GYPSY REVIVAL ASAP!- Page 2

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 1:17pm

Nobody *needs* a 2nd Tony. Patti, of all people, knows "the bass of the Tony is made of plastic." That just about covers it there. And didn't everyone say that her 2nd Tony was coming with SWEENEY? Yawn.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 1:21pm

Dollypop makes a good suggestion in his review -- perhaps this could replace the concert version of COMPANY that the NY Philharmonic had planned as a special event in the spring, but cancelled when the revival was announced. It would be an instant sellout for them, give more people a chance to see it and perhaps could be preserved at least as a CD, if not a DVD.

And Laurents couldn't stop it.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 1:37pm

Arthur ended up being sorry he let Sam Mendes direct that revival.

When Sam Mendes said to him, "Well, the number with the three strippers got a big hand," Arthur said to him, "Sam...that means NOTHING. You could have cast Saddam Hussein and his two sons as those three strippers and it STILL would have gotten a hand."

Updated On: 8/14/06 at 01:37 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 1:56pm

It would be nice if the Kennedy Center produced this show with Patti as the lead. I'm not sure how far in advance they know what shows they're doing.

[BtMartin25]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 4:11pm

Are there any reviews on the Ravinia production? I'm anxious.

Totally didn't see the thread below.

Updated On: 8/14/06 at 04:11 PM

[kooky]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 4:50pm

GYPSY REVIVAL, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE !

[sidneybruhl]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 6:18pm

I really found Mr. Laurent's comments to be insensitive and unecessary. As for his take on "Sweeney Todd" he seems to be in the minority. As for Patti's "Gypsy"--I could kick myself for not making more of an effort to see it since I'm only five hours away from Chicago. Let's hope her "Gypsy" has a life somewhere else and will at least get a CD recording.

[lvpblues]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 7:28pm

If the NY Phil replaced Company with Patti in Gypsy that would probably become the NY theatrical event of the year. I think it's really a shame that Laurents is so incredibly bitter and so grudge-heavy. Though I've gathered from reading excerpts of his megalomaniacal autobiography and interviews that he really doesn't seem to admire too much beyond his own body of work. (Can't wait for the revivals of Hallelujah Baby! & Nick & Nora, Mr. L)

(I seem to recall reading that he was also highly critical of at least some of the Sondheim-Prince collaborations in their original productions; can anyone back me up?)

By the way, was anyone else worried about his idea for bringing West Side Story into the 21st century?

~Kev

[VonTussleGirl]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 7:50pm

By the way, was anyone else worried about his idea for bringing West Side Story into the 21st century?

Seen it done. Badly.

I don't know how much his production would differ from the one I saw, though.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 11:18am

By the way, was anyone else worried about his idea for bringing West Side Story into the 21st century?

Exactly. It sounds like Rose saying, "I had a dream about a BRAND new act..."

[mortgageguy79]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 11:27am

I don't know if I would call Ravinia a fluke, it was her 6th year in a row there doing Sondhiem, Gypsy was bound to happen sooner or later. However, that being said, I don't forsee a revival on Broadway anytime soon. Bernadette already ruined any chance of that happening! Broadway saw a mediocre revival a couple years back...no one wants to see it again anytime soon.

Patti was brilliant at Ravinia and I truly hope they are putting out a recording of that cast, they were all fantastic!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 11:34am

Of course there will be no cast recording from Ravinia, though the internet is already flooded with other "recordings."

NY PHIL is doing GUYS AND DOLLS instead of COMPANY. It is too soon for even a concert version of GYPSY in New York. But take a couple of deep breaths guys: Patti can easily play Rose for another half a decade: She'll do it again - somewhere - just probably not this season.

P.S. I'm pretty sure Laurents couuld prevent LuPone from doing a concert version at NY PHIL if he really wanted to. Again, he could simply refuse to grant permission without casting approval.
Updated On: 8/15/06 at 11:34 AM

[sfboy20]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 12:09pm

you have to wonder how Patti feels about the whole scenario.

She gets glowing reviews in the Chicago press and, most importantly, the Times gave a VERY favourable review. Indeed, in the last paragraph, isherwood even worked his criticism of her performance into his intrepratation oh her performance!

and she can't bring it to new york.

i can only imagine how frustrating this must be for her.

Isherwood Review Updated On: 8/15/06 at 12:09 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 12:57pm

Well, nobody has stepped forward with an offer to take LuPone to London or New York or Phoenix or anywhere else at this point. Given Laurent's refusal to let her do the show on previous occassions, I would imagine LuPone is just relieved and elated to have finally had the chance to play the role. The reviews have probably been the icing on the cake. I doubt she is sitting around right now, though, fuming because she can't do the show on Broadway next week.

