"Anyone Can Whistle" at Encores

I would like to call for a coronation in New York City. I don't know if there are any statutes in the NY government that allow for such activity, or even whether her colleagues would appreciate my hubris. But if there is anyone who deserves to be crowned the Queen of Musical Comedy (at least this year) it is Donna Murphy, who experienced another in a series of career triumphs in this weekend's Encores! revival of Anyone Can Whistle. If you missed her performance, I am legitimately sorry for you because it was the most scrumptious, delectable, laugh out loud hilarious musical comedy performance I've seen in the last several years.

Lusty, shallow, greedy, neurotic and deliriously oblivious, Murphy sashays through the evening like a Las Vegas nightclub diva, complete with a quartet of male dancers who follow her everywhere she goes. Her voice is in exceptional form and each one of her numbers was a pure knockout. Every nuance in her delivery, her physical movement, even the way she pronounces her own last name is enough to bust a gut. Her physicality is fearless, brash and just about the greatest thing since sliced bread. Every moment she is onstage you can't help but watch her - she's not only funny, but fascinating.

Murphy, coiffed by Gregg Barnes in an homage to the role's originator Angela Lansbury (who insisted she play the part), and is so winning that she would win every theatre award in sight were she eligible. It's even more impressive when you think of her career trajectory: the bleak, depressive Fosca in Passion, the prim Mrs. Anna in The King and I, Ruth Sherwood in Wonderful Town and Phyllis in Follies. There are not many actresses with such extensive range and ability.

It bears mentioning that Ms. Murphy is not onstage alone. Sutton Foster is lots of fun as a Fay Apple, the uptight pragmatic nurse who can only let down her guard when dolled up like a French tart. She brings that now trademark belt to "There Won't Be Trumpets" and offered a touching rendition of the title song. Raul Esparza flits around wildly as Hapgood, the would-be doctor who is actually a patient running the asylum. Edward Hibbert, Jeff Blumenkrantz and John Ellison Conlee provide enormous comic support as 'Hoovah-Hoopah's' sidekicks, partners in crime (and possibly some more unmentionable extra-curricular activities).

This legendary flop played nine performances at the Majestic in 1964, an overreaching satire about a bankrupt city whose corrupt mayoress (and minions) concoct a phony miracle in order to capitalize on it. I won't get too far into the plot as, well, with this show it doesn't particularly matter. Laurents' libretto is a meandering mess that tries too hard to lampoon everything imaginable. It seems that by trying to make the show all about everything that the creators inadvertently made it about nothing. David Ives made judicious cuts to the book, but to little avail: the piece as a whole is still unworkable and unsalvageable.

But there is still that score. Goddard Lieberson had the foresight to record the score in spite of the show's closing. Sondheim, at this point, was primarily known as a lyricist and whose only Broadway composing credit was the smash hit A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It was in Anyone Can Whistle that Broadway had its first taste of the Sondheim style and sound, which would revolutionize the genre in 1970's Company. The album turned the show into a cult favorite, keeping Sondheim's music and lyrics alive.

In honor of the composer's 80th birthday, Encores! offers the rare NY revival and it is highly doubtful this production could be bettered. Director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw, also responsible for the winning Encores! concert of Follies three years ago, has staged the piece with winning originality, especially in the subtitled bedroom scene. His dances are especially polished. They culminate in a showstopping climax with the "Cookie Chase," a comic ballet complete with butterfly nets and tumbles. It's a zany, absurd piece that simultaneous recalls the Keystone Cops and Tchaikowsky and is utterly ingenious, and an homage to the work of Herbert Ross, the original choreographer.

This is one of the best I've seen at the City Center. However, if producers are thinking of transferring this one, I don't think that would be a wise move. It's unlikely that we'll ever see a commercial production that could make the show work or make it as fun as this one. But this is the ideal Encores! experience: a show that wouldn't ordinarily be revived. This one will be best remembered for its triumphant weekend. Let's hope next season can produce such a winner. Now I just wonder who'll we have to see about getting Donna Murphy onstage in that other Lansbury star vehicle, Mame.

A Trip to the Library

Over the past couple of weeks I have been going through the house and sorting out the debris of my life. There are a lot of memories ensconced within my three rooms, and felt the need to organize it. While shuffling through some papers and sheet music, a CD fell out from the pile. It was the second cast album of Kiss of the Spider Woman with Vanessa William, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Howard McGillin. I had borrowed it from the local library about five or six years ago and had lost it. The thing was, I had gone back to college and someone else in the family was going to return it for me. Well, that didn't happen and I ended up paying $20 for it, in spite of the fact it was nowhere to be found.

