GYPSY To Close August 17, 2025- Page 5

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 2:53am

dan94 said: "I absolutely agree Merman's absences were justified. I'm merely bringing it up because the oft-repeated perception that "Merman NEVER missed" is not entirely accurate. It's a hard part. Life happens, it's a very difficult role, and some absences are to be expected, whether it's Merman, Peters, or McDonald in the role."

I wasn't aware of a perception that career-wise Merman never missed. There was a specific show--I think it was Panama Hattie, but could be wrong--where Merman mentioned in her own diary or notebook when the show closed that she never missed a performance. I remember being really impressed with that sort of committement UNTIL I saw the Sondheim interview about how she'd just phone it in during the run of Gypsy unless critics or someone famous was in the audience (they'd feed her false info about who was in the audience to get a good performance out of her) and Josh Logan told Sondheim that it was true when she was doing Annie Get Your Gun back in the 40's, as well. 

[binau]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 4:20am

I do agree that there is a perception that she never, or almost never, missed though because that is the whole folklore around Elaine Stritch being able to be an understudy for Merman while doing another show at the same time if I remember correctly. Merman is often called upon as a prototypical example of the old school Broadway performer who rarely misses (along with Patti, Carol Channing etc). So I personally appreciate hearing these details. I do find that knowledge of older shows is quickly disappearing because quite frankly, I think people who saw them are mostly dead now. 

Even this board - we used to have at least a few people years ago who would suggest they saw many musicals in the 50s and 60s. Feels this has dried up now. One only needs to do the calculation 2025-1960+20 (assuming 20 years old a minimum of thoughtful conscious awareness) to see the problem. 

[Blow Gabriel]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 6:54am

It’s why encores is more important than ever. I just wish they would make cast recordings. Especially for musicals like Love Life that don’t have one.  I am very happy over the years to get to see Dear World, Wonderful Town, Pal Joey and so many others. Very much looking forward to High Society next season. I hope they do Annie Get your gun and Lil abner at some point 

[inception]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 9:59am

Encores is doing High Spirits

High Society is being done this summer at Ogunquit.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 10:12am

Blow Gabriel said: "It’s why encores is more important than ever. I just wish they would make cast recordings.

There have been many cast recordings from Encores and City Center shows (and/or their Broadway transfers) when funds and interest allow.

Especiallyfor musicals like Love Life that don’t have one.

Opera North's Love Life was recorded this year. The all-powerful Weill Foundation obviously would not sanction two recordings at the same time.

I am very happy over the years to get to see Dear World, Wonderful Town, Pal Joey and so many others. Very much looking forward to High Society next season.

They aren't doing that show.

I hope they do Annie Get your gun and Lil abner at some point"

Lil Abner was already done by Encores and AGYG was done as a City Center Gala in 2015. I'm sure Abner would sell even more abysmally than Love Life and Wonderful Town, and AGYG might be too much of a lost cause even for a full rewrite.

Updated On: 7/18/25 at 10:12 AM

[Blow Gabriel]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 12:50pm

Oh well then I hope they do high society soon. I wish Dear World got a cast recording from encores. I also would like to see finians rainbow and the pajama game

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 12:50pm

For all the talk about Patti Lupone's "old-school" persona, she missed a lot of Evita shows. Julie Andrews missed a lot of My Fair Lady shows too.

The modern-day performer who truly does not miss shows (unless it's something really serious like covid, or pre-planned absences) is Aaron Tveit. Dude is an iron man.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 12:54pm

Blow Gabriel said: "Oh well then I hope they do high society soon. I wish Dear World got a cast recording from encores. I also would like to see finians rainbow and the pajama game"

 

They already did both of those shows Broadway Flash

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 12:59pm

poisonivy2 said: "For all the talk about Patti Lupone's "old-school" persona, she missed a lot of Evita shows. Julie Andrews missed a lot of My Fair Lady shows too."

People miss shows. It's healthy to miss shows. Is it annoying when a star misses? Yes. Sometimes it's costly for the producer, too. But they are humans and humans need a break. What Merman and Channing did probably wasn't healthy for them or for their coworkers, and the audience probably wasn't getting them at their best. Going on when you shouldn't doesn't make work ethic better.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 3:36pm

poisonivy2 said: "For all the talk about Patti Lupone's "old-school" persona, she missed a lot of Evita shows. Julie Andrews missed a lot of My Fair Lady shows too.

The modern-day performer who truly does not miss shows (unless it's something really serious like covid, or pre-planned absences) is Aaron Tveit. Dude is an iron man."

