.

JW: Jordan is a supernova. If anyone has seen the show, they know what I’m talking about. If anyone has seen The Notebook, they know what I’m talking about. I learn so much from her every night. Her fearlessness. Her tenacity. I’m grateful to have her in this.

JT: The sisters in the show are so taken advantage of that they don’t get to have the bond they deserve or want early in their lives. Louise is protective of June. But in real life, I feel very protective of Joy. There is a fierceness there. We’ve had each other’s backs throughout all the processes we’ve been through. We’ve lived so much life together.

Tell me about discovering the legend that is Audra McDonald. When were you first introduced to her incredible body of work? 

JT: I started musical theater in high school. Around 10th or 11th grade, once I found out who Audra was, it was all Audra all the time. I know her albums back to front. I’ve seen all her performances, even her individual concert performances. I’m a big fan of hers.

JW: 2016 Tony Awards. That was the first Tonys I had ever watched. I had just gotten into theater in high school, and they had a Tony watch party. And the Shuffle Along performance came on, and I was like, “Who is that?!” And then we did the YouTube video deep-dive post-Tonys at that party and watched all the Audra videos. And then in college I got to watch more videos. Her performance in Marie Christine, Sondheim’s 80th birthday — the red dress performance — I’ve done a lot of deep dives on this lady. But now we’re friends, so I can’t do that anymore. [Laughs.]

Zachary Daniel Jones, Brendan Sheehan, Audra McDonald, Andrew Kober, Danny Burstein, and Jordan Tyson in Gypsy. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.
Zachary Daniel Jones, Brendan Sheehan, Audra McDonald, Andrew Kober, Danny Burstein, and Jordan Tyson in Gypsy. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

What’s it been like sharing the stage with Audra and having a front-row seat to her Momma Rose every night?

JT: Most people in the cast, as we’re getting ready for bows, we go up early so we can watch Audra do “Rose’s Turn.” Everything she does up there is unbelievable and captivating. 

JW: Along with Jordan, I’m learning so much from Audra. It’s the best crash course of, Are you present? Are you sharing? Are you breathing? It was nerve-racking at first being in a room full of titans like Audra and George C. Wolfe and Camille A. Brown and Danny Burstein. Audra feels like a mom.

What’s the best piece of advice Audra has shared with you about the business?

JT: Leave the ego at the door and do the work. I remember telling her that I was nervous about how our show was going to be perceived and getting to where I need to be. And she brought up the story of when someone told Lorraine Hansberry during the first production of A Raisin in the Sun, “Write your worst review for yourself.” Write only ugly things that people may say about you first so then anyone’s words, they can’t touch you. You know your soft spots better than any of these people.

JW: It was along the lines of not letting anyone take my power from me. There will be a lot of people who disagree with the take that this show has and our specific takes on the show. I’m young and I’m still trying to figure out how to block them out. She said people are allowed to have their opinions, but don’t let that take away from who you are and what you do.

Joy Woods in Gypsy. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.
Joy Woods in Gypsy. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

Joy, you have this fabulous dance moment in the second act that I feel is your tribute to Josephine Baker.

JW: It helps to think about the context of which we’re doing the show this time around. Yes, this show is based on real people, but if that person were to look like me based off historical evidence, Black women would have not been so easily accepted by audiences if their only “gimmick” was just talking. I think the story that we’re telling is that what happens if you can evolve and bloom as a person when you’re given some sort of affirmation or attention. That’s what we’re leaning into at the end of the show. And it’s been wonderful to use my body again. I’m grateful for our choreographer, Camille, giving me something wonderful to work on.

I need to point out Gypsy reopened the newly refurbished Majestic Theatre. The theatre is gorgeous!

JT: New facilities backstage are always amazing! I’m very much aware of how I feel when I enter a space I haven’t performed in before. And for me, I’m just in gratitude because all the artists who walked on that stage before us and the people whose lives have been changed seeing the other shows that came before us, I’m in awe.

Joy, what did you discover about the real-life Gypsy Rose Lee that you’ve applied to your Louise?

JW: She’s so funny. I remember reading the memoirs and just laughing. Even the dedication in the original memoir: It said, “To my son Eric, so you stop asking so many questions.” [Laughs.]

Audra McDonald and Joy Woods in Gypsy. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.
Audra McDonald and Joy Woods in Gypsy. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

Telling Gypsy now in this historic way, it takes on new meaning, and I feel like a whole other layer has been added to this musical, which is so moving. Do you feel that?

JW: It’s the Great Depression, we’re between two World Wars, and everyone is struggling and there are certain communities who were hit hard on top of the struggles they were already facing — like [the Black community] being accepted and having places that they felt welcomed in. For Rose, who has just decided that the life she has been given is not the life she wants for herself, she must forge with her hands a life that she thinks she deserves, and she thinks her kids deserve. It’s a feat even attempting to do that.

JT: When Rose says, “I was born too early but I got started too late but I would’ve been better than any of you,” you believe her. The only difference between her and her daughters’ experiences is that June and Louise have someone who is willing to go to bat for them. Now, Rose doesn’t always do it in the best ways all the time. [Laughs.] But Rose forges and forces opportunity to come her daughters’ way. I think it’s exciting that a whole new generation will have access to this piece, and our telling of it is American history.

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