Anyway, I was so surprised to see this and decided that I should return it. I checked the library system online and they had even removed its listing. In the years since, I had acquired a cheap copy of the recording for myself and felt it would be better served back in their catalog. Suddenly I got excited at the idea of going to the library. I hadn't used it in a long time since I spent so much time working at Barnes and Noble, and really didn't need. I have a lot of books and was able to borrow hardcovers from the store.

I'm an unabashed book nerd; I was legitimately excited by the prospect of using the library again. So here I was back in the building and after filling out the necessary paperwork, I had a brand new library card (my old one was lost somewhere... three days after this trip during more sorting and organization that also fell out of a pile). I felt it most necessary to inaugurate the card while I was there. I went up to the theatre arts section on the second floor, where I made frequent trips during high school and embarked on my musical theatre studies.

I checked out two books: Rodgers and Hammerstein by Ethan Mordden and Mainly on Directing by Arthur Laurents.

The former is one I've read cover to cover several times; I am tempted to pick up my own copy. It's a coffee table sized book which has the added bonus of generous history and criticism of the entire R&H canon. There are copious amounts of photographs, both color and black & white interspersed throughout. Captions abound. I don't necessarily agree with Mordden on some of his theories, but I do find it fun to read what he has to say about every work from Oklahoma! to The Sound of Music, including comments on their film and television projects. For some reason the book is out of print, but there are used copies available on amazon, and it is one to remember.

Laurents' book focuses on his career as a director. The first chapter is devoted to his immense dislike for the 2003 revival of Gypsy starring Bernadette Peters. The star emerges unscathed, but there are very few kind words for director Sam Mendes. The majority of the book is devoted to his direction of the Patti LuPone Gypsy reviewing the course of the show from the City Center to Broadway. The general feeling I get as I read is that Laurents feels he's the only one can direct any of the works he has written. He takes the usual swipes at Merman and Robbins, for whom he had little love in his memoir Original Story By. But this time there are a couple of pointed digs at Sondheim as well. The writer-director also talks La Cage Aux Folles (and again, no love lost on the revival) and his dislike of drag and how he came to rediscover West Side Story He also claims it to be about love; the book came as a tribute to his late partner, Tom Hatcher. However, the only love to be found in the text, which makes for an interesting read, is for Hatcher.

So I'm off to a solid start; there are a lot of theatre books I want to reread and others which I have yet to pick up. Mordden's series on musical theatre decade by decade, William Goldman's The Season, among others. But first? I assuage my ladies of the DLS/HWS with a quartet of Dorothy L. Sayers books.

Any suggestions as to what I should read...?

The Great American Musical Turns 50

Next month marks the 50th anniversary of what Walter Kerr called "The best damn musical I've seen in years." The musical, based on the memoirs of that memorable ecdysiast Gypsy Rose Lee, opened at the Broadway Theatre on May 21, 1959 (after a mere two previews) to great reviews and a memorable star turn from the irrepressible Ethel Merman. Arthur Laurents, in what would be prove to be his last credible success as a musical theatre librettist, contributed arguably the finest book in American musical history. Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics, and at the insistence of Ms. Merman, Jule Styne wrote the music. Jerome Robbins directed and choreographed. The show, which opened in New York just following the 1958-59 cut-off, would be trounced in the 1959-60 season by The Sound of Music and Fiorello! in what is so far the one and only Best Musical tie in Tony history. Merman famously lost the Tony to Mary Martin, headlining the more crowdpleasing Sound of Music, with the infamous quip from Ethel: "You can't buck a nun." The musical play ran 702 performances in NY before Ethel Merman went out on national tour. This original cast album is a must-have for any musical theater lover. There are a lot of people who insist that Merman's performance is subpar (many of whom didn't actually see it, but I digress); however she delivers an electrifying performance on the album. She is ably supported by Sandra Church, Jack Klugman and Maria Karnilova as Tessie Tura. With all due respect to all other recordings that have come along, I don't think the orchestrations by Robert Ginzler and Sid Ramin have ever sounded better than they do here. (Though let it be said, all recordings of Gypsy are required listening). Also, it's only right to mention Dick Perry, a favorite of Jule Styne's, who rocks out the improv section on the overture like none other. Perry also played on the original cast albums of Subways Are for Sleeping and Funny Girl, serving as soloist for "Cornet Man" and even receiving billing for it. His credits include several other big 60s musicals, as well as trumpet player in the original "Tonight Show" band.

