#Jule Styne

[audramcdonald]

Audra McDonald stars as Rose in the Broadway revival of Gypsy (Majestic Theatre, 2024)

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Above: Sandra Church, Jack Klugman, Lane Bradbury, Ethel Merman, and Peg Murray in Gypsy.

Gypsy, the musical based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, opened at the newly-refurbished Broadway Theater on May 21, 1959. It had a book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and music by Jule Styne. Originally, Sondheim had been slated to write the music as well as the lyrics, but Ethel Merman was nervous about entrusting the whole thing to such a young man (he was 29). Jerome Robbins directed and choreographed it.

Despite the title, the star of this show is Gypsy's mother, Rose Hovick, the stage mother to end all stage mothers. Often described as monstrous, she ruthlessly pushes her two young daughters into vaudeville, spotlighting the pretty blonde, June. But vaudeville is dying, and the girls are eventually forced into doing their act in burlesque theaters. It is there that one of the dancers persuades Louise, the "plain" brunette daughter, to consider striptease. She blossoms, of course, and becomes the famous stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. Her sister runs away and becomes the actress June Havoc.

Above: left, Jacqueline Mayro as Baby June (doing split) and Karen Moore as Baby Louise (Uncle Sam). Right, Sandra Church as the adult Gypsy and Ethel Merman as her mother.

The score is chock full of what would become standards: "Let Me Entertain You," "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "You Gotta Get a Gimmick," among others, as well as the most exciting overture in all musical theater. But the crowning musical achievement was the show's final song, "Rose's Turn," which one critic described as a "quick-mix of aria, stomp, anthem, hymn, recitative, shout, [and] wail." It's also the essence of the integrated musical number.

Above: Ethel Merman and Maria Karnilova.. Right, Jack Klugman and Merman.

Gypsy is often mentioned when the question of Best Musical Ever Made comes up. In addition to a film and a television version, it has been revived on Broadway four times; it would have been five if not for Covid. The 2015 West End production, starring Imelda Staunton as a stunning Rose, was supposed to have transferred. But the production is available to watch on DVD.

All photos: Friedman-Abeles via the NYPL. Click/tap on each one to enlarge.

[glimeres]

Gypsy (2008, Broadway) - Digital Booklet Pics

[story-on-stage]

Tonight's fare: Gypsy

I will be talking about this production and these performances for a long time to come. Audra McDonald gives a master class. Danny Burstein is absolutely perfect. Every single performer gives every ounce.

The renovated Majestic Theatre is spectacular as well.

If you are anywhere near Broadway and have the means (discounted tickets, lottery, sneaking in) you must see this. It's historic.

In case you don't know, Gypsy is based on the memoir of Gypsy Rose Lee, a famous and highly successful burlesque performer, writer, etc. With a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, it ended up being a showcase of complexity for a performer known best for being merely brassy: Ethel Merman. A number of hit songs came out of the show, including "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "Together Wherever We Go", "Let Me Entertain You", "Some People", "All I Need Now Is the Girl", "You'll Never Get Away From Me", and the novelty song "You Gotta Have a Gimmick". The final summation "Rose's Turn" is an early glimpse at Sondheim's musical tone and sensibility, which he stitched together from bits of Styne's score when Styne refused to write any more music. The show is an excellent example of the shift in musical theatre from boppy showtunes to more sophisticated jazzy tunes by the end of the 1950s.

I could go on about this show, but since it's on now with a supernova cast, you really should see it for yourself. Go!

[brusiocostante]

Chet Baker - I Fall In Love Too Easily

[broadwaydivastournament]

Performances will begin Thursday, November 21, 2024, at Broadway’s newly renovated Majestic Theatre and will open on Thursday, December 19, 2024. Tickets for GYPSY go on sale Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 10am via telecharge.com.

[transfemgeorgecostanza]

Everytime Liza flails her arms, a fairy gets his wings

[lydiahosek]

[Image ID: A traditional pencil drawing of Suki and Sokka from Avatar: The Last Airbender in a modern setting. They sit together on a couch, leaning against each other, with a blanket draped over their shoulders. They are dressed in sweatshirts and pajama pants. Suki's sweatshirt is partially obscured but the letters "oshi" are visible on the front. She drinks from a mug and Sokka reaches into a bowl of snacks. Behind them is a window. It is dark outside and snow is falling and piling on the sill. /.End ID]

And since we've no place to go

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Sukka Week Wild Card: Snowed In

They're watching that classic B movie, The Boy in the Iceberg. Sokka said it was weather-appropriate.

