Best Mamma Rose?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Best Mamma Rose?#0

Posted: 3/20/05 at 5:53pm

Who do you think was the Best Mamma Rose in GYPSY?
A) Ethel Merman
B) Rosalind Russell
C) Angela Lansbury
D) Tyne Daly
E) Bette Midler
F) Bernadette Peters
G) Other (specify)

[AmaraCaledonia]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#1

Posted: 3/20/05 at 5:54pm

Bernadette....because she's the only one I ever saw in the role XD

<3

"There's a butt naked princess, lounging in a bed, calling your name. What exactly didn't you realize? Before our wedding night, pack up some of that dried monkey meat and have the royal cartographer draw you a map of the female body, captain. Maybe then you'll be more inclined to come explore!"

[MargoChanning]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#2

Posted: 3/20/05 at 5:56pm

Merman -- the only one who ever had the stamina to truly sing that score.

"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie [http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/] "The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney

[Matt_G]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#3

Posted: 3/20/05 at 5:57pm

I've got to say Bette is my favorite. I've just never been a fan of Merman's. She never did it for me.

"Noah, someday we'll talk again. But there's things we'll never say. That sorrow deep inside you. It inside me, too. And it never go away. You be okay. You'll learn how to lose things..."

[melissa errico fan]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#4

Posted: 3/20/05 at 5:57pm

Agreed about Merman being the best.

[magruder]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#5

Posted: 3/20/05 at 5:59pm

Even Merman didn't sail through that score. She burst a blood vessel singing it, was out for a week, and had to have the keys lowered. It's a brutal role.

"Gif me the cobra jool!"

[hannahshule]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#6

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:01pm

Merman and Bernadette

~And let us try, before we die, to make some sense of life~

[PJ]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#7

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:44pm

Merman: Was a vocal powerhouse, but couldn't act to save her life. Supposedly tapped her foot when she performed the songs on stage.

Russel: Basically the exact opposite of Merman; could act but had no voice.

Lansbury: Definitely a fine actress. The songs had to be changed for her and some of the tempos altered to better suit her ability. However, her "Rose's Turn" is my personal favorite. She's sounds absolutely viscious on that track.

Daly: Probably the best actress to ever tackle the role. I've heard she was dynamite in the theatre. But her recording is atrocious which unfortunately makes her seem all but forgotten in debates such as these.

Midler: Can't act and I'm not a huge fan of her vocals. They're good, just not my cup of tea. And her facial expressions through out are so over-the-top you want to smack her upside the head.

Peters: Fine actress. Good Bernadette-esque vocals. I loved her performance live. However, I do not like her recording either. She only sounds good on "Small World" in my opinion.

--The Next Revival

They need to find someone who can sing like Merman and act like Daly. Don't laugh, but if the recent wave of big belters (Menzel, Espinosa, Bean & Foster for instance) really worked on their acting, any one of them could pull it off. Or at least that's my opinion.

[Matt_G]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#8

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:47pm

Shoshana Bean as Mama Rose would symbolize the end of musical theatre. It would officially die the day she stepped foot on that stage in that role.

"Noah, someday we'll talk again. But there's things we'll never say. That sorrow deep inside you. It inside me, too. And it never go away. You be okay. You'll learn how to lose things..."

[melissa errico fan]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#9

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:48pm

I nominate Vicky Clark as the next Momma Rose. After she wins her Tony for "Piazza", she'll be the huge star that she deserves to be, and she'll need a first post-Tony star vehicle.

[PJ]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#10

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:48pm

Probaly true, Matt. But mainly I was just trying to make a point that today's "big belters" could do the role in the future if they could pull off the acting.

EDIT: I of course mean this being in 15-20 years from now. Updated On: 3/20/05 at 06:48 PM

[munkustrap178]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#11

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:49pm

The only Rose's I've seen are Rosiland Russell, Better Midler, and Bernadette - and out of those, OBVIOUSLY Bernadette, who I thought was brilliant.

Judging from the cast recordings, I would still have to say Bernadette. I can't listen to Merman's recording - it grates on my nerves and gives me a headache.

"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

[Matt_G]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#12

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:50pm

The Tyne Daly recording is truly horrible, but she was the best Mama Rose on stage that I'd ever seen. She was simply brilliant.

"Noah, someday we'll talk again. But there's things we'll never say. That sorrow deep inside you. It inside me, too. And it never go away. You be okay. You'll learn how to lose things..."

[joeybiltmore1]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#13

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:51pm

Tyne Daly.

Sure, Merman is Merman (and of course I didn't SEE her do it - ditto for Lansbury, who is supposed to have been superb) but of the Roses I've seen - Russell, Daly, Midler, Lavin & Peters, Daly comes out on top. Peters found some wonderful moments, but it was Daly who let herself be truly ripped apart. I'll never forget her Rose's Turn.

[melissa errico fan]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#14

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:53pm

Tyne was INCREDIBLE on stage. It's too bad that her cast recording was very sub-par. She was ill at the time that they recorded it.

Side Note: Crista Moore, who played Louise opposite Daly, is the best Louise ever.

[joeybiltmore1]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#15

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:57pm

I'm so with you on Christa Moore, MEF. She was the best Louise.

[melissa errico fan]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#16

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:58pm

Yea, she was incredible!

[OrdinaryJukebox1]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#17

Posted: 3/20/05 at 6:59pm

In 10-15 years, I'd enjoy seeing how Shoshana Bean would handle Mama Rose. It would be fun to watch. I don't think it would be the end of theater. Now, I've seen the films with Bette and Rosalind. I think the latter is a fine actor, but didn't have much of a voice. I enjoy Bette, but didn't care for the film as a whole. I saw Bernadette live, and thought she was great. However, I would have LOVED to see Tyne Daly! I'm such a huge fan of hers, and can only imagine how powerful she must have been. It's a shame there isn't a DVD of her performance, they way they record some shows like "Fosse" and "Smokey Joe's Cafe" and others...they need to do that for everything. Did Tyne win a Tony for "Gypsy"? I'm rather sure she did.

-Vincent

[melissa errico fan]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#18

Posted: 3/20/05 at 7:00pm

Tyne did win the Tony.

Every actress except Bernadette has for playing Rose.

[PJ]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#19

Posted: 3/20/05 at 7:01pm

No. Merman didn't win either.

[FOAnatic]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#20

Posted: 3/20/05 at 7:49pm

Merman with Bernadette as a close second. I love BP...but the role was written for Merman.

"I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about." - Oscar Wilde

[wildcat]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#21

Posted: 3/20/05 at 8:09pm

There have been some splendid Roses regionally and overseas, including Linda Lavin, Kaye Ballard, Libby Morris and Dolores Gray. Ann Sothern is reported to have been sensational in the role.

[Glebb]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#22

Posted: 3/20/05 at 8:12pm

Saw Tyne and Peters on Broadway.
Wish I had seen Angela.

" ...the happiness in the tune convinces me that I'm not afraid."

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#23

Posted: 3/20/05 at 8:27pm

I can't decide on the best Mamma Rose, but I'm happy to jump on the Crista Moore Rocks train... she's great in Big.

[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.

[Marquise]

re: Best Mamma Rose?#24

Posted: 3/20/05 at 8:30pm

Bernadette was horrible in this role. I love Bernadette but she was just horrible in "GYPSY"