I currently own the 1999 Sony release that cleaned up the album and restored part of "You Gotta Get a Gimmick." The album included previously unreleased demos of songs from the score, including some cut numbers, an early version of "Some People" and a combination of "Mr. Goldstone" and a tender "Little Lamb" sung by Ethel. On May 5, the original cast album will be re-released yet again by Sony Masterworks in a new 50th anniversary edition. This new release includes all material on the 40th anniversary release, but will also include an audio clip of Michael Feinstein interviewing Jule Styne, as well as a track on which Gypsy Rose Lee herself looks back on burlesque. Yes, I'm seriously considering the upgrade. Also, Masterworks is planning a similar 50th anniversary release of The Sound of Music this fall.

Cut from the 2008 "Gypsy"

I was perusing the libretto of Gypsy last evening as I realized I haven't read it in quite some time. Seeing the show onstage tends to give me an excuse not to. However, as I've said before, my one major qualm with the 2008-Patti LuPone Gypsy was the alterations made to the libretto. The following items were cut unless otherwise bracketed with the changes made. Some are inconsequential, but there are some moments, particularly the rather uproarious Kringelein scene and the "Small World" reprise that detract from the dimension of Rose.

Act One, Scene Two ("Home Sweet Home - Seattle")
LOUISE: That's dog food, Momma.
ROSE: That's what she thinks. I'm hungry.
LOUISE: Then why didn't you eat some of our chow mein after the show?
ROSE: Because you two did the work and we gotta save every cent.

Act One, Scene Six ("Happy Birthday - Akron")
(A knocking on the door)
KRINGELEIN (Off): Madame Rose!
ROSE: I am not cooking in here, Mr. Kringelein. That cow –
KRINGELEIN (Knock): Open this door!
ROSE: I’m dressing. That cow –
KRINGELEIN (Knock): Madame Rose –
ROSE: I’ll call you when I’m finished. That dear fat cow looked me right in the eye and said: “Rose, if you want to get on the Orpheum Circuit, put me in your act.” Children, you know what I’m going to do?
YONKERS: You’re going to pay that crummy cow and not us!
ROSE: I ain’t paying anybody but I’m going to take that cow’s advice! I’m going to call the new act: Dainty June and her Farm Boys. I’m going to get more boys. I’m going to put that cow in the act –
(In the other room, KRINGELEIN – a pompous hotel manager – opens the door quietly, shuts it behind him and tiptoes to the doorway between the two rooms as:) and Chowsie and the monkey. And Louise’s present – if you don’t mind honey –
LOUISE: But Momma, I don’t even know what my present is!
KRINGELEIN (Haughtily): No cooking, Madame Rose?
ROSE: How dare you enter a lady’s boudoir without knocking?
KRINGELEIN (Advancing): Where’s your hot plate?
ROSE: Where’s your search warrant?
KRINGELEIN (Heading toward bathroom): In all the years I have been running a theatrical hotel –
ROSE (Opening corridor door): If you don’t leave, I’m going to scream!
(ONE OF THE BOYS darts to block the bathroom door)
KRINGELEIN (Pointing toward sign): You know the rules. No cooking. No electrical appliances. No – no pets other than small (Pushes kid out of the way) dogs or – (Opens the bathroom door. A little lamb in rubber drawers runs out between his legs and over to LOUISE)
ROSE: Happy birthday, darling!
KRINGELEIN: It’s a GODDAMN ZOO!
ROSE: Profanity in front of my babies! June, get the Bible! Get the Bible!
(People in bathrobes and wrappers etc. begin to appear in the doorway, flowing into the room)
KRINGELEIN: You pack up this dirty menagerie and get out!
ROSE: You’ll have to throw me out, you rotten ANIMAL HATER! (To others) That’s what he is! Send for the SPCA!
KRINGELEIN: Send for the police! I rented these two rooms to one adult and three children! Now I see one adult! 5 pets and 1,2,3,4
ROSE: You counted him twice! (The KIDS are running in and out. SHE turns to the others) It’s a simple little birthday party for my baby –
KRINGELEIN: 1,2,3,4 – STAND STILL!
ROSE: Chow mein. I’d offer you some but there’s only one egg roll –
KRINGELEIN: How many are sleeping in that room?
ROSE: What room?
KRINGELEIN (In doorway between two rooms): THIS room, Madame, THIS room!
ROSE (Pushing him in): There isn’t a soul in this room.
KRINGELEIN: Now you know what I –
ROSE (Closing door behind them): Except you and me. (She lets out a scream as she shoves him down onto the mattress on the floor) Mr. Kringelein, what are you trying to do?!! (Throws pillows and blankets on him) Mr. Kringelein! Stop! Help! Help! (She wrenches her robe open and staggers back into the other room where PEOPLE get a chair for her and ad lib as:) My babies! My babies! MONSTER! Thank you, Gladys. A little birthday party – chow mein – a tiny little cake –
(LOUISE, with her lamb, goes into other room during this. KRINGELEIN is getting out of the snarl of blankets and exits)
HERBIE’S VOICE (From hall): Rose! Rose! Are you all right? (He enters room and pushes his way to ROSE’s side) Rose! What’s happened? Are you ok, honey?
ROSE (Straightening herself): Sure! Where have you – (Then remembering) Herbie. Mr. Kringelein, the hotel manager, he – he tried to – to –
HERBIE (A cynical eye): Again?
(Straightens up and starts for other room)
ROSE: Well, I had to do something Herbie, don’t you dare apologize to him!

