For those of you who have questioned Tyne Daly's Tony win as Momma Rose...

For those of us who didn't see it, all we have is the cast recording to judge by. Many on this board, myself included, have been displeased with what we hear and have questioned how she could ever have won a Tony for that. Well, Here is the New York Times Review for the 1989 revival of GYPSY starring Tyne Daly. Think again.

http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=950DE1DF163CF934A25752C1A96F948260

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Updated On: 1/18/06 at 09:43 AM

She really didn't sing it much better onstage than she did on the recording - she is not a singer.

That didn't matter - her powerhouse performance was much bigger than any vocal issues. It doesn't work on the recording because her performance had to be experienced 3-dimensionally.

Anyone who questions her Tony win didn't see her play Rose. No one who saw her would have any doubts.

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Updated On: 1/18/06 at 10:02 AM

She was the best Mama Rose I've ever seen. And I've attended many productions of "Gypsy" over the years. I agree with Rath, all the way.

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Maybe it was choice she made for the character?

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I agree Best12. I was shocked at the difference between the 2 recordings, as I did not see her in Gypsy, and only know that performance through the recording. She gives a less forced performance on the Call Me Madam disc. I've also seen her sing a few times since, on PBS and whatnot, and she sounds great there too. I think since Madam is a lighter piece, she was able to balance the voice with the performance. Gypsy is a monster acting and singing role, and I think the actress in her (at least on the recording) pushed past vocal technique.

But again, if you doubt Daly's worth as a vocalist, get Madam. I listen to it all the time. Even more than Merm.

I saw her and didn't think she was that impressive. She was ok, but the performance wasn't legendary.

Her competition in that Tony year was nothing. There were no female leads in City of Angels. Liliane Montevecci was nommed for Grand Hotel and Georgia Brown for Threepenny Opera, but neither of those roles are really "lead". The Tony committee totally snubbed Ann Crumb in Aspects of Love, who should have been in the Leading Actress category and performed better than Daly.

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Daly's vocal problems in "Gypsy" could hit any one of us, no matter how trained or talented, if the role is demanding and illness, fatigue, or allergies come along. It's how a singer handles this when they come along that is the real challenge. Trained singers are better suited to deal with the "bumps and bruises" of an 8-show-per-week run. They also have better vocal muscles to rely on. But vocal problems are bound to happen to everyone, during an open-ended run.

If you don't have the technique to fall back on, you use tricks to try and "sing over" the rasps and the gaps that start fraying in your tone and pitch. That's where the trouble comes in. You can actually make everything worse by putting a "tricky" band-aid on your pipes, just to get through that night's performance. It's not a good idea to "sing wrong" just to make it "sound right," and it can lead to all kinds of long-term vocal issues.

Fortunately, Daly left the run in time before any permanent damage was done. She rested (long term), recovered, and life went on. And that's why she sounded "rested" again on Call Me Madam.

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I saw her and was also less than impressed. Even with her acting. It's a style that I don't like. She has tremendous acting technique and is one of those actors who 'shows' you their technique. I felt that she did that on Cagney and Lacey and every other TV piece I saw her in. The same thing was true for Gypsy (IMO). I couldn't enjoy the voice, because it was virtually non-existent. I didn't enjoy the acting, because I could see all the techniques she was using instead of seeing the character going through the struggles of her life.

Now I'm sure I'll get bashed for this, but I felt if Bette Midler's performance in the TV version of Gypsy was on stage (instead of the small screen), then it would be the strongest Rose I've ever seen. IMO it was just too big for television, but just right for the b'way stage. Other than that, I was blown away by Betty Buckley at Papermill. As many times as I've seen Gypsy, there were things about Rose as a person that I didn't fully understand until I saw her portrayal. As much as I love Bernadette (and treasure the fact that I FINALLY saw her live), the role didn't fit her. She was trying too hard to make herself fit the role. Based on that, I would say that she was the weakest of all the Rose's I've seen.

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My favorite is Peters.

I don't like either Daly or Midler. They are too forceable, too rough. I love Peters's sexy, charming Rose.

Jana Robbins was also quite wonderful in the role. Lavin was just wrong - she didn't have any idea of what she was doing, and it showed.

I did not want to like Peters - I had too much sentimental attachment to the '89 production - but the night I saw her, she was on in every sense of the word, and I was blown away.

As for Midler's portrayal, it was much too technical and affected for my taste.

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Updated On: 1/18/06 at 11:54 AM

SFM---God bless you!

...and your abs... (I mean avs.)

Nice to hear a perspective from someone who saw all three.

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I am currently reading Gypsy's memoirs and the more I read, the more I say Bette was great.

Since I've never seen any other versions, but heard many other recordings, I can't say for sure if I like Merman, Peters, Daly, Lansbury's Mama Rose.

There is a Mexican recording I have been hunting down with Sylvia Pinal as Rose and her real life daughter Alejandra Guzman as Gypsy.

Also. Is Patti Lupone really doing Gypsy?

i was fortunate enough to see her in minnesota on out of town tryouts...she was magnificent. it was a remarkable performance..and she sang and acted the hell out of the role. she totally deserved the tony.