Gypsy- When you got it, you got it- Page 2

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:19am

EDIT: It was theaterguy11 that posted that under my acct. not me.

Updated On: 4/21/08 at 12:19 AM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:21am

I'm sorry, but I don't see how vaudeville sets looking cheap is a bad thing. They're supposed to look awful; that's the point.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:22am

EDIT: Theaterguy, sign off and log in under your name again.

Updated On: 4/21/08 at 12:22 AM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:24am

EDIT: Just make sure it's your sn and e-mail when you are posting.

As I've said before, I have NOT seen this GYPSY revival on Broadway, so it'd be impossible for me to give an opinion on the set, costumes, etc as I only saw it at City Center.

Updated On: 4/21/08 at 12:24 AM

[LadyRosecoe]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:37am

Ray, your account is STILL having problems?

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:40am

Why is it that nobody points out that when Louise makes it in the big time (Minsky's) the set becomes full and glamorous? I thought the sets were a perfect counterpart to each step of the road the characters were taking. I've seen GYPSY countless times and have never been as moved by it as I was at this production. It is sublime. My only complaint was, I have to admit, the distraction of the stuffed dog and lamb puppet (as have been discussed to death on this board.)

One big question I had was why were there cuts in the script, most noticably - Mr. Kringlein the hotel manager?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:46am

LadyRoscoe, my acct. has been having these kind of problems for almost a year now, I think. The only thing that changes about it is the user it gets mixed up with.
I've learned to look the sn and e-mail address above the text box every time I post a message to make sure it's under my actual sn. It's pretty annoying. Just ask Phyllis.

Updated On: 4/21/08 at 12:46 AM

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:57am

You are so right, they should've used a real lamb and dog. In fact, Into The Woods was SOOOO ruined because Milky White wasn't played by a real cow in both the original and revival versions.

Sunday in the Park also is terrible because they don't use real dogs or a monkey.

You guys who complain about the lack of real livestock need to realize that this is THEATRE - not a movie. You are already suspending some amount of belief - people don't sing out in real life. Use your friggin' imaginations boys and girls!

Get past the fact that Laurents chose to use stuffed animals, that the audience is asked to suspend their belief for those few moments and enjoy what is definitely the definitive version of this great American classic and you should all get down on your knees and thank your lucky stars that you are seeing a performance that will be talked about for decades.

[Londonskyguy]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 1:35am

Exactly!

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 1:44am

Paljoey, I love reading your posts. Funny, straight to the point, and well thought out. I always agree with everything you say, so there isn't a need to post my thoughts- it's like you're reading my mind. I saw the production for my sixth time today- (3 in City Center, 3 at the St. James) and I think that the costumes and scenery are fine also. I also do not care if it is a real animal or not- animals are unpredictable, so that was a good call. (someone else also noted this on this board, good point! ) The show is great-leave it at that! LuPone, your Tony Award is calling you!!!

[Brick]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 3:21am

I love palJoey

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 4:28am

ditto....

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 8:14am

Hello, PJ? It's me, Ethel.



Okay, so I just went on to that "Gypsy-When you got it, you got it" thread like you told me.

What is WITH these people? Who the F*CK goes to Gypsy to see the goddamn SETS?!?

Tell that TheatreGuy if he thinks the cheap vaudeville thing was "done," he should go over to that stupid Wicked show and watch that poor little belter try to bring down the first-act curtain with all those goddamn flying monkeys and belching dragons and a goddamn ELEVATOR taking her up, like the dead kitties at the end of Cats!

Is that what they want? "Here am IIIIIIIIIIIIIII, defyyyyyyyyyyying SCENERY! Look at me try defying SCENERY!"

(Hey, I could sing that song...)

Or would they rather have a first-class belter, like Patti LuPone--or ME! I know I would.

So tell that BertAndrewDirector that every time he comes onto one of these Gypsy threads, Mary Martin turns to me and says, "Did someone just fart in here?"

And tell that CurtainPullDowner that Ethel says he should take a few too many of those downers and wash them down with a Drano chaser.

Gotta go, PJ! Benay Venuta and I are going for some heavenly pedicures!

Tell all the people at BroadwayWorld, I love them...well, except, of course, for SOME people.

