By Meredith Heyman…
Camille A. Brown is a multi-Tony Award-nominated choreographer whose work was last seen on the boards in 2024’s award-winning new musical, Hell’s Kitchen. This season, she created the dance and movement for the revival of Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim’s, Gypsy. She tells Theater Pizzazz how she reinterpreted some of the musical’s iconic dances and collaborated with star Audra McDonald for her role as Rose.
TP: How did you initially approach the choreography for this new revival of Gypsy?
CB: I had 3 pre-pro sessions in order to build the choreography for the show. I was interested in creating a movement language that supported the time period and the storytelling. This is my fourth revival, so I knew my approach would be to find the balance between serving the show and using the dance to share my perspective. I wanted to showcase my approach to rhythm using Tap dance as inspiration. I was also interested in infusing specific social dances to show place and time, but using dances that I felt helped move the story forward. So it’s not just about picking social dances, it’s about creating dialogue. For example, “Trucking” is done in “Wherever We Go”, and I used that to show that Rose, Herbie, and Louise were on their way- traveling and excited for what’s to come. In “All I Need Is The Girl”, I use “the shorty George” to show Tulsa’s uninhibited abandonment of movement and how Jazz lives in his body. It is a complete departure from the dances he and the farmboys do in ACT 1.
TP: What was the inspiration for this interpretation of the musical’s classic strobe light transition to show the aging of June and her dancers, specifically how the Black Farm Boys are replaced with adult, white News Boys?
CB: When I was working on it, I was thinking “product”, not “personality”. This was not a moment to show the personalities of the newsboys and farmboys, but to show that in Rose’s mind, products can be replaced- and very easily. I was thinking of a fun house of sorts and inspired by “March of the Wooden Soldiers”. In this fun house, Rose is the ringmaster. It is the energy of “step right up!” She is devising her plan. Instead of shifting her artistic perspective where her focus could’ve been on making the dance better, she chooses commerce. Keep the dance, change the participants. Both the newsboys and the farmboys are products that she can swap in and out at any time. Whatever is going to get her closer to stardom. I wanted the movement to be staccato to mirror the storytelling.
TP: This Gypsy revival does not include any of Jerome Robbins original choreography. What does that choice mean to you?
CB: It gave me the opportunity to share my thoughts and perspective about the movement language of the show. Other than “Porgy and Bess” at The Metropolitan Opera, this was the first time I’ve been able to tap into my “classic/golden age” movement style. My mom introduced me to musicals when I was four, and we’ve been going to theater shows and watching movie musicals ever since. Though most of the musicals I have done in theater have been new, I knew the world of “Gypsy” because I grew up watching the 1962 movie musical. I have always loved this show, so I was thrilled George invited me into this space. There is sometimes a tendency for people to put you in a box and categorize you as being only “this” or “that” kind of choreographer. There is an assumption that if you do one thing, that means you can’t do the other. Coming right off of “Hell’s Kitchen,” it is thrilling to be able to share another side of myself that people may not know. As Rose says, “Here she is, world!”
TP: What has it been like collaborating with Audra McDonald for her role as Rose in this revival?
CB: Audra is excellence. I have admired her as an audience member, but to have had the opportunity to collaborate with her and get a view into her process was a gift. For “Rose’s Turn,” we talked about ownership and power. Rose is owning the gestures she taught the dancers for so many years and now claiming them as her own. Also, she is no longer using other bodies to push through the door. Now, she is using her own body to tell this story. It was wonderful to create a world for Audra that tapped into Jazz, Blues, and Burlesque! I incorporated strutting and a step my teachers called “the mess around”. It accentuates the hips, and since this moment is about Rose showing and telling us who really has the talent, it felt fitting to do that step.
TP: How do movement and dance tell the stories for the numbers “All I Need Is The Girl” and the “Let Me Entertain You” strip?
CB: For “All I Need Is The Girl,” I wanted to pull back on most of the lines Tulsa was saying as he danced and allow the movement to tell the story, to be his script. This is also the moment for Tulsa, where he can show what his body can really do. It is a chance to see how restricted Tulsa has been by Rose’s routines. He has a light to shine, and it had been dimmed. George and I wanted the essence to be reminiscent of Gene Kelly. It is a combination of Jazz and Tap. Also, Andy Einhorn (Musical Director) and I talked about the ways the music and dance helped us get to Tulsa’s big breakout dance release- a release that inspires Louise to jump in!
For me, the last strip is “Louise’s Turn.” This is her moment to claim the space and to show who she really is. And Joy is such a beautiful dancer that I wanted to showcase that. Storytelling-wise, this was interesting to me because throughout the musical, we see that Rose does not think Louise has any talent. Louise actually believes that until she finds her voice through Burlesque. This is an opportunity for the audience to see what is truth. Burlesque is magical to me. I wanted to create the essence of that as Louise starts removing her clothing. I also wanted to show how confident she is in doing so. I contacted Burlesque dancer Angie Pontani so I could learn the nuances of the genre. It was not about Angie teaching me choreography, but more so an opportunity for me to gain more insight on the form and then to align it with my voice as a choreographer. I learned that Burlesque is about who holds the power. This is not a moment for the audience to be voyeurs, but for Louise to determine who holds the power. She does! She is the magician guiding the eyes. There are hints of social dances from that era, but I translated them into my burlesque version.
TP: You mounted the New York “I AM” premiere at The Joyce Theater in February. How has that piece evolved over its previous productions?
CB: It normally takes me about two years to fully develop a work. I really like to take my time and experience every step of its development. I’m always working to tell a clearer story. I had amazing collaborators who supported me the entire way. Each time we had a residency, we were able to try new ideas to see if they worked. New elements were added as well as new sections. There was only one excerpt of the work that we had never done before coming to NY. It was exciting and scary because I didn’t know how the audience would react. I only had hope. And thankfully, the section was well received! In February, I had 2 shows running on Broadway and my Company performing at The Joyce Theater. It was an amazing experience. We were celebrating all things, and it felt really wonderful. I AM will continue to tour next year, and I’m so excited for more people to see it!
Photo by Whitney Brown (Ms. Brown) and Julieta Cervantes (Cast)