Bette's "Gypsy"- Page 2

[lizabombs]

Posted: 11/27/11 at 9:16pm

Bette had no character development and chose to play herself.

So you know Ms. Midler, and how she acts in real life, I presume?

[Miranda3]

Posted: 11/27/11 at 10:26pm

Just Googled to find out who wound up playing Tessie after Harris departed, if she did, and it was Christine Ebersole. I hadn't remembered that Elizabeth Moss was Baby June either.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 11/27/11 at 10:30pm

Ebersole's Tessie is absolutely hysterical. That woman is an expert with comic timing.

[Miranda3]

Posted: 11/27/11 at 10:33pm

I just found another source for the Harris/Gypsy connection I mentioned earlier. It was on a blog and the quote was as follows. No source was given for the Midler quote:

Bette Midler, who once called Harris "the greatest thing I've ever seen on stage", unsuccessfully tried to cast the actress as one of the strippers in the "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" number in the 1993 TV version of the musical Gypsy.


Updated On: 11/27/11 at 10:33 PM

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 7:53am

To me, it's obvious that the entire cast of Bette's "Gypsy" were in DESPERATE need of a strong director in order for what they were going for to actually be captured on film. They seem to have the right instincts, but don't really have that controlling force to reign it in or enhance the emotions to appropriately portray the moment. I'm glad to have a copy of this DVD, but wish the movie were executed more skillfully.

As far as Bernadette's Rose is concerned, I didn't sense the whiny qualities others have mentioned. I just felt like too much effort was put into fitting into a role that wasn't a natural fit. I saw her at the end of the run (within a few weeks of closing) and loved LOTS of what she did. The performance, as a whole, felt too labored (IMHO).

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 8:31am

Aside from certain people being truly tiresome and trying to micromanage and control other people's opinions in this thread ...

It's an interesting range of opinions here. I find Bette's performance to be pretty good, overall. She gets a little bug-eyed crazy in a few scenes (not unlike LuPone in her clips), but I think Bette's performance also has a lot of heart. And I loved her Rose's Turn. I do think she was inconsistent, though.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 10:15am

The sad thing about the TV production is that it actually had a strong director: the dazzlingly talented Emile Ardolino, who had directed Dirty Dancing and Sister Act and a slew of Emmy-nominated PBS dance and theater productions.

A former dancer who had trained with the legendary Matt Mattox, Emile Ardolino had an incredible sense of how to capture the excitement of a musical number on film. Some of the numbers in Sister Act and Dirty Dancing are as exciting as anything made by MGM during its golden age. And Ardolino accomplished these things during a time when Hollywood was saying that the musical was dead, which speaks to his genius-like enthusiasm, which was infectious. And Gypsy was the one he was most excited about: In an initial interview, he said that he had seen the original production of Gypsy 20 times.

But it was 1993 and AIDS was cutting through the performing-arts community, taking down hundreds of talented people. Some, like Emile, were in the midst of the most high-profile moments of their careers.

In 1992, Sister Act grossed an astonishing $200 million. In 1993, as he was getting sicker and sicker, he directed the George Balanchine/New York City Ballet version of The Nutcracker, with Macaulay Culkin, and then put together a phenomenal cast and crew for the Bette Midler Gypsy. But he did not make it to the premieres of either.

Emile died from complications of HIV/AIDS on November 20, 1993.

Four days later, The Nutcracker opened.

Three weeks later, Gypsy was broadcast.

Updated On: 11/28/11 at 10:15 AM

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 1:39pm

Bless his heart! Emile Ardolino was quite a talented guy. I adore Sister Act with all my heart. There's an infectious enthusiasm that comes out of it every time I watch it.

I feel bad for him, as you can really tell he wanted to do Gypsy (what musical loving director in their right mind wouldn't?), but the poor guy was just too weak to take on such a big project. The movie and its performances certainly do have it's moments, but as Hanna from Hamburg pointed out, it was in need of more control and a director who could have reigned it in a little more.

I think the best thing is that there will probably never be a definitive performance or production of the show. Each Rose has their high points.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 3:15pm

Bernadette did not play herself. She was miscast in the role but she did bring character nuance to the role.

Angela Lansbury did not play herself. She brought character nuance to the role.

Patti Lupone did not play herself she brought character nuance to ther role.f

Tyne Daly did not play herself. She brought character nuance tot he role.

Even Ethel.. in the bits I've seen in her brought character nuanced to the role.

