Gypsy is one of our greatest musicals. And what a pedigree: score by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Arthur Laurents, and original direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins. It’s a Great White Way pantheon. Loosely based on the memoir of the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, the musical tells the story of Rose, a monster stage mom who’s pushing her two daughters toward vaudeville stardom. That mother has been played by the industry’s finest, beginning with Ethel Merman in the 1959 premiere production, and moving through Angela Lansbury in 1974, Tyne Daly in 1989, Bernadette Peters in 2003, and Patti LuPone in 2008. Now, it’s Audra McDonald’s turn. With six Tony Awards to her name—more than any other actor in history—McDonald “has become to the American theater what Meryl Streep is to film,” according to The New York Times. So hold your hats and hallelujah, Audra’s gonna show it to you. —Jeanne Malle