The Broadway breakout has a voice for the ages.
Now, shes taking on one of the greatest musicals of all time:Gypsy.
Gypsyopens at the Majestic Theatre on December 19.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Theyre playingSix!Joy Woodsexclaims as we enter the Museum of Broadway.
Did you see it?
an older man asks.
Yes, she replies.
I cant tell if Im still bleeding or not, Woods says with a tired chuckle.
I check, shes not.
Its a character study of Roses hyperfixation on the ebullient Junes career and her dismissal of the talentless Louise.
It was the first time the role had won.
Louise cannot shrink, Woods says when I ask her about the pressure.
Thats something Im still finding in Joy.
Then, in spring 2022, she made her Broadway debut inSixplaying Catherine Parr.
When she returned toLittle Shopin spring 2023, she became the first Black Audrey in New York.
Her real breakout came from starring as Middle Allie inThe Notebookon Broadway earlier this year.
It was one of the internets favorite theater moments of the year.
Every time she opened TikTok, Woods would see the back of someones throat belting the song.
Woods was raised outside Chicago as the youngest of six kids.
Her dad worked in tech, while her mom, a former dancer, stayed home.
Those four gave me my voice, Woods says.
When she did start acting, she booked leads.
Her time there was terrible.
She failed ballet twice, and despite walking at graduation, she did not receive her certificate.
It didnt matter: She landedLittle Shopwhile still in school and went to rehearsals from her dorm room.
Or do I play Whitney Houston and tell the truth?
Still, it was during her time there that she first heard about the legacy ofGypsy.
She didnt pay them much attention.
Yall can have that.
The familys Blackness is central to director George C. Wolfes vision.
Louises strips are also explicitly influenced by Josephine Baker.
The audition process, predictably, was insane.
It was very scawy, Woods says.
Woods is wildly self-critical.
I want the freedom to move.
McDonald sees that same groundedness in her but views it entirely as a strength.
That final dressing-room scene, Woods says, has been her biggest challenge.
The previous night was the first time she had left the scene not feeling like shit.
In real life, shes not used to being angry.
I dont yell, she says.
I dont go off on people.
I dont crash out.
I dont think this is a place where she regularly lives, Wolfe says.
But she found it.
And its real, and its exciting.
The New YorkTimesdropped itsreviewduring the shows opening-night party.
Woods read it in the taxi home.
It seemed that a lot of the reviewers were coming looking to not likeThe Notebook.
Notably, Woods did not score a Tony nomination, which was exactly what she expected to happen.
I just got here, she says.
One high belt song is not going to get me a Tony nom.
Her gimmick was furs.
Burlesque was empowering, though.
It was a fun two years, she says.
I was 21 and fearless.
Woods is committed to theater.
She also regularly refers to it as a dying industry, given itsfinancial woes.
Is that even something that Im allowed to wish for?
Is it going to exist by the time where I feel like Im enough to be diva level?