Ethel

Updated On: 4/21/08 at 08:14 AM

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 8:47am

PalJoey, you're adroit as usual. Did you know that Benay Venuta was in the 1965 revival of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN with her pal Ethel?

I look forward to seeing GYPSY on May 1st. I've been sitting still for too long in my living room. Hey, NY I'm coming your way!

[kissmeimirish]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 9:16am

don't care about the sets, costumes or stuffed animals on stage. these actors could get up on a bare stage in their street clothes and the show would still be brilliant. it's about the material not about the trappings. could the same be said for phantom?

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 9:24am

Just to clarify, I never said I felt the animals HAD to be real animals. (But I do have to say there is a huge difference between this show - a more realistic set show - and Into the Woods - a fanciful show of fairy tales). No, what disturbed me were how CHEAP the stuffed dog was. They have stuffed animals that look absolutley real, even from close up. This looked like a Wal-Mart special. And nowhere does it say in the script that the lamb has to be real. They could have used a truly stuffed lamb as a stuffed lamb and it would have been fine. The distracting part about the lamb puppet for me was the scene where it ran in. It was just surreal for me for a puppeteer to suddenly be running this lamb puppet through the scene halfway through a show that was a little more reality based the rest of the time.

[bertandrew2]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 9:25am

Let me clarify my earlier comment. Early on in this thread, someone claimed that the current revival of Gypsy may be the definitive production. Definitive means "most reliable or complete." And I just don't think that a show that is missing scenery..or animals could be considered the most complete. I don't think the sparse Mendes production could be considered complete either.

And no. I'm not looking for crazy sets just for the sake of scenery. I have just seen this play done, on Broadway, fully staged with full sets and I happen to like that.

And every other Broadway production of Gypsy had real animals.

Thats all.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 10:57am

why is everyone so hung up on the animals? yeah, the lamb puppet's entrance is a little weird the first time you see it, but that's a minute out of almost 3 hours of brilliant theater. plus there've been several threads discussing the difficulty of using a real lamb for that scene. and as for Chowsie, Rose carries the dog for the entire show. it wouldn't have to do anything. if you want real animals, go to a petting zoo.

I agree with kissmeimirish: with the performances the actors are giving, I'd be satisfied to have it done in my backyard with everyone in a bathing suit. although I happen to like the sets. especially the ones for Dainty June and Her Farmboys. with the smiling farm animals in the haystack.

[Midnight Radio]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:08pm

What a suprise. BertAndrewHackDirector would rather see a production with all the time and effort put into sets and animals than substance and the actual text. What in the world is he doing directing children's theatre then?!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:29pm

I saw GYPSY on Thursday 4/17. It was the first time I ever saw Patti live and it was like having an out of body of experience. There was a woman next to me who had seen this revival 5 times already. When Patti started "Rose's Turn" she grabbed my hand and said "here we go." It was stunning. I was crying and losing my mind. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.

Jessica Rush was in for Laura Benanti as Louise and she was stunning from beginning to end. I had to give her some props. She was amazing.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:43pm

It's obvious to me that the new generation of theater-goers are spoiled by lavish sets and costumes.

Has anyone stopped to realize that GYPSY is set in an era when the physical aspects of a show didn't include helicopters landing on stage or tire rims raising to Heaven? Physically, this GYPSY is exactly what the show needs.

It's a crime that all this barking about sparse sets has people ignoring the enormous detail of the current GYPSY. No one has noticed the paint stains on Mama Rose's blue coat and that the paint stains are the exact colors of the scenery that is used in her kiddies' vaudeville act. The coat represents the work Rose has done getting her daughters noticed. In "Rose's Turn", she takes off that coat and kicks it into the wings, indicating that her efforts are now directed toward herself and that the past is over.

Details like these abound in this excellent production.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:53pm

Ethel says



"You TELL 'em, DollyPopsicle!"

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 1:34pm

This show is all about the performances and the music. A good show does not need any sets. Amen, Dolly.

[Tom148502]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 1:41pm

There is a real dog in this production of GYPSY.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 1:49pm

oh, and just for the record again, JESSICA RUSH was AMAZING as Louise. :)Don't be disheartened if you see that she is playing Louise. She was heartbreaking and dynamic. :)