Mary Louise Wilson in GYPSY and other GG Connections

[logan0215]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 4:06pm

I was just doing a little ibdb.com research and came accross the fact that Mary Louise Wilson was the standby to Angela Lansbury in the 1974 revival of GYPSY.

She played Tessie Tura regularly (which coincidentally, Christine Ebersole played in the GYPSY TV movie with Bette Midler).

Maureen Moore (Christine's u/s in GG) played June in the 1974 production and later went on to understudy Bernadette Peters in the Sam Mendes Revival.

Anyone on here catch MLW on for Angela in GYPSY?
Updated On: 1/16/08 at 04:06 PM

[WOSQ]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 4:35pm

Mary Louise never went on. However her Tessie was far different than all the others I have seen, far deeper and far funnier. She played it hard-as-nails ("YOU! WITH THE NECK...!") but with a soft center that really showed in her last very short scene with Agnes/Amanda. Everybody else seems to play Tessie ditzy and a bit dumb. Mary Louise as Tessie knew exactly what the score was.

The best.

[logan0215]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 4:38pm

Just found this:

Q: Going back a bit, I wanted to talk about the Gypsy revival and what it was like working with Angela Lansbury.
Wilson: She came to the show last night. She's so wonderful . . . [Gypsy] was terrific. This woman is top-drawer. She never forgets the other actors. We were on tour for six months, and there was never a town where we opened that she didn't have a party for the actors. We were fed and given drink.

Q:You were also her standby. Did you ever get to go on as Rose?
Wilson: I did. It was the most terrifying time in my whole life. I knew I was going to go on. It was an extra performance that [Lansbury couldn't do.] Oh my God, it was awful, but it came out all right. The audience was filled with actors because it was a special matinee, so that was helpful. Angela had one word of advice for me: "Breathe!" Breath is everything. Having enough breath is everything. [Laughs.]

[WOSQ]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 4:54pm

Son of a gun. Who knew?

I wonder where/when it was. I don't remember one of these in NY and Angie not doing a performance would have been all over the tabs.

Perhaps it was a run through on an off-day so all the major standbys and understudies could do the show in front of an audience with full sets, lights, costumes and orchestra. This would happen from time to time before the cost became prohibitive.

Where was I? I wasn't working much then.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 4:56pm

I remember loving her Tessie, and I would have loved seeing her Rose.

But my favorite MLW performance was as Diana Vreeland in Full Gallop.

[logan0215]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 5:09pm

another:

How about Angela Lansbury? I see you played Tessie Tura in the 1974 revival of Gypsy with her and stood by for Rose. Ever go on?
Yes, and it was the most terrifying experience I had ever had in my whole goddamned life. We were at the Shubert in L.A. It was a matinee, and I knew I was going to go on so I had three weeks to get ready. What happened was... I just turned to stone, I was so frightened. There were two big shows out there then, and the audience was full of actors from The King and I. So, I start out deaf and blind. I could see the conductor's face, and all I could remember was, "Some people..." That's it. Then "Some people... could..."

One lyric at a time.
Fortunately, he had a big face and I'm watching him mouth the words, and little by little I start to get bigger and bigger. By the third song, I could hear a little better. They had this runway that went over the orchestra pit, so I could see the people [in the audience] looking at me. And there were all these little girls. Then after the show, all these little Asian girls were in my dressing room holding up Playbills. It was like a dream...

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 5:12pm

Yup. Her Diana Vreeland in FULL GALLOP was phenomenal. I actually saw her in that show 6 times. An amazing one-person show if there ever was one. It was the female counterpart to Robert Morse in TRU.

[Jon]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 7:34pm

And she was in FLORA THE RED MENACE with Liza Minnelli, who MIGHT have been a damn good Rose about 15 to 20 years ago.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 7:36pm

She was fabulous as Vreeland! I loved that.

[ohjohnny]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:27pm

Coming full circle, on Christine Ebersole's profile on Playbill.com, it says the first Broadway show she ever saw was Angela Lansbury in Gypsy.

And a question: I didn't know Ebersole was in the Bette Midler Gypsy. Is she on the soundtrack? If so, what song(s)? Thanks.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:28pm

I saw Mary Louise Wilson nine times as Tessie Tura. It should also be noted that she also played Miss Ratchett in that production. I'll never forget the way she enunciated the sentence, "We'll issue you a visa'"

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:31pm

And a question: I didn't know Ebersole was in the Bette Midler Gypsy. Is she on the soundtrack? If so, what song(s)? Thanks.

- Ironically Ebersole played Tessie in the movie. The same role MLW played on Broadway.

She can be heard on the soundtrack in YOU GOTTA GET A GIMMICK.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:31pm

Ebersole was Tessie Tura, Johnny.

[logan0215]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:32pm

As well as on youtube (with japanese? subtitles).

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:36pm

In the new Angela Lansbury "Greatest Hits" CD (or whatever it is called!), there is a really great picture of MLW and Angela Lansbury in "Gypsy". I was given the CD as a gift when I saw "Deuce", however I already had all of the recordings featured on the CD :)

[ohjohnny]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:44pm

Thanks for the answers and for the tip on that youtube clip. That was great.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:46pm

This thread makes me happy.



I wish I could have seen the Lansbury/Wilson production of Gypsy. Thanks for your wonderful description of Wilson's Tesse, WOSQ!

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 9:03pm

Speaking of Mary Louise Wilson, If "Follies" does get to come back to Broadway, I'd love to see her get a role in that!!!!!! Maybe Hattie singing "Broadway Baby" or Carlotta singing "I'm Still Here".

However, isn't GG going to London??????

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 9:15pm

I think she'd be a great Hattie. But It's a small role compared to Carlotta.

But then.. I don't think she's right for Carlotta at all. She's rarely played by women in their 70's/80's. And when Ann Miller did it. she was still STUNNING. Carlotta needs to be stunning.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 9:15pm

I think she'd be a great Hattie. But It's a small role compared to Carlotta.

But then.. I don't think she's right for Carlotta at all. She's rarely played by women in their 70's/80's. And when Ann Miller did it. she was still STUNNING. Carlotta needs to be stunning.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 9:16pm

I wonder if Maureen Moore was on as June the performance Mary Louise was on as Rose.

That would mean they'd have played mother and daughter TWICE now.

[logan0215]

Posted: 7/11/07 at 9:21pm

I'll ask her this weekend.

When I've spoken to her in the past I knew she was in GYPSY, but didn't know about MLW being in the same production.

They did go on every show together as June and Tessie and I'd assume that they went on as Rose and Louise in LA for that matinee, again I'll confirm with her this weekend.