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Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald has been a huge fan of the Duchess of Sussex for many years. Audra has name-checked Meghan in interviews, and in 2023, Audra told Vanity Fair that Meghan is the person she most admires in the world, saying: “I don’t know how she continues to walk through this world with the grace, strength, and purpose that she does given the unbearable amount of vitriol and hate she has been subjected to, but she does. I wish she didn’t have to.” Thursday evening, Meghan was in New York to see the acclaimed Broadway revival of Gypsy, the musical loosely based on the life of Gypsy Rose Lee. Audra plays Mama Rose, the mother, a fantastic role for an actress with a booming voice.
Suffice to say, Meghan loved the musical and she loved meeting Audra. Meghan went backstage and met the whole cast, and the kids were especially excited to meet a real princess. There’s also a great photo of Meghan meeting a cute little terrier, and her joy at holding that little dog tells me that poor Pula and Mia are probably getting a new sibling at some point. Meghan wrote on her IG: “If you get a chance to see @gypsybway, you absolutely must. Congratulations to the tremendously talented cast and crew for creating magic on that stage. And meeting @audramcdonald for the first time last night….🥹 Her performance will leave you absolutely speechless. Full body chills. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house, and if the theater didn’t have to close for the night, the standing ovation would still be happening.” People Mag had more about Meghan’s night out:
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, was spotted in Manhattan on April 10, as first reported by Page Six. The outlet reported that she dined at Polo Bar before heading to the Majestic Theatre to take in Gypsy. After the show, Meghan and her group of friends — including Nate Berkus, Jeremiah Brent, Tracy and Brian Robbins and George Cheeks— went backstage to meet the cast.
“Meghan was totally happy to come backstage and very generous with her time,” a source on the scene tells PEOPLE. “She made her way around the room, greeted everyone and was just very smiley and nice.”
The revival stars six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, the first Black actress to play the role of Mama Rose on Broadway. Meghan and McDonald hugged and posed together for a photo, with McDonald still in costume.
“She kept telling them how much she loved the production and was gushing specifically to Audra about her performance,” the source adds. “The company were all so happy to have her there and appreciative of her support.”
Nate Berkus! And Tracy Robbins! I feel like this was probably Tracy’s suggestion, like she was the one saying “We should fly to New York to see this revival!” I’m so glad that Meghan and Audra finally got to meet in person and you can tell from the photos that Audra was so moved to see Meghan there. I’m also glad that Meghan felt like security could be tight and controlled enough where she could move around New York without it devolving into a really dangerous situation. Speaking of, Page Six’s sources threw a tantrum about Meghan’s security.
How many security vehicles does it take to escort one duchess? Meghan Markle beefed up her safety measures for a recent night out in the Big Apple. Photos exclusively obtained by Page Six show the Duchess of Sussex, 43, being driven around New York City on Thursday evening with a grandiose four-car motorcade, including three SUVs and an unmarked police vehicle. We’re told Markle hired former Secret Service agents as part of her private security detail — which followed her to dinner and a Broadway show — and that the unmarked vehicle belonged to the New York Police Department and had two intel detectives inside of it.
A paparazzi source tells Page Six that the duchess’s security measures are “absolutely abnormal, totally over-the-top and excessive…Taylor [Swift] usually has two cars — her car that she’s in and a security car with her team,” the insider says, “and if she’s going somewhere, she has a separate car on-site with her team already there, but they don’t travel together.”
The pap source notes that other A-listers like Kim Kardashian, Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Rihanna all travel with one car unless they are with family, then they allot for two, but “no one gets police escorts.”
“Meghan is out of control and over-the-top, and it’s ridiculous if the city is paying for this,” the source opines. “And if NYPD was not on duty, then they shouldn’t be allowed to run lights. Somebody’s got to be paying for it.”
“We’re told Markle hired former Secret Service agents as part of her private security detail” – Meghan and Harry have had former Secret Service agents on their security detail for years. They have really high-level private security, staffed with people who know what they’re doing. And WTF does it matter if she had a four-car motorcade? The NYPD obviously feels like they need to ensure that Meghan and Harry have hardcore security in the city, given what happened in 2023. Plus, it sounds like Meghan was moving in a larger group plus security, thus they needed three cars plus an NYPD car. Page Six’s insider sounds absolutely deranged and dangerous.
Photos courtesy of Meghan’s IG and Audra’s IG.
