Gypsy - change in the book - SPOILER

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 9:54am

I posted this on ATC, too, but maybe I'll get some different answers here.

Laurents has changed one line for this production... where Tessie used to say, "From the way that dame walks, she would have made a damn good stripper."

Now, she asks, "She's your mother?" and Louise replies, "She's my mother."

I can't figure out what this does to enhance the moment.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 10:35am

Did they cut that line? I always thought it was funny.

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 10:45am

Yes, it's cut now.

[NYC_or_Bust]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:04am

This is just Laurents being pissed off about something...EVEN in his own production. That man seriously needs to die already. He's like a painter who just keeps making brush strokes (without paint) to an already PERFECT work of art.

Anybody remember his radio interview where he went on and on about how mad he was in Bernadette's revival because it had "no walls". I mean seriously...

[Dolly_Levi]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:11am

Perhaps the change just focuses the moment back on the mother/daughter dynamic?

The "from the way that dame walks" bit is funny, but not necessary.

[BkCollector]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:26am

"already PERFECT work of art"

I never understood why people say this about Gypsy so much. I feel that it's highly flawed work of art (yes, art because it is a classic in the genre) but the main character is morally bankrupt and totally self-indulgent.

I know why it's popular though, I think I mentioned it once before. It really speaks to the repressed gay male society that it grew up around. The idea that "if I ever got a chance, there wouldn't be signs big enough or lights bright enough" is very appealing to the bruised gay male psyche of the time (and subsequent generations) and is a perfect allegory for that.

That's all well and good, but being emotionally resonant doesn't make it a perfect work of art.

[Tom148502]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:36am

Having lost the last one, BKCollector is trying to start another argument. He'd probably think GYPSY was more perfect if everyone played zithers

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:36am

Wow- BK I don't know where to start! You can't have a flawed hero? Man, what a moron I was! I guess I was wrong to like Hamlet, huh?

And do you really think anyone believes Rose when she rants about how big she'd been if she got a chance? I think that's one of the things that makes Gypsy work, actually- Rose hangs on to that ridiculous delusion before admitting, in the very final moments, "If I could have, I would have."

And There may be a lot of deluded queens out there, but not enough to make a show a classic. If there were, Sideshow would be revived every 5 yeras.

[BkCollector]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:42am

Of course you can have a flawed hero, at least Hamlet was wronged in order to become the flawed hero that he is.

But Rose, there's no reason in the script that she's so insane, and unaware or uninterested in her children's emotional well-being.

I love flawed heroes, they are my favorites actually, the most complex and the most close to humanity, but Rose isn't written so that you understand where she is coming from (and comparing her to Hamlet, REALLY?)

I just think that Rose's character is morally repugnant, and no matter who plays her, I can barely stand to watch her scenes because I just hate her character so much. I think my head would explode if I saw an actress I actually hate (La Lupone) in that role.

And I don't think gypsy would be better with Zithers...kazoos maybe, but never Zithers. :)

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:43am

Yeah hi, if you don't at least appreciate the genius work in Gypsy...

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:44am

"The "from the way that dame walks" bit is funny, but not necessary."

I think it is necessary. Through the entire show, Louise sees her mother fail at everything. It's the only time in the show where someone tells her that her mother could have been good at something.

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:45am

Rose wanted to be a star, but never had the chance. It was HER dream, and that's her reason for doing everything.

[RyToast1]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:47am

It's clear why Rose is the way she is. Everyone has walked out on her. Her mother left her, that'd mess me up!

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:52am

Rose is like Hillary Clinton. She thinks she's fully entitled to some things...

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:14pm

must we open that can of worms?

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:15pm

Wait-- so even Gypsy is Hilary's fault?????

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:24pm

Well, Gypsy Rose Lee (in real life) was a Republican...

[RyToast1]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:25pm

I'm with BrianIdol...

[puppetman2]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:26pm

One of the primary things we were taught in art classes was "knoiw when to stop" Laurents should have this pounded into his head.

The line is necessary as it shows what Rose could have been and why she pushes Louise into being a stripper.

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:29pm

I'm still trying to figure out what the NEW exchange (She's your mother? She is my mother) is supposed to do.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:47pm

Holla for Texas

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:51pm

Or maybe the thought of Lupone stripping is an unpleasant image that he doesn't want the audience to have stuck in their heads?

[BkCollector]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:52pm

Oh. My. God.

Said unpleasantness has just made me very ill. Must vomit now.

[haddaddy3]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:53pm

If it's delivered the way I'm hearing it in my head, I think it works better for the overall story.

[Brick]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 1:07pm

I haven't seen the show yet, though I have some thoughts...

At this point in the show, we are nearing the point of Rose's last shot at making her dream a reality, and the desperation is setting in. Louise sees this, but follows her mother's wishes, as usual. Louise has been aware throughout the play of her mother's desperation, the lengths she will go, and the people she will lose to get what she wants. And Laurents has her often in the position of defending Rose, even with June. I think this simple exchange could be Laurents wanting to give Louise one more moment, right before Rose loses another love in her life, where Louise must claim Rose as her mother, with her words, as tothers continue to abandon her.

It's possible Tessie's line was pulling focus in a way Laurents didn't like. I find myself cutting lines from my plays, even if I love the line, simply because it pulls focus; sometimes the line is so good, it pulls focus to the point it's all you remember from that scene. And, personally, though I love that line, it's all I remember from that scene. He may have wanted to sacrifice the joke in order to strengthen the moment as a moment on Louise's arc.

I'm just guessing, of course. But it's his book, and it's the best book ever written for musical theatre. So, if he wants to tweak it, who better?