Prompts by @sukka-week

"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

Gypsy

GYPSY by Arthur Laurents Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, directed by George C. Wolfe, choreographed by Camille A. Brown: I have never seen GYPSY on stage, though I’ve seen the film with Rosalind Russell and the TV version with Bette Midler. This is also the first Broadway production in which the late Arthur Laurents was not involved. I cannot say if he would have approved the changes made to the show or the casting of a black family as Rose, Louise and June Hovick. He was notoriously proprietary about the piece. I can say most of the changes played fine with me. Casting a black family adds additional layers of meaning to what has come to be seen as a tale of oppression, and Audra McDonald’s performance of “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” is one of the greatest pieces of acting I have ever seen.

What makes it so special is the approach she and George C. Wolfe have taken to it. This isn’t Roz Rossell steamrolling her way through Lisa Kirk’s vocals with no regard for anybody else in the scene. This is Rose cajoling and even seducing Louise (Joy Woods) until it isn’t. Except for a few key moments at the end, McDonald focuses almost entirely on Louise. And when she finally pulls off into her own world, it’s like a rehearsal for “Rose’s Turn.” You can see the foundation of her later near breakdown. At the end of “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” she returns to Louise, a break from the standard staging that has Rose singing to the balcony while Louise runs to Herbie for comfort. It’s a devastating moment that seems to speak to the perpetuation of oppression. It’s also a shocking transition McDonald’s performance. For most of the first act she’s been the most charming of all Roses. At the first-act curtain, you get to see the desperate need underlying that charm.

In recent years, GYPSY has been seen as the story of a woman turned into a monster because it’s the only way she can attain power in a world run by men. Wolfe’s production adds a racial layer. As Baby June becomes Dainty June and her act grows more successful, the black newsboys who had started with the act are replaced by white chorus boys as Rose shoves the act’s original members off stage. The “Garden of Eden” number at Minsky’s after Louise has become a star is a take on Josephine Baker, an exploitation of black female sexuality. And, as McDonald has pointed out, Rose’s line “I was born too soon and started too late” has added resonance spoken by a woman of color. It’s a call out to generations of outstanding black performers — Fredi Washington, Nina Mae McKinney, even early Lena Horne — whose careers were limited by racism.

Three’s a lot of good work in the show from Danny Burstein as Herbie, Kevin Csolak as Tula, and Lesli Margherita, Lili Thomas and Mylinda Hull as the three strippers. Woods has some beautiful moments. During “You Gotta Have a Gimmick” you can see her trying on the stripper identity. Her character progression is mostly well-played. But her final confrontation with her mother is awfully loud. She steamrolls a bit too much, and though I can see the logic of that choice, obviously something she’s learned from her mother, she doesn’t seem to give herself the chance to let her words sink in. It’s maybe too one note. That’s the overall problem I had with Sasha Hutchings, who stood in for Jordan Tyson as June. In the scene leading into “If Mama Was Married,” she’s one dimensional in her shrillness. You’re almost happy to see June run away and leave us with the more nuanced Louise.

[doyouknowthismusical]

[everything-written-down]

By the way there is no overture like a Jule Styne overture. None

[willstafford]

Stars and Strips

GYPSY Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, Sunday 12th May 2024 They’re an ambitious lot at the Crescent.  I’ll say that in their favour from the off.  Now they’re tackling this mammoth of a musical, which brings its own challenges: the many locations, the large cast of characters, and the musical numbers. Ostensibly the origin story of burlesque star, Gypsy Rose Lee, it’s really the story of her…

[unwelcome-ephestion]

I’m currently watching Funny Lady, which is the film sequel to Funny Girl. It’s not regarded as as strong as the original - it certainly lacks the tragic propulsion that gives Funny Girl its magnetism. But it’s good, and has a strong score by, of all people, Kander and Ebb, mixed in with a lot of early 20th century popular songs.

It’s only a film (so far), and just like it lacks Styne and Merrill who composed and wrote lyrics to the original, it also lacks William Wyler, the original director, who is replaced by Herbert Ross, who staged the original film’s musical numbers. Streisand finally agreed to do it after seeing the script, thinking it was more than a half-baked sequel, and she’s right - Fanny feels more mature than the original, like it’s real character development.

It’s an underrated gem, I think! Maybe not a knockout, but Streisand is great, and the Kander and Ebb score is better than most. Fred Ebb in particular finds the maturer, more cynical, sarcastic voice of Brice in his lyrics . It also has pretty much all diegetic music, unlike the original, possibly because in the seven years between the films, musicals were out and music films were in. Streisand does a Brice impression that is much more recognisable as the late era Brice who was captured on film and tv than her early, more innocent years, which most people are unfamiliar with, and it really feels like she’s making an adult performance in the role, and shows her talent for comedy maybe even better than the original. A shame that so many songs are montaged, but Spotify gives you them in full!

This song, I Found A Million Dollar Baby (in a five and ten cent store), sees Barbra absolutely radiant in a top hat and tails, but was also originally written by Harry Warren, Mort Dixon and Billy Rose - the latter one of the characters in Funny Lady!

[onenakedfarmer]

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