Larkin's June...

#1

Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 7:01pm

I have unfortunately not seen Gypsy (yet) but was wondering what quirks Leigh Ann Larkin does with her June. I've heard about her "over emphasis" of every syllable but I was hoping I could get a few other decisions she makes (line readings, facial expressions, ect.) Cheers!

#2

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 7:16pm

She's the bitchiest June of all time.

She is very much Rose's daughter.

#3

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 7:18pm

i love her

#4

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 7:20pm

I've only seen her June and the one in the Bette Midler movie but she is by far the best! She can sing her ass off and she is so snotty that's it's brilliant! She makes great line deliveries and she is so funny! Her version of If Mama Was Married is amazing! With Laura as well

#5

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 8:12pm

In my long review of the May 1st performance of GYPSY I described Leigh Ann Larkin as being overly empahatic, especially in the way she over-enunciates and slowly says her lines in the number "Dainty June and her Farmboys". But the more I think of it, the more I feel that she is doing it that way to annoy and get back at her mother for making her do the damn routine over and over again. Larkin does come across as very bitchy on purpose.

---

"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"

#6

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 8:14pm

There are no words to describe how much I love Larkin's June. It's one of my favorite performances of the year. She is effective, funny, touching, and really the first June to ever make much of an impression on me. She is the best June I've ever seen.

"If Momma Was Married" is now a 2-and-a-half-minute-long slice of heaven.

#7

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 8:22pm

One word: Brilliance.

#8

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 8:37pm

I wish she had a part in the second act! She was great

#9

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 8:39pm

The thing is, is that she actually plays June Hovic (Havoc) and I don't think that has ever been done before. It's too easy for an actress to play cute for every scene and then be a little bitchy in "If Momma Was Married." She takes it to the extreme, but is honest about it every step of the way.

#10

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 8:42pm

i just think she's wonderful!

#11

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 8:48pm

For me, she is far too bitchy....too one note. Even the moment when she gives Louise the birthday gift--its all bitchy. I think there needs to be levels and some human qualities to this character. Frankly, I could not wait for this June to leave Mamma.

#12

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:02pm

Yea... I wasn't a fan either. Way too bitchy, and didn't fluctuate in her mood - ever.

#13

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:03pm

Arthur Laurents has said he didn't want June and Louise in this production to really care about each other or show they care until IF MOMMA WAS MARRIED. That's why she is so bitchy, even in the birthday scene. MOMMA is the first time they actually relate to each other, in this version. It really worked in my, IMO. It made MOMMA so special.

Updated On: 5/16/08 at 09:03 PM

#14

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:05pm

She's fabulous! Go see the show!

J*

#15

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:05pm

To me, IF MOMMA WAS MARRIED came out of no where. The two girls did not interact with each other before this, and it was like, all of a sudden they are singing together?
Didn't make sense. Just another of the wrong choices that I felt were made for this revival.

#16

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:06pm

I think she's utterly amazing, so mucb so i created a simple facebook group for her. just search her name and it'll come up. and that voice, my gosh out of this world

#17

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:06pm

Fantastic talent. Incredible voice. I like the direction that Laurents and Larkin went with the role (for me, her being bitchy wans't a problem). But it was emphasized too much. At City Center, it was the perfect balance: bitchy without being a caricature. I found her on Broadway to be too intense; mugging half of the time. If she could just reel it in a bit, it would be perfect. She did have some great moments, though (e.g. her flashing her sexuality when Mr. Grandzinger asked for her profile).

---

"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.

#18

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:07pm

I loved her in "Goldstone", I loved her in "Momma was Married", I loved her in the farm number.

However, the dialogue leading into "Momma" bugged me. It was just so slow. I get the choice, I think it's a great one, but the show's already three hours!!

---

Some people paint, some people sew, I meddle.

#19

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:09pm

One note is a good way to put it.
Yes, she can sing, but I found her performance forced and lacking any nuance.
I have seen it played much better in almost every other production I have seen.
I would like to see her in another role, she was way too over the top from start to finish for me.
To whoever says she is really playing June Havoc, where did you see any evidence of what June was like in those early days.
Read June Havoc's books, Miss Larkin's interpretation could not be further off the mark.

#20

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:10pm

Thank you Curtainpulldowner.

#21

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:33pm

The "Baby/Dainty" June that appears in GYPSY was a real sore point for the real June Havoc.
She threatened to sue right up till the show opened,
David Merrick decided to solve the matter by changing June's name to Baby Claire and calling the show a "musical fable" so the real June Havoc wouldn't have a legal toe shoe to stand on.
And then Havoc (perhaps smelling a hit) caved in.
Laurents took many liberties, as had Gypsy Rose Lee in her own book to make a more dramatic story and make Gypsy a more sympathetic character, and to that degree he succeeded.
But to say that Leigh Ann Larkin is the closest to the "real" June is simply not true.

#22

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:48pm

Laurents discusses MOMMA and the girls relationship here

http://youtube.com/watch?v=51wwXtCXvtY

#23

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 10:13pm

He's the author...he's the director...but that does not mean he is infallible.
Right or wrong, it is of my opinion that the clearly talented Larkin has been misguided in creating her interpretation of Dainty June. It is another mean-spirited choice in a show tainted by mean-spirited choices.

#24

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 10:15pm

When did I ever say he is infallible? You really love to put words into people's mouth. You are one of a kind.

Updated On: 5/16/08 at 10:15 PM

#25

re: Larkin's June...

Posted: 5/16/08 at 10:17pm

I was not putting words in your mouth. I was giving you my opinion of the video you posted. I am one of a kind! We all our. Thats what makes us special.