Sam Mendes Gypsy (2003) — Page 2

I was lucky enough to see Bernadette Peters twice in Gypsy.  In May 2003 I was so excited to see Gypsy for the first time onstage, having enjoyed the Merman recording and the Midler and Russel films.  I completely adored the production and Bernadette.  I thought she nailed it.  When I went back in January 2004, she had gotten even better, immersing herself in the role.  

I saw LuPone in the 2008 production 6 times.  I fell hard for her star power and wanted to see it over and over again.  Her performance remains a favorite.  Not to mention the performances from Benanti and Gaines.  However, the production itself was just, fine.  Laurents wrote a terrific book, but did he really direct with flair?  That's what I loved about the Mendes production.  It was different, it took risks.  I would love to see what it would have looked like if Sam had had full reign without the Laurents interference.  Maybe we will see something like that someday.

As mentioned above, Peters was certainly raked over the coals in early performances.  But I don't think she missed a single performance of Follies, Night Music, or Dolly.  And much as I enjoyed Winokur, Peters was robbed of that Tony.  

Isn’t that funny. I thought LuPone showed no nuance at all. She missed so much of the humor. She just did Patti. There’s nothing wrong with that. I saw it three times. But she shouldn’t have a Tony for Gypsy. And that production was so shoddy. It felt like it was put together on the cheap - and I still don’t understand the smock or like the jumping.

But Bernadette was a REVELATION. Every single word, each lyric, a subtle raised eyebrow, a sly smile. She was absolute perfection, mining so much humor and depth. I cannot say enough. I saw the show several times throughout the run, one at which she was clearly sick. But her performance continued to grow Throughout the run. It was startling and thrilling to see her. F*CK, I wish Arthur Laurents hadn’t ****ed it up. It would have been amazing to see Mendes’ unobstructed vision.

All that said, Peters should definitely have won the Tony that year. I’ll never forget that performance.

Updated On: 6/19/20 at 04:48 PM

I saw this revival three times because I thought it was so good.  The streamlined, grittier production was notable from the start and played extremely well into the setting and the performances,  I noted no jolting shifts of tone and I thought Bernadette Peters' choices as an actor were completely valid and believable.  Compared to her, Lupone's shadings were about as subtle as a cloudburst.  I also thought Tammy Blanchard was a better Louise than Laura Benanti (whom I love) because she was innocent without being coy and tough enough to stand up to Rose without losing who the character was.  Also, the musical numbers, especially "You Gotta Get a Gimmick" and Rose's Turn", were spectacular.  I take anything Arthur Laurents said with a grain of acid; he was an impossibly mean-spirited person.

One other thing, the Grammy Award-winning cast recording is an excellent representation of the show..

Goosebumps. Multiple times. Man, this is what is scorching and raw and glorioius and I can’t believe you found this. THANK YOU for sharing. You sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole and her closing night curtain speech is also on YouTube. Her humility is quite lovely and gracious. “Mister Sondheim is here...”

But, that recording! Thank you from the bottom of my Gypsy-loving heart!

Updated On: 6/21/20 at 12:00 PM

Came across a poignant and fascinating story from the 'Behind the Curtain' Podcast with Richard Jay-Alexander speaking about how he helped convince Bernadette to sing "Some People" for the first time at her Carnegie Hall concert among other details, which was surprisingly personal and perhaps gives a glimpse into how important Bernadette's work is to her. I wish there were more details about her backstage career and creative process - we know so much about LuPone for example but barely anything about Bernadette. I bet there are a million stories like this that could be in a Memoir! 

"Bernadette Peters changed my life when she asked me to do that concert...she said she's not doing it without [me]. I remember Tom Hammond [her manager] was very nervous about her doing it. She'd been on Carnegie Hall stage in things like Anyone Can Whistle, but she hadn't done solo and Arthur Laurents asked her to do it. I called Tom and said I'm not doing it without your blessing.

