This article is about the stage musical. For the source book, see Gypsy: A Memoir. For the film, see Gypsy (1962 film)

Gypsy
A Musical Fable
Original Broadway Cast Album
Music	Jule Styne
Lyrics	Stephen Sondheim
Book	Arthur Laurents
Basis	Gypsy: A Memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee
Productions	1959 Broadway 1962 Film 1974 Broadway revival 1989 Broadway revival 1993 US Television 2003 Broadway revival 2006 Chicago 2007 New York City 2008 Broadway revival
Awards	1989 Tony Award for Best Revival

Gypsy is a 1959 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. It is usually referred to as simply Gypsy. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business mother." In particular, it follows the dreams and efforts of Rose to raise two daughters to perform onstage and casts an affectionate eye on the hardships of show business life. The character of Louise is based on Lee, and the character of June is based on Lee's sister, the actress June Havoc.

The musical contains many songs that became popular standards, including "Small World," "Everything's Coming up Roses", "You'll Never Get Away from Me," and "Let Me Entertain You." It is frequently considered one of the crowning achievements of the mid-20th century's conventional musical theatre art form, often called the "book musical."

Gypsy has been referred to as the greatest American musical by numerous critics and writers, among them Ben Brantley^[1] and Frank Rich;^[2] Rich even goes so far as to call it the American musical theatre's answer to King Lear. Theater critic Clive Barnes wrote that "Gypsy is one of the best of musicals..."

The character of Rose was described by Barnes as "one of the few truly complex characters in the American musical... bossy, demanding, horrific...."^[3] Rich described Rose as "a monster".^[2] Critic Walter Kerr commented that though Rose is a monster, she must be liked and understood.^[4]Patti LuPone describes Rose as follows: "She has tunnel vision, she's driven, and she loves her kids.... And she is a survivor. I do not see her as a monster at all — she may do monstrous things, but that does not make a monster."^[5]

A musical based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee was a project of producer David Merrick and actress Ethel Merman. Merrick had read a chapter of Lee's memoirs in Harper's Magazine and approached Lee to obtain the rights. Jerome Robbins was interested, and wanted Leland Hayward as co-producer; Merman also wanted Hayward to produce her next show.^[6] Merrick and Hayward approached Arthur Laurents to write the book. As he relates, Laurents initially was not interested until he saw that the story was one of parents living their children's lives. Composers Irving Berlin and Cole Porter turned the show down. Finally, Robbins asked Stephen Sondheim, who agreed to do it. Sondheim had worked with Robbins and Laurents on the musical West Side Story. However, Merman did not want an unknown composer, and wanted Jule Styne to write the music. Although Sondheim initially refused to write only the lyrics, he was persuaded by Oscar Hammerstein to accept the job. The creative team was in place.^[7]

Act I

Rose and her two daughters, Baby June and Louise, play the vaudeville circuit around the United States during the Great Depression. Rose, the archetype of a stage mother, is aggressive and domineering, pushing her children to perform. While June is an extroverted, talented child star, the older girl, Louise, is shy. The kiddie act has one song, "Let Me Entertain You", that they sing over-and-over again, with June always as the center-piece and Louise often as one of the "boys". Rose has big dreams for the girls but encounters setbacks, as she tells her father:

When I think of all the sights that I gotta see and,

All the places I gotta play,

All the things that I gotta be and—

Come on, Poppa, whaddaya say? ("Some People")^[8]

Finally, when Rose meets a former agent, Herbie, she persuades him to become their manager using her seductive and feminine wiles ("Small World"). As the girls grow up, June, now billed as Dainty June, tires of life on the road and her mother's smothering pushiness, and she runs away with one of the boys in the act. Rose optimistically vows that she will make Louise a star, proclaiming that "Everything's Coming up Roses."

