Gypsy last night — Page 2

yankee - I saw Pearce as Tulsa and thought he was fantastic. I enjoy him as Yonkers too. I am wondering if he covered all shows this week or if Matty got a chance to go on.


I REALLY really hope it gets filmed for Great Performances.

"Do you happen to know how much was she making per week (estimated) and how much of a pay cut did she agree to?"

Uh, no lol but if I did I certainly wouldn't post someone else's financial information on a message board even if it was a few years ago.

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Louise has many intentions throughout the show. Bored isn't one of them.

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I went tonight (11/21) and Pearce went on as well. I prefer him as Yonkers, but he was okay as Tulsa. He def. didn't have a commanding stage presence or a powerful voice, but he did the part justice. Lupone was sick tonight, and you could tell she was struggling, but I think it only added to the manic nature of her character towards the end of the show. It was stellar to watch a true star perform even know I know she was feeling like sh*t. I thought Benanti was in top form tonight and gave a stellar performance. I really like Larkin in the role, and love her voice, but she seemed down tonight. I'm still surprised at how little she has to do in the show. What a nice job!

Any idea if Benanti is really in the cow costume during the dance numbers? I assumed she wasn't but maybe she really is?

I've always wondered if that was Laura in the cow costume too, and I think it is. When I sat front row once, I was able to sort of see inside the cow head when the mouth opened. It looked like she was rolling her eyes and making silly facial expressions while doing the "moo"s. And when the cow is offstage for a bit while the boys are doing the broadway dance, another woman took off the cow head so Laura could get some fresh air for a minute, I guess. And then they put the head back on. I'm trying so hard to remember it more clearly, but yeah, I'm pretty sure it's her in there.

I went to the show Friday 11/21 as well. I agree on Patti, you could tell she was struggling, but she was great anyway.
Crazy at it seems, I thought the understudy for Baby June stole the show last night! That little one is something else. I can't believe they have been using her in that little balloon girl role. She had me cracking up and the people around me were rolling in the aisles as well , they couldnt stop talking about her. That is an amazing bunch of talent for a kid.

Coffee, are you related to this girl? She is a cute, little dancer, but, her voice could use a lot of work. Also, I was sitting up in the mezzanine last night, and, as I recall, the aisles remained clear throughout the entire performance.

I was there Thursday night and Patti seemed fine - on fire throughout so whatever she has must have hit her after that performance. (Boyd sounded a bit husky at times, like he was just getting over a cold but it didn't mar his performance at all.)

The u/s Tulsa (Pearce Wegener) was fine but nothing dazzling. My folks saw Tony in that role a few weeks back and said about the same thing about him. Really, only one Tulsa I have ever seen really dazzled with his dancing and made something of the character in other scenes: Jeff Lillico at Shaw Festival 3 years ago.)

I suspect Pearce had a lot of friends/fans in the audience Thursday night because he got quite an ovation.

Speaking of ovations I was surprised how effusive the audience was on a mid-week performance. The orch was fairly full (I was Row F on the aisle and there we e 4 empty seats across from me in the centre section. Unclaimed house seats?) And a few empty seats at the extreme sides. I didn't know the balcony was closed but the electricity from the roar that greeted the overture onwards was astounding.

I have a few minor quibbles about some of the supporting performances - What is going on with Miss Elektra? Her from-beyond-the-grave performance killed some of her usual laugh lines! - But overall a first rate production. Different from others I have seen but a great play can only be enhanced by different performances. There was nothing wildly out of place.

I miss the Kringelien scene (though it was seamlessly cut) and still think Rose's "Small World" reprise would be worth the extra 90 seconds. But neither cut diminishes the show.

I don't get the complaints about Patti's diction. I understood every word. Her acting performance was sensational, and if she did scoop a few notes, well so does Merman on occasion. The performance is completely valid. (That said Tyne Daly was a superb actress and gave Rose more warmth but she really didn't have the voice for this score.)

In any other season GYPSY would have won the Tony for Best Revival but having seen both shows this week, I too would give the award to SOUTH PACIFIC but the lead is by the smallest of margins...a photo finish, really. Both were * * * * * out of 5.

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C'mon...let's give credit where credit is due! Jaclyn Taylor Ruggiero was amazing. Had I not read she was the understudy, I would have thought she had been playing the part for the past 9 months. Was that the first time she ever understudied Baby June? If yes, that's shocking...she was sensational. Talk about owning the stage... I was quite impressed! Her dancing and singing were both delightful but I was most amazed with her facial expressions and body language. I was sold after the first adorable smile!!
The show was great...having a terrible cold or not...Patti was fabulous!! I hope to see it again before March.

I had heard on another thread last week or so that Baby June's understudy, Jaclyn, was going to be playing the part on November 21st. I am sorry I wasn't able to get tickets. A friend of mine was there last night and loved her performance. According to my friend, her performance was stellar...best Baby June ever! Sorry I missed it

I saw the show last weekend on the 16th (after the complication with ATOTC! ). I'm pretty sure it was a near-sell-out performance,...I only went up to the mezz, and I'm going to guess the balcony was closed though because I couldn't find how to get up there! The mezz was atleast 80% full, and of course the orchestra was full.

Although I'm sure GYPSY has a hard time selling during the week. Both times I've gone on the weekend (Sat. mat. & obviously last Sunday) and a large portion of the people in attendance are either Senior Citizens or big LuPone fans. Now I can see going back to a show 2 or 3 times, but I'm sure most of LuPone's fans aren't going back 83748374 times (maybe I'm wrong!), and I'm going to assume that the older portion of the audience would naturally go on the weekend. Who knows if it'll last until March 1, but I would think they'd make an effort to or not move it up that much? I could actually see a holiday boost for this show, unlike many people who said (and keep saying) that 13 and ATOTC would be able to thrive in the holidays. This has 3 Tony Awards, an intriguing topic to some, and on top of it has lasted what 4+decades now?!

"The response from the audience? lol The loud response from the audience specifically came from a group of people who were there just to see the Baby June understudy. At the stage door, a HUGE group of her family and friends flooded the area, so that pretty much explains it. I'll be happy when Sami Gayle is back in her role and Tony Yasbeck returns from On the Town."

And apparently a lot of those family and friends are now members on BWW, haha.

Do you know who is in the cow suit then? And I wonder why Leigh Ann stopped jumping on the cow and "riding" it off-stage after the song.
(LOL, Sorry for all the questions about something so silly, I've just always been curious.)