Angela Lansbury "Gypsy" Recording

The Lansbury version is my favorite.
She's a great actress and she handles the score just fine, in my opinion.

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As great as Merman was, the Angela Lanbury recording is stunning. It is by far the best rendition of Rose's Turn. I saw the Tyne Daly version. Her acting was superior; her vocals were lacking.

I also prefer Lansbury's recording...and agree about skipping Bette's.

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There are really TWO Lansbury recordings of GYPSY. The recording I bought in London when I saw the show has a messy overture and Lansbury seems to heave a sigh of relief after "Rose's Turn". When she brought the show to New York a year later, the overture was re-recorded and "Rose's Turn" was cleaned up.

Whatever the case, be prepared for some British accents where you'd never expect to hear them!

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She was very good.
I also liked the Baby June in the BP revival.

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I love Angela's "Rose's Turn". You can really tell that she's having a mental breakdown. I didn't get that as much with Bernadette.

Say Dollypop, if memory serves me correctly I think on the first British pressing she also goes up to a high note on the last note of "Some People" but on the CD pressing she sings it lower as it is usually sung. Do you recall that? I always loved that sigh however after her "Rose's Turn"...sort of a hoomph!

Demitri
(who dreads having to go up to that dark dingy attic and drag out his old "Gypsy" LP)

I'll get my 8 track out. :)

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In order of Favorite GYPSY recording to my least favorite (yes, yes I have them all - Im a GYPSY freak)

1. Bernadette's
2. Angela's
3. Merman's
4. Midler's
5. Daly's

Watching Midler on the screen is FAR better than listening to that CD...Daly's CD makes me cry for all the wrong reasons...Im not a huge Merman fan, but this was her definitive role folks...Landsbury's had been my favorite until...Bernadette Peters version is so complete and realistic and beautiful to listen too that I could listen to it over and over again. Angela's is very good...Bernadettes is EXCELENT! Aurther Laurents says so himself in the Gypsy Binder for the most recent.

Angela was scary-good. The moment in Everything's Coming Up Roses where she turns to Louise and says "You. Can. Do. It." was steely cold in her determination.

But her coup de theatre was at the end of Rose's Turn. The audience applauded and Angela/Rose bowed by simply nodding her head, first right, then left, then center. She kept bowing and we kept applauding.

Then we got uncomfortable. We wanted to stop applauding, but she kept bowing. Then we stopped. But she kept bowing.

We wondered, "Is this some mistake? Should Angela Lansbury be continuing to acknowledge applause--even though we've stopped?"

Then we began to realize it wasn't Angela who was bowing. It was Rose. She was hearing applause in her head and not us. That's when Louise re-entered.

It was brilliant but devastating.

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Yes, but I don't think it was in the original Broadway production. I'm pretty sure it was added in London, and Lansbury used it to its full effect.

It was Arthur Laurents' idea to add it in the 1973 production, as well as the turn back Rose does as she leaves the theatre.