Gypsy: Old Time Broadway Singing and Dancing
Written: Nov 10 '03 (Updated Nov 11 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great Acting, Memorable Tunes, Intimate Theater, Interesting Plot
Cons: None!
The Bottom Line: Gypsy is a fantastic play with great acting, plot and music. I highly recommend it.
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| modernmarvel's Full Review: Gypsy |
I saw Gypsy on Broadway in November 2003. Since Gypsy is at the beginning of its run, it still has its original stars which adds quite a punch to the show.
THE STORY (including the spoilers and ending)
The story of Gypsy is based on the life of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous burlesque dancer. However, her life as a burlesque dancer really only occupies the last 20 minutes or so of the entire play. Instead, the plot focuses on when Gypsy Rose was a child named Louise. Louise plays second fiddle to her much more talented younger sister. Her pushy stage mother drags the two sisters around the country to perform in Vaudeville, always dreaming that they would become stars. Eventually, the younger sister elopes to escape her controlling mother. This leaves Louise to fulfill her mother's dream of creating a star. Unfortunately, Louise lacks talent for Vaudeville and is ultimately booked into a second rate Burlesque show. However, when the star can't go on, Louise, under the name Gypsy Rose Lee, takes the star slot and discovers that she likes burlesque. She polishes her act and becomes famous. Finally out from under her mother's thumb, both women must learn to deal with Louise's new independence and success.
Gypsy is plot driven although it spends a lot of time developing its characters so that you really do care for them by the end of the show. While there is a lot of drama, there are many comic moments. My favorite is when three old burlesque dancers in outrageous costumes coach Louise in how to perform burlesque. Their song and dance is one of the highlights of the show.
THE MUSIC
Gypsy has many famous tunes including Everything's Coming up Roses, Where ever We Go and Let Me Entertain You. Even the lesser known tunes were entertaining and catchy. All of the actors had great singing voices and belted out the songs. Even though the theater was large, I didn't see any microphones on the cast and was impressed by how they could project their voices.
The live orchestra, in a pit under the stage, turned out high quality music.
THE ACTING
This Gypsy revival is still rather new and has not yet been relinquished to actors just starting out on Broadway. Instead, you get top rate talent. The mother, Rose, is played by Bernadette Peters who turns out a fabulous performance. Her boyfriend, Herbie, is played by John Dossett who has a long resume of theater and television roles. Even the bit parts have actors with considerable experience. Electra is played by the same actor that portrays Bitsy Von Miffling on "Sex and the City." I found all of the acting, singing and dancing to be top notch and well worth the price of admission. This is Broadway at its best.
The other thing that struck me about Gypsy was the size of the cast. There were easily 50 different characters, although some actors played many bit roles. There were also several children at the beginning of the play who could sing and dance better at age 8 than most people can in their lifetimes.
THE THEATER
Gypsy is currently being staged at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre at 225 West 44th Street in Times Square. I loved the old, ornate theater. There are two balconies. I sat in the second row of the second balcony. We were up quite high but had a great view.
SCENERY
The scenery in this play was elaborate and the changes were dramatic. Not only did the props change, but the backdrops, lighting and curtains changed as well. This was no doubt a high budget production.
THE PRICE
I paid $41 for my balcony ticket through TKTS (link below), a half-price ticket agency in Times Square, NYC.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
I loved Gypsy because it is everything you expect from Broadway: a musical with catchy tunes, great acting and elaborate sets all in an old, intimate theater. I definitely recommend Gypsy.
MY MINI-GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY
Things to Do:
The Metropolitan Museum
Ellis Island
The Statue of Liberty
Places to Eat:
Lucky Cheng’s has Chinese food for adults.
Ruby Foo’s has Chinese food for families.
Pipa is next to Manhattan Mecca ABC Carpet & Home.
Starlight Diner is where singing servers bring your burgers.
Rue 57 fuses French and Japanese cuisine in Midtown.
Places to Stay:
The Roosevelt Hotel
The Hudson
The W on Lexington
Sheraton Manhattan
Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers
New York Hilton
Broadway:
TKTS sells half-price tickets to Broadway shows.
Rent is an unusual Broadway rock musical legend.
Wicked is a prequel to the Wizard of Oz.
Chicago is a classic.
Sweet Charity has a 60’s vibe.
Recommended:
Yes
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modernmarvel
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