Jonathan Groff too.  I also read somewhere that —  aside from some pre-scheduled vacation / movie promotion — Daniel Radcliffe never missed a performance.  I do t know if that is true or not.

[Blow Gabriel]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 4:10pm

Patti was out all of the time for War Paint and missed a number of performances of Company.  Sutton Foster is known to have great attendance and brings bagels on Sundays. 

[east side story]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 4:50pm

Blow Gabriel said: "Patti was out all of the time for War Paint and missed a number of performances of Company. Sutton Foster is known to have great attendance and brings bagels on Sundays."

Lupone was immobilized by a hip injury, and eventually got a hip replacement shortly after War Paint closed. And Company? Covid-related, and she had deaths in the family, one of whom was her brother. 

But if Foster brings bagels, that’s a wrap. Everyone else can go home, she’s cast. 

 

[Kad]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 4:56pm

Everybody missed shows in that post-reopening Covid winter-spring. 

And also: who the **** cares? This isn't an elementary school, there's no award for best attendance. Unless it is a chronic issue that is affecting sales and the reception of the show, nobody who matters cares about these stats and they have no weight in casting for performers of this caliber. It's trivia. 

Updated On: 7/18/25 at 04:56 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 5:10pm

I’ve been fortunate but every show I’ve seen that LuPone was performing in, she was there - from EVITA, ANYTHING GOES, SWEENEY TODD, GYPSY, WAR PAINT, COMPANY, WOMEN ON THE VERGE, to even NOISES OFF. 

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 5:33pm

Blow Gabriel said: "Patti was out all of the time for War Paint and missed a number of performances of Company. Sutton Foster is known to have great attendance and brings bagels on Sundays."

This is giving a youtube message I got when I said I wasn't ecstatic about Sutton getting cast in Anything Goes 15 years ago...

[KrupYou]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 5:38pm

I wonder if there is interest in a tour of this production? 

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 5:56pm

KrupYou said: "I wonder if there is interest in a tour of this production?"

If there wasn't interest in this production to play on Broadway for a year, then there's not interest in this specific production to tour. The production itself has been very much panned and underwhelming.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 6:00pm

[Blow Gabriel]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 6:31pm

Yes people didn’t like Suttons casting in Anything Goes at first. And then she shut all the naysayers up with the most breathtaking musical numbers where she danced her ass off, and then belted those notes out at the end of 8 minute dance numbers. Sutton was absolutely brilliant in the role. Patti treated this with disdain at first just like she did with Audra Gypsy. She doesn’t want to be shown up. But after the Tony Awards, she eventually came around to Sutton but only when she was already the toast of the town. Surely this will happen again with any Sutton Gypsy.  With Audra Gypsy, Patti smelled blood in the water and came out with those hideous comments. 

Updated On: 7/18/25 at 06:31 PM

[binau]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 7:13pm

There is no Sutton Gypsy. Not ever. Oh dear god, it is tomorrow. I know. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 7:31pm

binau said: "There is no Sutton Gypsy. Not ever. Oh dear god, it is tomorrow. I know."

[Blow Gabriel]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 7:52pm

STUDIO 54, SPRING 2030

[TheOtherOne2]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 7:55pm

Blow Gabriel said: "Yes people didn’t like Suttons casting in Anything Goes at first. And then she shut all the naysayers up with the most breathtaking musical numbers where she danced her ass off, and then belted those notesout at the end of 8 minute dance numbers. Sutton was absolutely brilliant in the role. Patti treated this with disdain at first just like she did with Audra Gypsy. She doesn’t want to be shown up. But after the Tony Awards, she eventually came around to Sutton but only when she was already the toast of the town. Surely this will happen againwith any SuttonGypsy. With Audra Gypsy, Patti smelled blood in the water and came out with those hideous comments."

Patti said her share of inappropriate things in that infamous interview, but she never criticized Audra's performance in Gypsy.  People read a lot into the fact that she never commented on it at all, even though she had praised Nicole Sherzinger and Sunset Boulevard, but it's all conjecture.  She still hasn't commented on Audra's performance to the best of my knowledge.  

 

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 8:03pm

Good points, Binau.

[Blow Gabriel]

Posted: 7/18/25 at 9:42pm

I don’t care if Patti didn’t like this new Gypsy or Audra’s performance. That opinion would be in line with probably most people.  But her lying and sneering was totally out of line.  Wagging her finger at Audra saying she should know better??  Patti, darling, Broadway is DONE with you. No matter how many times you say you’re done with Broadway, you know deep down inside, it’s the opposite and you’re just trying to save face and look like you’re going out when they still want you. Newsflash, you’re not wanted, and will never appear in a Broadway show ever again. Good riddance.