Posted: 12/29/15 at 10:07am
Just watching the Tyne Daly version reminds me just how much I loved the '89 revival. Christa Moore's strip was convincing each and every time I saw it (9 times)! Definitely my favorite version of the various incarnations of Gypsy I have seen over the years.
Posted: 12/29/15 at 10:24am
I think it's almost a shame they filmed this production, because in the theatre Imelda was astounding. It just does not translate to the small screen. It won't temper my opinion of the live show but it sucks for everyone who's only seeing this recording.
I agree with whoever said how great it would be to put Imelda with Laura Benanti. I was underwhelmed by Pulver but I think it's just because I saw Benanti and she can't be topped. I mean her moo's alone...
Posted: 12/29/15 at 11:10am
I think what I found to be weak or lacking in this production is not dissimilar to what I found weak and lacking in the 2003 Peters revival: Louise and Herbie were simply not fully-fleshed in a way that allowed them to boost the actress playing Rose even more. I've always said that, while LuPone was fantastic, it was Benanti and Gaines that allowed the 2008 revival to go up and over (in my eyes). I missed Pulver when I saw this production at the Savoy, and while I didn't dislike Gemma Sutton, she simply didn't rise to meet Staunton when it mattered most. (This could also have been a direction issue.)
Worse that that, though, was that Herbie was almost a non-entity in this production. LuPone and Gaines had incredible chemistry, but I really could appreciate what Gaines was able to do with the character when I saw someone who did so much less I didn't even really notice he was in the show. It was heartbreaking when Herbie left in the 2008 revival, but I didn't feel much of anything when he left in this Savoy production.
I did chalk some of it up to weird differences between how the British view musical theater compared to Americans. I did think Staunton was absolutely fantastic, even though she was an angry barnstormer from the beginning. I just didn't agree with people here and on the social media who said that she and this production were the absolute tops.
Posted: 12/29/15 at 11:15am
I LOVED this. The way this show moves really proves why it is the best book musical.
Posted: 12/29/15 at 12:37pm
DottieD'Luscia said: "Just watching the Tyne Daly version reminds me just how much I loved the '89 revival. Christa Moore's strip was convincing each and every time I saw it (9 times)! Definitely my favorite version of the various incarnations of Gypsy I have seen over the years."
Yes to all of the above. I saw the Tyne Daly GYPSY a total of 5 times. It was my very first time seeing the show live in a theater after having grown up with the 1962 movie. I was completely blown away by the show and Tyne's performance. Crista Moore on the other hand was a true revelation for me. She's my favorite Gypsy/Louise next to Natalie Wood....and she even resembled Natalie, and her strip routine was thrilling and her recording on the cast album is pretty damn near definitive in my book.
Posted: 12/29/15 at 12:55pm
Full show was posted on youtube earlier today. Get it before it's gone!
Posted: 12/29/15 at 1:03pm
Earlier posts indicate the YouTube version has severely truncated songs. (Running time is about 20 min less than the broadcast).
Updated On: 12/29/15 at 01:03 PM
Posted: 12/29/15 at 7:21pm
Thought this was wonderful. Can't believe the number of critical comments on here.
Posted: 12/29/15 at 7:38pm
"If each successive Rose gets exponentially more psychotic, where will it all end?"
At Mrs. Lovett of course!
Posted: 12/29/15 at 7:49pm
Anyone wanting a decent quality link, you can PM me.
Posted: 12/29/15 at 8:01pm
complete Gypsy show youtube link here:
Posted: 12/30/15 at 12:56am
I found the show (and Imelda) fantastic - with my biggest gripe being the revised orchestrations (budget, smudget - you can't mess with legendary orchestrations...). I want all three leads to travel with show to Broadway... Nearly perfect. My college drama major daughter knew little of the show (but for lack of my trying...) and now realizes what the fuss was about.
As did some above, I saw Tyne multiple times on Bway - and hers remains the pinnacle, as far as I'm concerned. Just as I thought Sunset worked best with tiny Elaine Paige and her slightly nasal and overdone American accent (the screen made Norma larger than life/ her voice would never make Norma a talkies star and she knew it) - I thought Tyne's lesser voice heightened the drama (and was much much better in the theater context) because it was clear Rose didn't have the talent... whereas other Roses made you wonder why Rose wasn't a big star with such talent.
Posted: 12/30/15 at 1:55am
Sorry, but the only thing that would move me after that 'over the top, down the other side around the corner and back again' BIG FINALE would be a double dose of psyllium husks.
Here I come boys, my Big Moment----maybe Sunset B for her close up but those here sure weren't kind.
And while I'm being BitchLips just watched the Gina tribute to Rita......I deleted myself but left the BitchLips as that's the only part that felt good about what I thought.
Nobody cares but I will be nice tomorrow
SL....x
Posted: 12/30/15 at 2:09am
ljay889 said: "One of the joys of Patti's performance is that she didn't portray a bulldozer from the start. Her "Some People" was pretty magical, full of childlike excitement with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. I don't feel she and Laurents got enough credit for how special her rendition of that number was. From a brief viewing of Staunton's version, it seems she just shouts the whole song.
I absolutely agree. 100%.
Posted: 12/30/15 at 4:55am
I was apprehensive when I learnt this was going to be filmed as live performance in the theatre often doesn't withstand the scrutiny of TV cameras and this proved to be no exception.
So what came across extremely well when I saw it at Chichester looked exaggerated and misjudged on television.
