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Gypsy review
Everything’s Coming Up Roses for
Gypsy at The Muny This Week
by Pat Lindsey
Gypsy is the epitome of the American musical and The Muny’s production magnifies its timeless greatness. Based on the book written by Arthur Laurents about the memoirs of striptease artist, Gypsy Rose Lee, it features a can’t-fail combination of music by Jule Styne with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and choreography by Jerome Robbins. An outstanding score, fantastic singing and dancing, love, heartbreak, comedy, and drama make this show the crowning achievement of the ‘book musical.’
The story begins in Seattle, where Momma Rose (Beth Leavel) is living in her father’s house with her two daughters. Rose has been married three times and the Depression is bearing down on the family. She asks her father for some money for her girls, but he thinks his daughter should get a job. Instead, Rose (Leavel), Baby Louise (Elise Edwards), Baby June (Amelie Lock), and Rose’s boyfriend, Herbie (Adam Heller) hit the road and pick up talented boys along the way to form their new vaudeville act in Los Angeles.
The Muny creatively uses its large video screen as a backdrop and road map to take the audience on their route from Seattle to L.A. and later to exotic places like Tulsa, Akron, and finally New York. The ragtag troupe scratches its way through vaudeville for a number of years, barely surviving on Elks Lodge gigs and Chinese takeout. The kids grow up before our eyes, but Momma Rose announces to her troupe, “As long as we have this act, nobody is over 10.” She is convinced that Baby June (Hayley Podschun), who has a great voice, will be a star, while older sister Louise continues to fade into the background. The act gets renamed a few times, but it’s still the same old “Let Me Entertain You” act and eventually it falls apart with the death of vaudeville.
This show could have easily been titled, “Rose,” because the star of this show is Momma Rose, the pushy, domineering mother of Louise and June, who desperately wants a show business life for her two daughters. She is the ultimate stage mother who is magnificently played by Beth Leavel. Right up there with the style, power, and gusto of Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Patti Lupone, Leavel belts out songs such as, “Some People” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” and is rewarded with a roar of applause and cheers from the crowd. She spellbinds the audience as everyone wonders how this little woman can sing these big songs and deliver so much dialogue night after night. Beth Leavel is nothing short of phenomenal in this role.
The song and dance, “All I Need is the Girl,” performed by Tulsa (Drew Redington) and beautifully choreographed by Ralph Perkins, captured my heart. During the number, Tulsa explains how he is going to create a dance act, but all he needs is the girl, while a matured Louise (Julia Knitel) lovingly watches him and wishes she could be that girl. Still wearing half of her cow’s costume, Louise can’t help herself from joining Tulsa in the final segment of his dance. A short time later, we learn that Tulsa and June are married and have run off together to take their own act on the road, leaving Louise and Rose with broken hearts.
We can’t help but love Herbie, sweetly played by Adam Heller, who acts as the agent for the struggling troupe and stands by Rose through thick and thin. He has desperately wanted to marry Rose for years, and when the wedding date is set at last, he is overjoyed. More heartache ensues when Rose, on their wedding day, gets immersed in making Louise an elegant burlesque artist and forgets all about the wedding, and Herbie finally walks out on her.
Every actor in this show deserves recognition and praise, but one who must be singled out is Electra (Ann Harada), the short burlesque dancer who lights up the stage with comedy and battery-operated lights that illuminate several of her body parts. She, Tessie Tura (Jennifer Cody), and Mazeppa (Ellen Harvey) give Louise helpful hints to becoming a successful burlesque artist.
When Louise (Knitel) solos for the first time on the burlesque theater stage and sings, “Let Me Entertain You,” Momma Rose, of course, is offstage coaching her. We then see a rapid succession of burlesque houses where Louise, now known as Gypsy Rose Lee, gains fame and fortune. By the time Louise is a big star with her name in lights at Minsky’s, Rose seems deflated. After pretending for years that she was making all the sacrifices for her girls, Rose comes to the realization that she did it for herself. Louise acknowledges that with, “You really could have been something.”
The Muny’s Gypsy is true to the original script and absolutely outstanding. It will make you feel like singing, laughing, crying, and remembering how much you’ve always loved this extraordinary show with its classic songs and clever lyrics. Don’t miss it at The Muny this week, now through August 2. For ticket information, call 534-1111 or go to muny.org.