Act II

Louise is now a young woman, and Rose has built a pale imitation of the Dainty June Act for her. Using all girls, instead of boys, Rose and Herbie try valiantly to sell "Madame Rose's Toreadorables" to a fading vaudeville industry. With no vaudeville venues left, Louise and her second rate act wind up at a burlesque house in Wichita, Kansas. Rose is anguished, as she sees what a booking in burlesque means to her dreams of success. Herbie proposes to Rose. He asks her to break up the act and let Louise have a normal life, and she reluctantly accepts. During the run, three of the strippers on the bill advise Louise on what it takes to be a successful stripper, a "gimmick", something that "makes your strip special" ("You Gotta Get a Gimmick"). On the last day of the booking, the star stripper in the burlesque show is arrested for solicitation. Desperate, Rose cannot resist the urge to give Louise another nudge toward stardom, and she volunteers Louise to do the strip tease as a last-minute replacement. Disgusted at Rose's blind ambition for her daughter, Herbie walks out on Rose forever. Although reluctant, Louise wants to please her mother and she goes on. Shy and hesitant, she sings a titillating version of "Let Me Entertain You", the song that their kiddie act had used. She removes only her glove. The audience goes wild, and this becomes Louise's "gimmick".

In the months that follow she becomes secure, always following her mother's advice to "Make 'em beg for more, and then don't give it to them!" This is demonstrated in a montage in which the song becomes brasher and brassier, and more and more articles of clothing come off. Ultimately, Louise becomes a major burlesque star and does not need her mother any longer. Herbie and June are both gone, and Rose, sad and feeling useless, asks "Why did I do it? When is it my turn?" ("Rose's Turn"). She fantasizes about her own lit up runway and cheering audience, but finally admits "I did it for me." Mother and daughter tentatively step toward reconciliation in the end.

During the pre-Broadway tryout tour in 1959, several songs were cut, including a song for Herbie called "Nice, She Ain't" (cut because actor Jack Klugman had a terrible singing voice) and a song for Baby June and Baby Louise entitled "Mama's Talkin' Soft". The latter song was cut because the staging required the little girls to stand on a platform elevated above the stage. The young actress playing Baby Louise was terrified and the song was cut. "Mama's Talkin' Soft" was later recorded by Petula Clark and released as a single in the U.K. in 1959. "You Gotta Get A Gimmick" is also known as "You Gotta Have A Gimmick" and the "Gypsy Strip Routine" is also known as the "Gypsy Strip" and "The Strip".

• 1959 Original Broadway Production

The original production opened on May 21, 1959, at The Broadway Theatre, moved to the Imperial Theatre, and ran for 702 performances after 2 previews. Produced by David Merrick it starred Ethel Merman, Jack Klugman, Maria Karnilova, and Sandra Church in the title role. Direction and choreography were by Jerome Robbins; critic Frank Rich has referred to Robbins's work as one of the most influential stagings of a musical in American theatrical history.^[2] The original production received eight Tony Award nominations, including best musical, best musical actress, best featured actor, best featured actress, best scenic design, best costume design, and best direction of a musical, but failed to win any.

After the show closed on Broadway in March 1961, two national touring companies toured the United States. The first company starred Merman and opened in March 1961 at the Rochester, New York Auditorium, and closed in December 1961 at the American, St. Louis, Missouri. The second national company starred Mary McCarty as Rose and a young Bernadette Peters in various ensemble roles; it opened in September 1961 at the Shubert Theatre, Detroit and closed in January 1962 at the Hanna, Cleveland, Ohio.

• 1974 Broadway Revival

Opened on September 23, 1974, at the Winter Garden Theatre and ran for 120 performances after 4 previews. This was based on a London production, where it opened on May 29, 1973 at the Piccadilly Theatre and played for 300 performances. The director of both productions was Arthur Laurents. It starred Angela Lansbury as Rose, with Zan Charisse, Rex Robbins, and Maureen Moore as Dainty June (later Bernadette Peters' understudy as Rose in the 2003 revival).

• 1989 Broadway Revival

Opened on November 16, 1989, at the St. James Theatre, moved to the Marquis Theatre, and ran for 476 performances after 23 previews. Laurents again directed. Tyne Daly played Rose (later replaced by Linda Lavin), with Jonathan Hadary and Crista Moore.

• 1998 Paper Mill Playhouse Production

A 1998 production featuring Betty Buckley and Deborah Gibson at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey was rumored to be Broadway bound, but a production did not materialize.

