Favorite performance of Rose's Turn — Page 2

QUESTION: I know Patti has said that she was able to deconstruct 'Rose's Turn' for this production and was curious about the moment right before "I dreamed it for you June."

Patti sings "I had a dream" and picks up the smock and bundles it up and cradles it like a baby right before throwing it off to the side when she hits "JUNE". Is this a Patti thing? or is it part of the role and others have done it as well?

She has cradled the smock ever since previews. Not at City Center. You can see her do it on video on that site. It is perfect, because she cradles/holds it during the "I had a dream" section, and the smock covered in paint represents her dream.

Yes I've seen it 7 times .. yea I know ... and she only cradled it once and it was on the 7th time - last Friday when Jessica Rush was on as Louise. I read about it in an EW review, so it is something she must've at least done from the very start:

Sample grace note: In the scorching, sung-soliloquy finale 'Rose's Turn,' LuPone picks up a coat and mimes turning it into an infant bound in swaddling clothes. She then hurls it away in a rage — a brilliantly physical enactment of Rose's anger at ultimately being rejected by her grown-up 'girls.'

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20190589,00.html

ljay889 does she really do it on THAT site? because I have seen it and never got that impression from it. I saw it [site] after I saw the show the other night just to see if she had done it previously and she just seemed to pick it up, roll it up and toss it. At the very least, it wasnt as literal as what I had seen.

Updated On: 10/24/08 at 01:20 PM

Patti's is my favorite, but she was also the only Rose I ever saw live and seeing her Rose's Turn was an electrifying experience

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The best I ever saw was Angela Lansbury.

This is my favorite, vocally:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le6AjpEpRSU

Favorite is Patti LuPone
Least favorite is Rosalind Russell.

1. Ethel Merman
2. Ethel Merman
3. Ethel Merman
4. Ethel Merman
5. Ethel Merman
6. Ethel Merman
7. Ethel Merman
8. Ethel Merman
9. Ethel Merman
10. Ethel Merman
11. Mitzi Green

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There is no doubt that Merman's is possibly the ultimate performance of "Rose's Turn". It was written for her voice and was fresh and new when she recorded it for the OBC album but my favorite "Rose's Turn" will always be Lisa Kirk on the "Gypsy" soundtrack album, where unlike in the finished film which is a composite of Rosalind Russell & Kirk, Kirk sings and acts the entire song in a performance that is simply electrifying and heartbreaking and she is backed by the largest (65 players) and greatest orchestra to ever play this score, the Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra with its fantastic brass section and Frank Perkins, the greatest conductor ever on the podium for any performance of "Gypsy". I had high hopes for Lupone, but her performance is my least favorite, both live and even more so on the new cast album.

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Updated On: 10/24/08 at 09:38 PM

In my opinion, all of the ladies have brought a certain SOMETHING to the number, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Bernadette (although I haven't seen Patti's yet, unless you count youtube videos of Ravinia). I know her performance was less than well received by many, but to me, she touched on things with Rose that none of the others seemed to get.

Lisa Kirk on the "Gypsy" soundtrack album, where unlike in the finished film which is a composite of Rosalind Russell & Kirk, Kirk sings and acts the entire song in a performance that is simply electrifying and heartbreaking

Thank you, dayao! I never knew that.

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Bette Midler's was my favorite.

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My favorite "Rose's Turn" is definitely Bernadette! Such depth, she really made Rose a human being. Not a characature like Miss LuPone. I think Patti plays it like someone who should be committed to a hospital. Bernadette told such truth. The woman is brilliant.

And needless to say...Ethel Merman and Angela Lansbury are both just phenomenal.

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