What was immediately obvious, however, was that Peter Davision (unrecognisable even though I knew it was him) made an infinitely better Herbie than Kevin Whately had done before the transfer to the Savoy.
Posted: 12/30/15 at 5:25am
Loved Staunton's quirky characterization but think her very broad performance may have worked better onstage than on film. Wasn't prepared for how well she sings the score. Didn't much care for either Baby or Dainty June. Not for a moment did I believe that anyone would look at that kid and see a star, even her deluded mother let alone Granziger. Sure, the material for the act is crap but you have to believe that the child is meant for bigger things. Is it just me or did Louise have a serious Jodi Foster thing going on? I felt she was too mature for the teenager and never really turned the corner into the snotty, self-absorbed, self-sufficient star. The best Electra I've ever seen this side of Julie Halston at Paper Mill. Thought Herbie was terrific. Liked Miss Cratchit but she didn't land the laugh on "How long hasthat been going on?" Call me Mr. Abbott but there's really only one way to read that line. Found the staging of Mr.Goldstone awkward. And why did they cut the bit where Rose fakes being attacked by the hotel manager? One of my favorite lines is, "Profanity in front of my babies. June, get the Bible!" I mean, what kind of a person would cut that? I realize they had to make some cuts for the broadcast time but I could have found fat elsewhere. But of course even an imperfect Gypsy is better than just about anything else in the world!
Posted: 12/30/15 at 8:50am
Well what a shame. I wish we can all go back in time to see Tyne Daly's version again. The few times I saw her do it there was never a false note. There was never a performance. Her Rose was so grounded. So mother earth. When Tyne's Rose sang Some People you could feel her want. Her manipulation of the girls and her father would be established. Imelda just stood there and did a number.. badly. I know it is unfair to compare. And some of the line readings from the rest of the cast.. first of all... that has to be one of the blandest Herbies. And that woman who played Miss Crotchet ( I think that is the name.. Getzingers assistant) ... AWFUL.
It is a shame that they never got it together here to film one of our far superior revivals of this very american musical ( excluding Bernadettes.. sorry). How is it that they were able to get it together so fast to capture this on tv over there while here producers don't want to get anywhere near all the union red tape that goes into such a endeavor? IT IS A SHAME.
I am too young to have seen Merman and to remember details about Angelas. I guess I will have to be content with my vivid memories of Tyne and the bad quality clips one finds here and there. I hope this wonderful show gets a public rest (on the professional level) and resurfaces again in 20 years with a new and splendid Rose
Updated On: 12/30/15 at 08:50 AM
Posted: 12/30/15 at 10:03am
I didn't realize the full show with Tyne Daly was posted. I wish the quality was better but holy crap. Others may have sung the role better, but her acting is unmatched by any Rose before or since. Her Rose is a real person. I just watched a few scenes again: the Chinese restaurant scene with You'll Never Get Away From Me (the chemistry between her and Herbie is fantastic), plus the scene leading up to Everything's Coming Up Roses. The whole cast is perfection, and You Gotta Have a Gimmick has never been better.
Posted: 12/30/15 at 10:10am
Just watch Tyne's acting with Crista and Jonathan here. Just the best. It's "real." It's not Godzilla vs. Mothra, it's not a cartoon or a caricature. These are real people, as portrayed by this talented cast.
Click here to go directly to the scene.
Posted: 12/30/15 at 10:41am
I wasn't old enough to see Tyne live, but my biggest takeaway from that video is that she played Rose as a real person. Not too mannered, no hysterics, no exaggerated gestures. She's human. I love how ferocious her Coming Up Roses is. Her acting completely makes up for her unpleasant vocals.
Posted: 12/30/15 at 10:54am
What made Daly's Rose work so well was also the specificity in her performance. There was a specific place in the mezzanine she would look to and point when singing or talking about a dream or plans she had. She could see it, it was right there, it was real, it was just out of reach. Daly understood that if you play the woman, the audience will see the monster. Play the monster, and they see the actress.
What also makes Daly's production pretty god damn definitive, at least in my eyes, is the motor underneath. Now I'm not talking speed, although it certainly moves at a zippy pace, because what I hate about Staunton's televised version is its speediness. I'm talking the drive that is going at all times. Daly's production MOVES, it pulsates and it breathes. Right down to the orchestra, which probably has the most character and fire of any Gypsy orchestra I've heard.
What I disliked about Lupone's production was how studied the whole thing felt to me. Certain lines were said with a different emphasis not because it felt organic, but because it was different. I know that production has its many supporters and I certainly didn't hate it, but I was also never moved by or swept up in it. Some scenes felt like an acting class where the teacher said "See how this might work if you underlined every third word. See what that does." It's certainly interesting, but not always captivating.
The video of Daly's production is of poor quality, but the production is so incredible it's worth it.
Posted: 12/30/15 at 11:49am
Roses I've seen:
Tyne Daly
Linda Lavin
Rita Moreno
A women in Rhode Island who's name escapes me
Patti
Imelda- I have to say I'm underwhelmed, but I don't think it's fair to judge it from a video. I so wish they'd filmed Patti's version.
Those "You Gotta Get a Gimmick" ladies were hideous. I know these women are supposed to be somewhat busted, but COME ON!
Updated On: 12/30/15 at 11:49 AM
Posted: 12/30/15 at 1:30pm
"Thought this was wonderful. Can't believe the number of critical comments on here."
This!
(And goes to prove just how subjective it all is..... which, let's face it, makes it all all the more fun to discuss).
Updated On: 12/30/15 at 01:30 PM
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