Camille A. Brown finds new steps in classic 'Gypsy'

When colleagues heard Camille A. Brown was creating new choreography for the latest revival of “Gypsy,” some were excited. Others would say, “Oh, you’re doing ‘Gypsy.’ I never saw that.”

Known for more contemporary shows, “I felt like, ‘Wow, they’re placing me in a box,’” Brown says. Rather than rebel, “I said to myself, ‘Let the work speak for itself.’ And I’m so thankful that I did.”

Now, she’s nominated for a Tony Award for the celebrated musical — her fifth in a handful of years.

“Yes, I can do ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ ‘Once on This Island,’ ‘Choir Boys’ and ‘For Colored Girls.’ But I can also do classic golden age Broadway,” she says.

To find a new essence in the production starring Audra McDonald, Brown studied the cast and familiarized herself with their body language. “I’m never going to give a dancer something that they can’t do,” she insists. “But everything you see in ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ and ‘Gypsy’ is there because I knew they could do it.”

Kevin Csolak, who won a Chita Rivera Award for his work as “Gypsy’s” Tulsa, had the essence of Gene Kelly, Brown says. “He had the groundedness that Gene Kelly had. Kevin has his own charisma and his own connection. So, it was really about pulling out those things that were jazz-, tap-, percussive-inspired and putting that into the work.”

With McDonald, it was a matter of listening to her character’s words and giving her “a dance script that can align with the main script and the songs. When I create, it’s not steps, it’s language. And so, if she’s saying, ‘I want more in my life,’ how can I create movement that says, ‘I want more in my life’?”

Brown says she tracked McDonald’s gestures throughout other parts of the musical and used them to inform “Rose’s Turn,” her big number. “Throughout the show, Momma Rose has not used her own body to claim the space. She’s been using her kids’, she’s been using other dancers’, and this is her moment to say, ‘Enough. I’m going to walk through the door myself.’”

Choreography that Rose gave Baby June, the farm boys, the news boys and others show up when she claims them as her own.

“I grew up on ‘Gypsy,’” Brown says. “My mother introduced me to the show when I was very young because she loves musical theater. I knew all the (Jerome Robbins) choreography because of that. It’s always helpful to know what has come before so then I can come up with my own vision and my own perspective. I couldn’t worry about what people or were expecting or not expecting. The challenge is, how do you give people the feels of what they love about the show and love about the choreography but introduce something new?”

When Brown — who has her own dance company and another life outside the theater — got the 2025 Tony nod, it was just as exciting as the four earlier ones.

At Sunday’s ceremony, a lot of thoughts will come to mind, she says. “I don’t think there’s one emotion that goes into something like that. You’re celebrating the season. You’re celebrating each other and you’re excited to be there. I’m just going to live in the present and enjoy it.”

And should she win? Brown pauses. “I have all those (nominee) pins in one of my bookcases. I have a special place for my certificates, too. And, if we win, we’ll have a place for the Tony.”