• 2003 Broadway Revival

Opened on May 1, 2003, at the Shubert Theatre and ran for 451 performances after 33 previews. Sam Mendes was the director. Bernadette Peters starred; Ben Brantley wrote that her performance was the first "to have broken the Merman mold."^[1] Tammy Blanchard (Louise/Gypsy) and John Dossett (Herbie) co-starred. This production became somewhat controversial when Peters missed performances during previews and early in the run due to illness, and the show closed at a loss despite running more than a year.^[9]

• 2006 Ravinia Festival (Chicago) Production

From August 11-13, 2006, Patti LuPone played Rose in Chicago's Ravinia Festival semi-staged production.

• 2007 Encores! City Center (New York) Production

Gypsy was presented by Encores! from July 9 to 29, with Patti LuPone again playing Rose, and direction by Arthur Laurents.^[10] Principal casting included Laura Benanti in the title role of "Gypsy/Louise", with Boyd Gaines as "Herbie", Leigh Ann Larkin as "Dainty June", Alison Fraser as "Tessie Tura", Nancy Opel as "Mazeppa"/"Miss Cratchitt", and Marilyn Caskey as "Electra".^[11]

• 2007-2008 North American Tour

Gypsy is currently being presented by Phoenix Entertainment with Kathy Halenda starring as Rose and Missy Dowse as Louise. The production was directed by Sam Viverto and assisted by Aja Kane. Principal casting also includes Ruby Lewis as June, Rachel Abrams as Mazeppa, Loriann Freda as Tessie Tura, Nick Hamel as Herbie, and Maria Egler as Electra.

• 2008 Broadway Revival

The Encores! production is being revived on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. Previews started March 3, 2008, with the official opening March 27. Patti LuPone (Rose), Boyd Gaines (Herbie), Leigh Ann Larkin (Dainty June), and Laura Benanti (Louise) repeat their roles, with Arthur Laurents again directing and Bonnie Walker reproducing the original choreography by Jerome Robbins. They are joined by Tony Yazbeck as Tulsa, Marilyn Caskey as Electra, Alison Fraser as Tessie, and Lenora Nemetz as Mazeppa with Sami Gayle as Baby June. The set designer is James Youmans, costume designer is Martin Pakledinaz and lighting design is Howell Binkley^[12]

New York Times critic Ben Brantley gave the production a rave review, praising LuPone, Laurents and the rest of the principal cast, and pointing to the characterizations achieved in the production:

"You see, everyone’s starved for attention in 'Gypsy.' That craving, after all, is the motor that keeps showbiz puttering along. And Mr. Laurents makes sure that we sense that hunger in everyone.... I was so caught up in the emotional wrestling matches between the characters (and within themselves), that I didn’t really think about the songs as songs.... There is no separation at all between song and character, which is what happens in those uncommon moments when musicals reach upward to achieve their ideal reasons to be."^[13]

This production received six Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical,^[14] and three Drama League Award nominations, including Distinguished Revival of a Musical, and Distinguished Performance Award (LuPone and Benanti).^[15]

Rosalind Russell, Karl Malden, and Natalie Wood starred in the 1962 Warner Bros. 1962 film version of the musical.

Gypsy was also adapted as a television movie in 1993 with Bette Midler playing Rose. Cynthia Gibb portrayed Louise and Jennifer Beck portrayed Dainty June. Bette Midler won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV; Michael Rafter won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Direction.

Principal casts of the major professional productions of Gypsy:

There are recordings of each of the Broadway and London productions, as well as the film and television productions. The original 1959 and revival 2003 cast albums each won the Grammy Award, Best Original Cast Show Album.

The original Broadway cast album is notable as Ethel Merman's first recording in the then-new stereophonic sound technology. Motion pictures recorded in stereo had been steadily made since 1953, and stereo was first used on magnetic tape in 1954, but it was not until 1958, a year before Gypsy opened, that it became possible to use this technology on records.

The 1974 Broadway recording was not an actual recording of the Broadway revival, but a remix of the London Cast recording of 1973 with a new recording of "Some People".

• ​Gypsy: A Musical Fable​ at the Internet Broadway Database
• Gypsy at sondheim.com http://sondheim.com/shows/gypsy/
• Internet Movie Database for Gypsy, 1993 TV movie
• Gypsy at sondheimguide.com