Gypsy MOVIE question- Page 2

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 8/6/08 at 2:25pm

I fell madly in love with the guy who played Tulsa, Jeffrey Broadhurst!

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 8/6/08 at 3:17pm

Peter Reigert was easily the WORST Herbie ever.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/6/08 at 3:38pm

I always fall in love with Tulsa. Sigh...

(Sometimes Yonkers too.)

[skb2010]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 1:52am

Just watched the original movie, and it was great. Thanks for your input on this very important topic (important? yeah right.)

[Jon]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 1:57pm

Maria Karnilova was originally a classical ballet dancer who had worked with Robbins on several projects. When the idea of having one of the strippers do ballet came about, Robbins thought of her for the part.

Besides originating Golde, she also originated Hortense in "Zorba". She is married to Broadway veteran George S. Irving. About 10 years ago, they played the King and Queen in the Rodgers & Hammerstein CINDERELLA at NYC Opera.

[Kristie-K2]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 3:26pm

This really is such a small world...but who would think that I would meet the step-daughter of Roxanne Arlen(Electra in the Movie) here on the coast of Oregon...My friend works at a Country Club so I can use the pool at any time...

I met this woman in the pool and we started talking...Well guess what...Her father was Roxanne's last husband Bill Shaffer.

We had a nice talk or I should say gossip about her step-mother...not very positive, but it fun talking about the original Movie "Electra"...

[BradMajors]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 7:59pm

GYPSY is really a wonderful show and both film versions have their advantaged and disadvantages. The 1992 TV version has a script that is more faithful and more representative of what is usually done on stage and sometimes it does come off a bit stagey but I was glad to see "Together, Wherever We Go" back in there. I don't think Midler was *that* bad. I certainly preferred her "Rose" to Bernadette Peters' portrayal, and I *love* Peters, just not as "Momma Rose". Cynthia Gibb was a very engaging "Louise/Gypsy" and overall it was a very entertaining alternative to the 1962 Warner Bros. film starring Rosalind Russell.

Rosalind Russell's "Rose" smacked of a variation of her "Mame" character. She was rightfully dubbed, she just did not have the chops to carry those glorious Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim songs on her limited set of pipes. I wish they would have went with Merman, just to have her "Rose" preserved for future generations to see but alas it was not to be. Karl Malden was very charming as "Herbie" and Natalie Wood was a very vivacious "Louise"/"Gypsy".

I haven't seen either version in the last couple of years but this thread has now made me want to dig them out of storage and screen them again "for old times sake".

[bschneid76]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 8:50pm

The film version has my favorite "Rose's Turn." When she cries "And Everything's Coming Up Rose" and all those "Rose's" appear in the background flashing, I was balling. It was so thrilling watching it, and that is how I feel every "Rose's Turn" needs to be, not one Rose coming from the rafters but many Rose's as it is a celebration of Rose.

[Beergoggles]

Posted: 8/18/08 at 8:18am

I liked both films tbh. I swing more towards the remake just because it was more faithful and i've seen that one more recently lol. I heard a rumour ages ago they were thinking about making it again with Catherine Zeta Jones as Rose. If you type it into Google stuff does come about it. Whether it'll ever happen or not is a different matter entirely.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/18/08 at 9:40am

Wow, Beergoggles. A voice from the past. I haven't seen you post in a while. Welcome back!

Honestly, I think they ANNOUNCE more movie musicals than they actually MAKE, these days. You'd think we were in another Golden Age of musicals, judging from how much they're written about in the mags and papers!

I actually decided to put on the Gypsy movie last night---first time seeing in on my HDTV. It really makes a difference seeing it there. It's a very good film (as I said earlier in this thread), but not perfect.

New thoughts:

I was impressed with everyone's acting, especially Roz. Film acting is an art, and not everyone can do it. She could always carry a movie, and is truly a "movie star." I don't think Ethel ever had the acting chops to match something like this. I had forgotten that Roz did her own singing on "Eggroll" and most of "Rose's Turn" except for the last part (starting with "I had a dream..."). Rose's turn was filmed extremely well. The camera work going around that bare stage was terrific, and goose-bump-inducing, when the neon lights started flashing "Rose" everywhere. I'm wondering if Bill Condon watched this before he planned out "And I'm Telling You..." for Dreamgirls. It's a similar sing-on-a-bare-stage showstopper, and it felt like they were done in very similar ways. And both worked well!

Natalie is still my favorite Gypsy, especially when she shifts gears for that last dressing room scene. Her "Look at me, I'm a STAR" speech is brilliantly done. And she did all her own singing in this movie, too! Not like West Side Story. Karl Malden's final speech to Rose, where he tells her they're NEVER going to get married is fantastic too. He was SUCH a good actor!

It's funny, but when I watched this on the big screen everything felt right musically, except for Tulsa's number. He seemed to be SHOUTING the whole thing. And he was the original, from the Broadway production! But he was TOO MUCH vocally. He didn't understand that you don't have to play to the back of the balcony on film (or in the recording sessions). They should have toned him down a bit. It made his number pretty clunky, except for his dancing which was excellent. I just wish it could have been less strident.

The three strippers were great, especially Betty Bruce as Tessy. I wish she'd done more film work. She's terrific on the screen.

Gypsy's costumes, as she does her "strip medley" are really wonderful. The more successful she gets, the more intricate her gowns get. The gold one, on my big TV, was jaw-dropping. Unbelievable detailed work on that dress. I love how when her career climbs up, so does her hair! She ends up looking like the B-52's at the end of the movie. God bless the '60s.

I also liked the script change to make Herbie first come on as Uncle Jocko. And the switch of "Small World" with "Some People." It worked better narratively on film. Not that I would want to change the stage show at all. But in the movie, works very well.

I missed "Together, Wherever We Go," that is, until I saw the outtake that's on the DVD. It's TERRIBLE. As wonderful as the three leads are as actors, they couldn't sing that song to save their lives. It's in such a bad key (for Roz), that Natalie has to SHOUT it out, an octave higher. And poor Karl was not a singer, either. Best left on the cutting room floor, along with his edited-out singing on "You'll Never Get Away From Me" where he's actually an octave higher than her, at one point It made me laugh. Also best left cut out.