Gypsy - wow

[BkCollector]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 5:29pm

I have decided to turn over a new leaf re: BWW, so I'm going to keep my negative stuff to a minimum and be constructive.

I saw Gypsy. I do not agree with the ending. Some excellent performances from the supporting cast.

[BlueRoses321]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 5:50pm

care to elaborate?

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 6:01pm

I read your post. I do not understand it. Some elaborating would be excellent.

[BkCollector]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 6:43pm

I did not like the lead nor the changes to highlight her at the end. I did enjoy the male roles and Louise.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 7:36pm

Why in God's name would the author change the ending after the original has worked for eons?
And it weakens Rose's character, too.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 7:45pm

I saw the apparently new ending. What was the old ending?

[puppetman2]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 7:47pm

One of the main things we were taught in art classes in college was KNOW WHEN TO STOP. This definitely applies to shows especially excellent books like the one for GYPSY. Do NOT tamper with perfection no matter who the star is in a revival.

[Just_John]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 8:33pm

I thought the only thing they changed was how Rose didn't walk off the stage but instead looked up at her name in lights? Did they change anything besides that?

[H.Higgins]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 9:28pm

Changes were not made to the book. The end scene is still as originally written. It's the last SILENT moment on stage that has been staged differently in this production.

[dioquardo]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 10:01pm

Considering that Laurents wrote the book and that he is directing this production, I think he can choose to make alterations at his discretion, whether it be catered to a particular performer or his own artistic choices. The integrity of changes made by subsequent directors in any future productions may be a bit more questionable. Just my opinion...
Updated On: 3/13/08 at 10:01 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 11:16pm

SPOILERS!!!!
The usual staging has Rose finishining her TURN, and coming to some sort of conclusion that maybe she has been wanting the spotlight for herself all along.
Then Gypsy enters and tells Rose, she would have been something.
And Rose answers (one of Laurent's best lines)
If I could have been, I would have been!
and they joke and leave together, with a glimmer of a hope that maybe they will work things out.
The current staging had Gypsy leaving and Rose exalting as the ROSE lights come down again.
Leaving me to believe she has learned nothing.
In my opinion, a weaker choice.

Updated On: 3/13/08 at 11:16 PM

[Luvinbroadway]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 11:39pm

The new ending is devasating (in a good way!)....Patti nails it...it is sad, pathetic, hopeful, scary...WOW!

[DidYouReallyHearMe]

Posted: 3/14/08 at 1:49am

The new ending was indeed just WOW. I loved it.

[pattilupuppy]

Posted: 3/14/08 at 1:51am

thank you lovin, you are exactly right!!!!

That is the point people.... she has alienated two daughters she is not a woman of hope

Posted: 3/14/08 at 9:57am

I hear that Laurents toyed with having Rose being claimed by the "Mother Ship" from some alien planet and Gypsy observing "Wow, so Mama was a spaceman all along! That explains her domineering behaviour!"

I think this ambivalent ending sounds OK.

[WhitehallandMarks]

Posted: 3/14/08 at 10:04am

I like the ending. To me, the fact that Rose is still dreaming up ways to get herself in the spotlight - now with "Gypsy Rose Lee" - shows that she hasn't changed at all. The ending supports that, IMO of course.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/21/08 at 9:40pm

I like the new ending - from what I've read. The old ending sounds like it just cleans things up too "Disney"-ish. This is more realistic ending, and a stronger choice I think. It makes a statement rathern than cleaning up a story.

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 3/21/08 at 9:45pm

I see it as, she understands that she won't be the star she wants to be but she won't stop wishing she could be.

[singingbackup]

Posted: 3/21/08 at 9:52pm

yes but when i saw it, she stands in exhaltation as the ROSE in lights 'crumbles' for lack of a better term, it deteriorates like her dream leaving a sadness and a pathetic pall.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/21/08 at 10:05pm

The new ending is heart-wrenching and devastating.

SPOILER

Rose reaches for her name in lights, but only some of the lights are lit as her dream crumbles. She cannot reach it and her dream deteriorates right in front of her eyes. This is a woman who failed her daughters, the love of her life and HERSELF. It is absolutely heartbreaking. Patti's performance of this moment is sublime. It might not touch some people the way it did for me, but when I saw Patti's ROSE'S TURN that evening, her lead-in to that moment was more devastating than I have ever felt.

END SPOILER

GYPSY is my favorite musical. I adore it more than words can express and this ending hit me like a ton of bricks. I really hope they keep it!

[bertandrew2]

Posted: 3/22/08 at 9:41am

SPOILER

Yes, the original ending has Rose and Louise walking offstage TOGETHER. Its not Disney. Its peace. Its a finish. They are ACCEPTING each other. There is a finality.

The new ending has Louise LAUGHING at her mother and she makes a full cross from stage right to stage left. Yes, Louise laughs at her mother as if to say ' you foolish pathetic old woman.' This is mean spirited. Rose stands there as her daughter laughs at her and then that sign comes in again--the lights on it fading out as she reaches for it. Oh brother.

What's worse than this is the build up they give Patti Lupone for her curtain call. Its like the parting of the the seas, all this dramatic build up. Oh brother.

The dark, mean-spirited ending of the show befits the dark, mean-spirited tone set by Ms. Lupone throughout. She sings her first song, SOME PEOPLE, like a barking bulldog. She plays Rose's breakdown during her first number.

Its too bad.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow]

Posted: 3/22/08 at 9:54am

I always thought that the Gypsy-Rose walking out together ending was more about Gypsy's character than Rose. Even with Rose joking about ways she can still put her name in the spotlight after all of that, Gypsy just accepts it and tries to make their relationship work. It probably won't, but I thought the point was to show how Gypsy was able to grow up and mature and be the adult.

I don't really get that the new ending really adds anything other than the fact that it spells everything out, which I think is a bit sad that people need to have things spoon-fed to them.