In the latest revival of Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim, and Jule Styne’s iconic musical, George C. Wolfe humanizes a famously monstrous stage mother.

Some people ain’t Audra McDonald, alright. With six Tony Awards to her name, the actress has already cemented her name in the history books. But with the new revival of 'Gypsy' that opened on Thursday,

Thankfully, director George C. Wolfe didn’t adhere to the ecdysiasts’ advice. “Gypsy,” which opened Dec. 19 at the newly restored Majestic Theatre, is the smartest kind of revival: one that excavates profound new layers of a classic piece, without plundering the musical of what makes it so fundamentally great.