Act Two, Scene Two ("The Bottom - Wichita")
TESSIE: You know, from the way that dame walks, she would have been a damn good stripper in her day.

[changed to:
TESSIE: She's your mother?
LOUISE. Yes. She's my mother.]

MAZEPPA (Belligerently): Something wrong with stripping?

[given to Electra]

Act Two, Scene Four
(PASTEY races out. ROSE touches the place where HERBIE kissed her, and then sings:)
SMALL WORLD – REPRISE – ROSE
ROSE:
Lucky, you’re a man who likes children
That’s and important sign.
Lucky, I’m a woman with children –
Funny, small and funny –
(ROSE gets up and slowly walks to the white gloves. She has them in her hand, and is glaring at them as LOUISE comes out and takes the gloves from her. ROSE watches her start to put them on, the speaks quietly, as though dazed...)

ROSE (Softly): You look beautiful!
TESSIE (Runs on with an old fur stole which she wraps around LOUISE): For luck, honey!
ROSE: Are you nervous?
LOUISE: …What?
ROSE: I said Are you nervous, Baby?
LOUISE: No, Mother.

Act Two, Scene Five (Louise's Dressing Room)
ROSE: You won't be ready when vaudeville comes back.
LOUISE: No, I’ll be dead. (Then, indicating the furs she has thrown on a chair) Renee, tell Sam he can lock up the animals for the night.
RENEE: Ok.

Act Two, Scene Six (Backstage)
ROSE (Tough with herself, too, she shakes her head) If I could've been, I would've been. And that's show business... Listen. About that school - I could open one - for kids, like you said. Only - kids grow up. And twice is enough... I guess I did do it for me.
LOUISE: Why, Mother?
ROSE: Just wanted to be noticed.
LOUISE: Like I wanted you to notice me. (ROSE turns and looks at her) I still do, Momma.
(She holds out her arms to ROSE, who hesitates then comes running to her like a child. LOUISE pats her, kisses her hair as she says) It’s ok, Momma. It’s ok, Rose.
(ROSE clutches her, then moves away. Forces a smile as she turns back)

[They've streamlined this exchange, taking out "Listen. About that school.... And twice is enough" as well as dropping the line "I still do, Momma."]

ROSE (Stops moving): Only it was you and me, wearing exactly the same gown. It was an ad for Minsky – and the headline said: (She traces the name in the air)
MADAME ROSE
(Louise gives her a look; ROSE catches it, and moving her hand up to give LOUISE top billing, says:)
And HER DAUGHTER, GYPSY!
(They both begin to laugh as they walk off and - )
CURTAIN

[The change here comes in the staging and characterization. As originally written there is a sense of understanding between the two of them and they walk off to the party together. In the revival, Rose is still in the midst of her delusions as she says this. Louise laughs, shakes her head and walks off in hysterics, leaving Rose onstage in her own world of hopelessness, maniacally reaching for the out of reach, broken down "ROSE" sign. The orchestration has been slightly altered for this sequence, with the piano now starting the final phrase of "Everything's Coming Up Roses" for the curtain.]