Bette brought no nuance to the role. Compare her work in the Rose and Beaches where there was definite good work and character development to her Gypsy where she did not work on the character whatsoever.

Bette was a disappointment.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 3:17pm

You forgot "Case Closed!" after that.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 3:19pm

Every actor brings themselves to a role.
So yes there are aspects of themselves in every role.

Bette was once a very good actress. Beaches, The Rose.
She played herself but added layers of character on top of it.
She was powerful. She was heartbreaking.

With Gypsy, she phoned it in and said let me just learn the lines and play Bette. Something was seriously lacking in her Rose.

Many actresses late in their careers feel they don't have to do the work. That they just have to show up.

And the reason Bette's sit com failed is she again, played ONLY herself and she thought that was enough. It is not. There is actor homework and character development to do.

All of the other Roses did this. Even the one's I didn't personally care for. Bette did not.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 3:25pm

According to Midler, Tyne Daly wanted to do the filmed version and was mad when it went to Midler.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 5:37pm

I've re-watched it on Ovation and I feel that Bette wasn't asked to do as much as she could have done with it.

The thing that strikes me upon watching it now is that it seems like it was filmed in very little space. So much of it seems to be shot in close up and medium shot. When the onstage numbers come around, you feel like you're, finally, not breathing on the actors.

That and the color palate seems too bright. Too candy colored.

[zamedy]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 10:09pm

It's too bad the '62 film role didn't go to Merm. It would have been great to see her bring the role she created to life. At the same time, there's something incredible in a way about just having the OBCR and rare recordings of her, too.

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 10:30pm

Okay, so Merman wasn't a great screen actress (just watched "No Biz Like Show Biz" last night), but her Rose was the first, and certainly her greatest stage performance, and should have been preserved on film. Russell was a memorable Auntie Mame, among other terrific screen roles, but her Rose was both flat and overbearing, no charm, no humor.

As to Bette and her far better film version, she gave it her all, which is plenty, and she should be high up on the list of great Roses. And the film stands as a tribute to the talent of Emile Ardolino.

I've seen all the Roses, from Merman to LuPone, and every one of them brought something special to the role. And it's still one of the greatest, if not the greatest, book musicals ever written.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 10:52pm

This will make the Bette Midler lovers love her more and the Bette Midler Haters hate her more:

http://youtu.be/PLbToMyrpvo

Bette doing "Rose's Turn," not from the broadcast, but on the 1994 Emmy Awards.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 11:39pm

omg PalJoey i am OBSESSED with that clip. It's all about the knee drop.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 11:49pm

Who let her wear that?

[gcal]

Posted: 11/29/11 at 12:01am

They just don't open the Emmys like they used to.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 11/29/11 at 3:23pm

"omg PalJoey i am OBSESSED with that clip. It's all about the knee drop."

I think she's brilliant in that number! But the knee drop is practically a trademark of hers. See "When a Man Loves a Woman" in THE ROSE and the video for "Beast of Burden." She also does it in "Leader of the Pack" in DIVINE MADNESS.

This isn't to say she doesn't use it very effectively in "Rose's Turn", just that it's a standard bit from her repertoire.

(ETA just to be clear: I LOVE the Emmy clip and thank you very much, joey. I was just pointing out that the knee drop is a signature, Midler move.) Updated On: 11/29/11 at 03:23 PM

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 11/29/11 at 3:39pm

Apparently that was the year the Emmy orchestra was replaced by a bunch of synth players.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 11/29/11 at 6:05pm

goldenboy...do shut up.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/29/11 at 6:29pm

According to Midler, Tyne Daly wanted to do the filmed version and was mad when it went to Midler.

Very true. A lot of people thought Tony-winning Tyne would reprise her role. After all, she was an Emmy-winning TV star as well. But there's no question Bette is (was?) a bigger star.

Many assumed others from the Tyne revival would play the same roles in the TV version, but only Anna McNeely as Electra did both productions.

EDIT: I don't know if "mad" would be the best word ... certainly very disappointed.

Updated On: 11/29/11 at 06:29 PM

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 11/29/11 at 6:43pm

Nice to know Tyne's at least not pulling a total Jennifer Holliday about the whole matter.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/29/11 at 6:47pm

LOL

No, Tyne is not going on every talk show for the past 20 years saying she was snubbed. But I do think when they announced Bette was doing it, a lot of people (mostly in the media) looked to stir up trouble and asked Tyne for a comment.

You know, classy stuff.