I have 6 press photographs of the original production of GYPSY, obtained by having them made from negatives at the Library of Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. My 2 favorites: Ethel Merman and Sandra Church just after "Rose's Turn", with Merman wearing Gypsy Rose Lee's full length fur coat and looking very elegant;
The Minsky's "Salute to Christmas"(in subsequent productions changed to the less funny Minsky's "Garden of Eden" sequence) which features an incredible 15 showgirls standing on a giant Christmas tree, with Christmas ornaments covering their boobs. What an expensive scene that was, seeing that it only lasts for about one minute, as the showgirls sang, "Ah ah ah ah ahhhh" in a mock religioso manner. It was garish and tacky, and funny as hell. After that singing by the showgirls, a huge present was dragged on stage by 2 Santa Clauses, and out pops Gypsy Rose Lee. Those 15 showgirls were virtually unused in the rest of the production, except for some of them probably used to round out Rose's traveling troupe, so it was, alas, inevitable that the scene would have to be changed in subsequent productions to save money.
For years those photos stayed on a shelf in my bookcase, but after seeing Patti LuPone in GYPSY recently, I was motivated to get the 8 by 10 photos out and frame them, and they are now on my living room wall. My other picture from the 1959 production is a huge computer based photo of my Playbill for the Broadway Theatre, with Merman's smiling face, which hangs on my bedroom wall.
I am totally ignorant of digital photography and its transference to a computer, so I regret not being able to share my photos on this Board. But if you live in NYC, it is worth it to visit the Library at Lincoln Center to view these photos and other GYPSY memorabilia, not to mention countless other theatre memorabilia. That Library is a treasure for any theatregoer.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