The Curtain Comes Down on the Great American Musical

When Patti LuPone wasn't busy eviscerating the hoodlum taking her photograph (which may have actually been someone doing a piece on her), she was closing out her Broadway run as Rose in the latest incarnation of Gypsy.

The show, which closed Sunday after 27 previews and 332 performances, was the end of the road for an event which by all accounts should never have happened. Librettist Arthur Laurents was never to let Patti LuPone near any of his work in a major revival. Bernadette Peters scored a personal triumph (naysayers be damned, she was nothing short of fantastic) as Rose in a 2003 revival that closed after 13 months and a financial loss. I recall just prior to that production posting its closing notice the people on the webboards speaking of the impossibility of Patti LuPone replacing Bernadette.

Five years ago, that was wishful thinking. We would never see her star in a revival. Then in 2006, Ravinia announced Lonny Price would direct Patti (an annual staple at the Chicago festival herself) "in the role she was born to play." People (not me, that was the summer of the 'hard times') flew out to see the icon in one of the most iconic of musical theatre roles. And that was that. Given the financial risk of mounting a commercial revival, especially since it was only a few years since the recent Broadway mounting, it was highly unlikely that we would see the show in NY. Then the City Center came along. A three week run, with Arthur and Patti making nice after years of feuding, played a summer run at the City Center. Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti joined the cast, now under the direction of Laurents. Nancy Opel, Marilyn Caskey and Alison Fraser would take on the choice extended cameo as the trio of strippers in the second act. The show opened to positive reviews, some hesistancy on the part of the NY Times which didn't stop the show from becoming one of the must-see events of 2007. And that was that. Rumors swirled of a Broadway transfer, but it was once again dismissed. "Too soon." "They'd be crazy." Et, al.

March 27, 2008. The St. James Theatre. There is a red carpet. The crowd is electric. Stars are out, including another legendary Tony-winning Rose, Miss Angela Lansbury. Patti LuPone opens to unanimous raves (which included Benjamin Brantley of the NY Times eating his words, and his "hat"). The show is a critical success on the strength of its acting. I was there. The critics were not wrong.

June 15, 2008. The Tony Awards. Laura Benanti wins. Boyd Gaines wins. The first actress and actor to ever win the Tony award for playing the roles of Gypsy and Herbie. Then Best Actress in a Musical: Patti LuPone. "Shut up, it's been twenty-nine years!" I was not there, but in Sarah's living room where we as an enclave cheered like lunatics and even took pictures of the the paused TV screen.

June 17, 2008. "Sing out, Louise!" The entire audience at the St. James Theatre stands in an ovation for the freshly won Tony. Still riveting. Winners all regardless of whether or not they possessed a statuette.

January 11, 2009. Curtain down. The revival closes. This is where my latest odyssey into the city begins. Originally, we were anticipating the March 1 close, marking the end of LuPone's one year contract. However, given the nature of the economy, the producers decided to pull the plug two months early. So then it came down to who wanted to go and when. So many of the bloggerati were making one final pilgrimage to the St. James Theatre to see this legendary performance. There were all my friends going to the second to last performance on Saturday evening; so it was decided that it was perfect timing for yet another blogger's brunch, this time at Thalias on 50th and 8th. Roxie and I, as well as Kari, were going to the final matinee, but we had our first-hand witnesses Steve, Doug, Sarah, Chelsea and Leah to tell us all about the Penultimate Patti incident, which goes down into theatrical lore as the night LuPone had enough. For those who aren't aware, a photographer out in the orchestra was given a tongue-lashing he or she will never forget by Ms LuPone. She continued after the perpetrator had been removed much to the unending delight of the crowd (akin to that bizarre fear-driven euphoria that comes after traumas like narrowly escaping death, or in this case being taken by the human boa constrictor that is Patti LuPone at her most terrifying).