Like I said - just give it time. She'll do the show again. LuPone in the meantime has lots of other projects on the horizon.
Updated On: 8/15/06 at 12:57 PM

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 6:27pm

Since GYPSY is my favorite show of all times (I saw the OBC with Merman 5 times, the Angela Lansbury revival 2 times, the Tyne Daly revival 5 times, and Bernadette Peters once) I have enjoyed reading all the input that this subject has engendered. It doesn't surprise me that Laurents would have the balls to stop Patti Lupone from doing a revival in NYC, but it is a shame that he could do such a thing. I would love to see Lupone play Mama Rose and would travel to Philadelphia's glorious Forrest Theatre to see her. I agree that it probably is too soon to do another revival Of GYPSY in NYC,but hope that she will be able to do it in NYC sometime in the future.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 8:11pm

Gypsy--tell us what you remember of seeing Merman live. Sondheim has said that Lansbury could never be as good in the role as Merman because Lansbury was "too intelligent." Merman's Rose seem dumb or unintelligent? What were her Mama/Mama/Mama's like? How did she handle the bowing at the end of Rose's turn? What comes to mind when you think of her performance?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 8:19pm

Wasn't the bowing after Rose's Turn something Laurents added himself when he directed the Lansbury version? I seem to recall reading that Merman didn't really ever "get" the whole "Mama, mama" stuff and just sang it the way they told her to and at the end she just stood there on stage triumphantly until the applause died down. Even without the bowing, her Rose's Turn was nevertheless a showstopper because she sang the crap out of it. It was only later in '74 that Laurents and Lansbury added that extra touch of psychological complexity to the number (and it's been in the show ever since).

But, again, that's just something I read about it and could very well be wrong.

[bta212]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 8:35pm

I'm just going to go out on a limb here and suggest that an important part of the magic of Patti @ Ravinia was the very fact of the Ravinia Experience. Limited run. Minimal rehearsals. Minimal, almost concert style staging. The idyllic, pastoral, outdoor setting, the spicy king-pao chicken in the spinach wrap. For years, the Audra/Michael/Patti events have been small, magical, effervescent gifts that one is lucky enough to experience and savor for years to come.

Was there extraordinary talent on stage? Yes. Is it the role that Patti was born to play? Quite Possibly, yes. Will the day come for a full-on Bway revival with Patti as Mama Rose and Idina as Louise and Norbert as Tulsa and omigod Adam Pascal as Miss Mazeppa? No doubt. But to clamor and yell for DVD's, CD's, Podcasts and transfers to the Ukranian Fellowship Hall in the East Village (Where Arthur Laurents has no pull) seem to me to miss the point of the Ravinia magic. Get on the mailing list and pray for "Merrily" next year.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 8:37pm

No you're right, Margo. But even in the movie, Roz Russell seems to snap out of a similar reverie.

I remember gasping when I realized what Lansbury was doing. The moment was a true coup de theatre.

I've always wondered what Merman was like in that moment and the one at the end of the first act when she turns on Louise and says she can make her a star too. If Merman was as "dumb" in the role as Sondheim has implied (meaning it as a compliment), did it seem like an act of desperation or just pigheadedness?

And what must it have been like for Garland to see this show, still feeling guilty for having pushed her own Rose-like mother out of her life? Did she think the writers had stolen her story?

[Kringas]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 8:43pm

I'm within walking distance of the Ukrainian Fellowship Hall. I hope it does transfer there.

Updated On: 8/16/06 at 08:43 PM

[bta212]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 8:46pm

Well, you better get Citi-Quiet windows, just in case. Idina screeching "Let me Entertain You" 8 times a week could seriously drive you mad...

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 8:47pm

Whether the NY Phil ends up doing it or the SF Philharmonic does it, it's only a matter of time before there's a Concert staging with patty that will be recorded for CD and DVD. It's a no-brainer money maker and Patti, of all people, would be happy to have her performance memorialized.

I can tell you which symphony orchestra will NOT be doing it- The LA Phil is simply not capable of doing musicals justice. Despite having Paul Gemigniani conducting, their performance during the Sondheim Hollywood Bowl tribute was lousy. They are wonderful at playing classical music but they have no understanding of musical theatre.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 8:56pm

The mere thought of Garland tackling this part is chilling. Could you imagine what she would have done with Rose's Turn?

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 9:01pm

To:Paljoey
You are asking me to go back over 45 years ago so I can only touch on some of the things that stand out about seeing Ethel Merman on stage in GYPSY. First, she had that hard to define "stage presence" that only a hand full of performers have had; Richard Burton and Robert Preston are two others that come to mind. You simply could not take your eyes off her; she owned the stage.There was never anything unintelligent about her performance. Her singing was clear and always true to pitch. I remember her singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" with great emotion, beating her hands on her chest as she sang,"Momma is gonna see to it". In "Rose's Turn" she purposely stumbled on the phrase "Momma...Momma...Momma's got to let go."
This effect is clearly heard in the OBC recording. At the end of "Rose's Turn" I don't remember her bowing as much as her just standing in sort of a stupor as the audience went wild with applause. It was the first chance of the entire show that the audience got to show its approval without the show immediately going into its next scene.
At any rate, I would love to see Patti Lupone do the role, as the "Merman of the 21st century" as someone earlier has described her.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 9:19pm

Thanks for those memories, Gypsy--especially the tidbit of her beating her chest on those lyrics--wow.

I hope you get to see Patti soon.