But he is thinking more along the lines of people like Sinatra - record sellers with hits to sing. But Bernadette had an astonishing career so he did bless it, and Bernadette came up with the idea of doing the whole second act of Sondheim. She interestingly didn't want to revisit her career - Dames at Sea and all that. I said you've got the wrong guy - that audience remembers or fell in love with you in Mack and Mabel or Dames at sea. And she did - she went along for the ride.

We had a very famous fight about "Some People" to end act 1. There was nothing in her career to end Act 1 - it needed an ender. So I listened to Bette Midler, Rosalind Russel's version, Linda Lavin - I listened to everybody do it and I thought nobody's in that pocket. And I remember a very famous rehearsal on 47th street and I think we had press there on that day. And she said 'Why do you want me to sing this?' and I said "Because there is nothing in your career I can end the act with".

"You know Bernadette, everyone says Oh Bernadette's so cute...But Bernadette is very complicated in a good way. And she's got so much..but it's always give give give and it's time to take. She stormed out of the room and she came back in and she sang it [Some People]. And I was sitting on the dance bar and I said everybody Rehearsal's over. Bernadette I'm going to go to Sardi's  - if you'd like to join me  for dinner I'll be sitting under my picture. I actually said this - so ridiculous haha. 

And she came over about a half hour later. And she was a little teary and so I said what is going on with you? Because we were very close and I couldn't understand what was going on. And she said "I want to play this part some day and what if people say I can't?" I immediately said I don't live at that address. I can't even consider this - and she committed. And it was that night she got offered Gypsy by Arthur and Stephen. And thank god Arthur said that in the NYtimes I was so happy because it's not about being right it's about wanting for your star and no two stars are the same. But I will never let anyone out there with any danger to them what so ever.

I remember staging it..she comes back and says "but not ROSSSSEEEEE" and the audience went wild. And I was so happy. The show was just a great night and I remember the party afterwards - and Arthur Laurents was so kind despite everyone saying he was so mean. And he wrote the liner notes for the album, and we got a grammy nomination - and went to the Grammys, and that review......my whole life changed. Every time when I get a job, when Bette Midler called I always thank Bernadette Peters. 

qolbinau and others - Do some research. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernadette_Peters

Ms Peters started her career at 3 and a half!  At 13, she was in the second national tour of Gypsy. I can't say for sure, but unlike Patti, Tyne and others, she had first hand knowledge about children in show business.

I seem to recall her saying back in 2003, her mother was nothing like Rose.

I read Arthur's self-serving book where he trashed Sam Mendes. Mr. L was a fourth rate playwright who got lucky and wrote the books for West Side Story, the weakest part of the show, and Gypsy.  His plays are seldom, if ever revived.

Updated On: 2/10/21 at 05:15 AM

Mmmm I know what you mean and will have to think about this more - my current perception is that Bernadette is not usually in the school of acting of being able to seamlessly/precisely recreate reality. She is a larger-than-life personality - she looks stunning, has a very unusual singing voice and a very unusual speaking voice - not at all like someone you would really come across in reality (which is why she is a star in my opinion because she is so unique and distinctive). And she can act a little broad sometimes. Kind of like a beautiful oil painting rather than a photograph. This is why for me I think I appreciate her stage performances more than close-up film or TV. When you are sitting far away broad stage acting is actually interesting and necessary (otherwise the acting can appear as boring & lifeless) - but on film or TV I don't know why I always find it a little bit weird to watch her. 

On the specific question of what happens when she is breaking down, I suspect that because of the unusual timbre of her speaking (& singing voice) that when she is breaking down she sounds rather like a whining girl (I mean this affectionately), which comes across as little constipated or struggling. I kind of wish in Follies the Director or someone else would have corrected some of the line readings to bring it down a little. I suspect that Sondheim did this during the recording session because her "Losing My Mind" on CD sounds a lot tamer and straight-sung through compared to how she sung it on stage at times.

I am probably one of her biggest fans and I cannot express enough how much I respect her as an artist (especially singing artist) - and how much she has impacted and changed my life. So I don't mean to be critical but of course everyone has their idiosyncrasies (or to some, flaws). 

Updated On: 2/12/21 at 12:27 PM