It must be said, I always have a good time whenever this group gets together. The talk is always good, we have many fun items to share with one another and the rapport is always spot-on. The moon's full, the gin's in the bathtub and... wait, that's Mame. From theatre to decapitated chickens on the highway, we run the gamut from class to crass and are damned proud of it! After an aperitif at the Marriot, it was showtime. We were going out separate ways - none of the Penultimate Patti crew was having an encore that afternoon, so we headed to the St. James for the fun to start. Here is a run-down of the highlights from the afternoon's events:

- A closing night crowd has a palpable energy that is hard to top. Fans are back in droves and you can practically see it.
- Mo Rocca and Arthur Laurents are in the house. Thus endeth the celebrity sightings.
- There's the house announcement. He has to wait because the audience is screaming too loudly. Heh, the actors can see you taking photographs. Talk about a colossal understatement.
- The overture. Always a good time, every time. The audience can barely contain itself. It feels like we are at a rather raucous wedding. We are all in our pews sitting politely waiting for the entrance of the bride, occasionally glancing over our shoulders to get a look at her.
- We rise on the bride's entrance.
- Patti LuPone freezes holding Louise's chin, as I've seen her do before. She briefly acknowledges the applause in order to continue with the show.
- Lengthy applause on the entrances of Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti.
- The show carries on. There is intense audience reaction. If Laurents' hadn't put in so many blackouts on musical buttons, we'd be standing a lot more.
- There has been talk of the three leads fooling around and adding shtick to their performances. Contrary to this, we find the performance considerably tight. They are very organic in their acting; the chemistry is unbeatable.
- Benanti still wows. Her performance is the one for the ages. There will be other turns as Rose by many actresses, but it is unlikely I shall ever see a Louise this spectacular in my lifetime. The glamorous Benanti effectively inhabits the awkward adolescence of Louise, rounding the character in remarkable ways. She bursts into tears after delivering a final, affecting "Little Lamb." (Unlike everyone else in Christendom, I have always liked the song. *shrugs*).
- Lenora Nemetz gets a hand on her entrance as Miss Cratchitt. Hilarity ensues.
- Leigh Ann Larkin is a bit too broad as Dainty June, which makes the "WHY NOT, DAINTY JUNE?!" gentleman even broader. His line gets applause today. (*shrugs*)
- Lenora gets applause on her little exit dance as she's chased off during "Broadway, Broadway"
- We might as well add Tony Yazbeck's Tulsa to the list of superlative performances. He brings great honesty and heart to his brief scene leading into "All I Need is the Girl." He also understands that the song is there as a showcase for him, but knows its dramatic function to let the audience know that Louise wants to be the Girl. Stunning in every way. Yazbeck, after Gypsy and On the Town at Encores! is poised for musical theatre stardom.
- The train depot. The most intense scene in act one. Brilliantly executed as always, we head to the doom that is "Everything's Coming Up Roses." One of the best act one finales in existence.
- Two ladies to our right are seeing this musical for the first time ever. The mother knows it from catching the Rosalind Russell movie (anyone? you know the one where Louise runs off with Yonkers instead of Tulsa, innocuously ruining Louise's dramatic arc at that moment). They are stunned by intermission. I tell them "You ain't seen nothin' yet."
- We're back in the theatre, they're back on the stage. Patti gets emotional during "Together Wherever We Go." Then she accidentally tosses her pan off into the wings, which brings about smiles and laughs all around, onstage and off. The pan is kicked back out for her to collect. The tempo is brisk. Three Tony winners are off and running with the charming trio, arguably the highpoint of the character's relationships all evening. The number stops the show cold.
- There's that ominous burlesque vamp from the overture. We are at 'the Bottom" aka Wichita's World-Famous Burlesque. Applause on Marilyn Caskey's entrance as Electra. A second hand for Nemetz's appearance as Mazeppa; and of course for Alison Fraser's Tessie Tura.
- Benanti is a thrill to watch as the most human Louise this side of 8th Avenue. Moments to love, her reaction to Rose's latest "I had a dream last night." So many subtle moments to be cherished in her nuanced portrayal.
- "You Gotta Get a Gimmick." Arthur Laurents said it best when he told Sam Mendes that Saddam Hussein and his two sons could get a hand with it. He was not wrong. Show once again stopped.
- The first dressing room scene. This is where it starts to end in tears. Those who applauded the marriage proposal in the scene before sparked incredulity from us. Really, people? Most of you know where this is heading... and it's not pleasant.
- It's not pleasant. Mother sells out daughter for stardom. Cue Herbie's ulcer. Cue audience's contempt.
- Dynamite devastation from Gaines on standing up to Rose. His exit line prompts applause.
