Bernadette in GYPSY — Page 2

How many have you seen? Just curious. And glad you enjoyed it.

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I also throughly enjoyed this production and thought Bernadette Peters was amazing at the performance I saw

I saw the show's very first preview and that was more than enough for me.

I got really sick of people telling me "Oh well you only saw it in previews, you can't judge by that."

THE HELL I CAN'T! That was a rare case where I spent $100 to see a show and for that kind of cash, I'd better damn well see something worth it. If they put it on stage and charge money for it, they'd better be ready to have it critiqued.

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Well of course, you have to judge by that; you have nothign else to judge by. But I think the point is she could've grown to become much better in the role eventually.

Couple of distortions in this thread that should be corrected.

GYPSY opened to more favorable reviews than negative, including raves from The New York Times, New York Post, USA Today, Washington Post, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, Associated Press, New York Observer, Newsweek, New York One and the Journal News, and a near rave from Entertainment Weekly. Negative reviews were filed by Variety, Daily News, Newsday, Star-Ledger and the Bergen Record.

If Arthur Laurents actually made that statement at the DGA about Bernadette, he has no one to blame but himself. Her casting was his idea and he had everything to do with it. Sam Mendes' first choice was Patti Lupone, but Laurents is still holding a grudge against Lupone for dropping out of Jolson Sings Again.

About two and a half months into the run, after the pre-opening drama, the illness, the Tony Awards, a strange thing happened to the production. Everything relaxed, and they just started doing the show. From that point on, it was one of the best acted Gypsys I've ever seen, with Peters doing incredibly shaded, thoughtful work, showing different characteristics of Rose in every scene. The scenes between Peters, Blanchard and Dossett were especially strong and sharply realized the longer they lived in those roles. I heard Sondheim at one performance particularly impressed with Blanchard in the Minsky's dressing room scene, remarking that it's the first time he saw a Louise who became the mother, reversing the power struggle in that scene.

The production did lose money, but it recouped more than half of its $8 million inverstement. It's more that can be said for most of the musical revivals out there, most of which end up as money losers in the long run. It's surprising that producers still attempt so many of them.

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I love Bernadette Peters, I think she's a great actress and has a great voice... BUT

I think the role was just too demanding vocally for her. She was pushing it, the entire way through the show. It showed and the entire production suffered for it.

The role is too vocally demanding for EVERYONE. Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Betty Buckley all lost their voice doing it at one point or another. Even Merman burst a blood vessel singing it, missed a week's worth of performances and had to have the keys lowered for her. The character never stops talking, singing and screaming for two hours and 45 minutes. It's just a voice killer. Peters took some time to figure out how to sing it 8 times a week, but when she eventually did, she sang it about as well as anyone - excepting Merman.

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Having blown $100+ to see Peters walk through "Annie Get Your Gun" I was in no mood to see her destroy one of my favorite shows, but finding myself at TKTS on the Friday night of "Gypsy"'s closing weekend, a friendly ticket seller told me that if I passed up a chance to see it I'd regret it the rest of my life....

Well, it was astounding. I was blown away. She coughed a bit early in the show and you could tell it had taken a toll vocally but somehow that made it more believable. She was working it, selling every second of the show 100% in a way I have never seen her do before. It was a revelation. I thought the whole production was wonderful. I didn't see Marissa do Hairspray, but I can't imagine how she could have outshone Bernadette. It makes me wish that Tony voters had a "Degree of dificulty" factor on their ballots the way Olympic Judges do. Rose is arguably the single most demanding role in Broadway history and I thought Bernadette delivered the performance of a lifetime.

Miscast? Maybe because you don't think of Rose as such a beautiful woman, but she certainly made it easier to understand how she could get her way with everyone she encountered: Her Rose was indeed a charmer.

"Miscast? Maybe because you don't think of Rose as such a beautiful woman, but she certainly made it easier to understand how she could get her way with everyone she encountered: Her Rose was indeed a charmer."

Absolutely. Abso-friggin'-lutely. That was part of the appeal of her differences from past portrayers. Daly was fairly attractive at times (her weight fluctuated greatly during the run), and had a bit of charm and humor, but mostly played it rather stridently and I found it difficult to understand what Herbie saw in her. Her understudy was a bit sexier and that worked better. Bernadette was sexier still, and it really brought a new and welcome dimension to the character.

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This GYPSY veteran agrees with every word, Magruder. Well said.

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And when did you see her in the role, as others here have asked you?

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magruder...very well said. I agree.