Best Mamma Rose? — Page 3

I have to say that I think one day Sutton Foster will make an amazing Mama Rose.

I agree, JKM. She has the vocals for it and if Little Women proved anything, it was that Ms. Foster is a fine dramatic actress.

All right, PJ and JK--based on your enthusiasm (which I value highty) I will take another look at Sutton and try to envision her stepping into Rose's shoes, somewhere along the road.

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Updated On: 3/21/05 at 03:05 PM

PalJoey: Go see Little Women if you haven't or even see it again if you have. Even if you don't like the show itself, just sit back and watch Sutton. She's magnetic. And that stage presence, sheesh! She completely upstages any actor who's sharing the stage with her. That my friend, is a true performer. She'd be perfect as Mama Rose. You just have to envision her being a lot older to really get the whole effect. I mentioned La Sutton a long time ago when the discussion was who could be the next Rose on Broadway, and my idea was shot down by one poster who said she didn't have the right "build" for the character. As Bernadette showed us, there's no required physique to portray this mammoth of a role, but there is however a tremendous amount of talent required. And Foster has plenty of that to go around.

EDIT: A while back when she was doing an Ask a Star for Broadway.com, she answered my question of whether or not she'd ever care to do Gypsy. Her answer was very enthusiastic so she's definitely up for it in the future.

Updated On: 3/21/05 at 04:14 PM

Ethel Merman. The part was written for her and the score tailored to her unique vocal abilities. No one since has sung those songs withs uch intense drive and anger. Her "Rose's Turn" is ferocious. Sondheim said in a recent interview that Ethel was better in the first act where the script calls for her to do more low comedy (as in her early musicals) but less effective in the darker moments of the 2nd act. He said she never did "get" what "Rose's Turn" was all about.

Angela Lansbury, Sondheim said, was better in the 2nd Act but less funny in the first part. She has a little trouble negotiating the range of some of the songs. For me the Lonon cast CD fails because of all the British accents and the strange decision by the record producer to merge the Baby June/Dainty June routines into one cut with a voiceover announcer calling out "five years later..." Obviously the show was not staged this way so why was it recorded like that?

I never saw Merman or Lansbury but I did see Tyne Daly and she certainly deserved her Tony award. Unfortunately the cast album was made at a time when she was not in good health and her vocal limitations are spotlighted. So that CD is of little help.

I did like Bernadette Peters take on the role though her odd inflections are bothersome. But her recording would be my second choice after the original with Merman because it is the most complete GYPSY we have to date.

As for the films, both are OK to watch, but as with any stage show GYPSY is best seen live on stage. With Roz Russell it is like seeing a road show version with a major star brought in to replace the original. And Midler never quite gets inside the character of Rose but she gives it a good try and the supporting cast is great. Neither CD is essntial unless you are a fan of the performers or (like me) must have every OCR that is released.

But if I had to choose only one GYPSY on CD it would be Merman at her best on Columbia.

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