- "Momma, I'm pretty... I'm a pretty girl, momma!" Damn right, you are! One of the most beautiful moments in all musical theatre, leading directly into...
- "The Strip." If there's any real argument for why this production should have been taped, it was for Benanti's transformation from Louise Hovick to Gypsy Rose Lee over the course of the number. Mixing nerves, anxiety and disgust, she socks out "Let Me Entertain You." She realizes for the first time that she is center stage, and she has an audience in the palm of her hand. Watching the confidence grow in each segment till she is a bonafide superstar for Minsky is riveting.
- Laura Benanti stops the show dead with the line "Where were you last night...?" You can all figure out why...
- The second dressing room sequence. The tension is high, the mounting conflict between mother and daughter coming to head with this superbly crafted fight. The animosity is seething from both ends. A monologue of defiance that trumps all. "I am Gypsy Rose Lee." Interesting acting moment: the maid re enters to tell Gypsy that her publicist is there and Benanti yells the line at her. When the maid has closed the door, there was a moment where Benanti brought back Louise as she looks at the door, amidst her tears and quiet mouths to her now-absent maid "I'm sorry..." That's an actress.
- The moment the crowd has been waiting for. "I thought you did it for me, Mama." Cue breakdown. The crowd is hushed. With expected tension we wait for it. And it comes...
- "Here she is boys. Here she is world." Patti LuPone takes it someplace in the recesses of Rose's mind I've never seen before. She whispers those lines, striking fear into the audience's mind. She proceeds with an earth-shattering Turn. She clearly and frightfully throws off Rose's smock revealing the tattered edges of what once was her character's sanity. That last for me is the war cry of one who has reached the end of her rope.
- A Routledge of five minutes ensues. The crowd is on its, feet and is beyond ecstatic. LuPone continues to bow in her swirling vortex of doom. A single rose is tossed onto the stage. As the ovation starts to die down, audience members start shouting "We love you Patti" to the stage. LuPone smiles and tries to bring them back in. However, upon hearing someone shout "Patti for President," she gives that boa constrictor look to let us know she's about to lose it. Thankfully the last scene is allowed to continue. In the moment just prior to her breakdown, she picks up one of the roses, kisses it and puts it back down before the scene continues.
- The show ends. The crowd is on fire. Full house on its feet. Bows. Tears. Patti LuPone takes her solo bow. In what feels like a return to the old school, the first row is tossing countless roses onstage. while she bows. For the company bow, Patti LuPone personally hands out a rose to every single actor she can. In spite of her legendary divatude onstage, she is still a member of an ensemble - a respect you can see in the way she interacts with every single person onstage. When the cast turns upstage to the orchestra, they begin to throw the flowers at them. The conductor poses with a rose between his teeth.
- Patti brings out Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim for a bow. Roxie has a near-stroke when she realizes she's in the same space as SJS for the first time ever. Patti makes a brief curtain speech aknowledging Jule Styne and Jerome Robbins. Tears, hugs, the usual are shared. Patti shows genuine affection for every single person in the cast, particularly among the child actors.
- The ladies to our right are smiling broadly. The mother is vocally grateful about the opportunity to have seen the show. The daughter is quietly wiping away a few years. Perfection.
- Gypsy is over.

Afterwards, Roxie and I headed to Angus for our post-show dinner and obligatory drink. We were seated immediately, and as Rose standby Linda Balgord sweeps past us into the upper level it dawns on us that the cast is coming here for their post-show festivities. We have order our food, we discuss 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as more and more cast members file into the restaurant. After getting over initial fears that we were in Deadwood, Roxie warms to the surroundings and begins announcing everyone as they enter. Much to our surprise, Marilyn Caskey sits at a table adjacent to us. Fortunately we are in Angus, so not much is said when I get up in the course of our 1600 conversation singing "Rehearse!" to illustrate a point.

We introduced ourselves to Ms. Caskey before leaving, just to let her know how much we enjoyed her performance as Electra. She is not only talented, but quite lovely. I brought up the long-forgotten, one performance wonder The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall in which she had a major role. She said I was the first person to ever ask her about it and she was so pleased to chat about her experiences. She talked with great affection for the show, which is about a British boarding school headmistress slowly driven to insanity by the antics of her students. The musical opened and closed at my beloved Mark Hellinger in 1979, starring Celeste Holm (who judging by the cast album - yes, there is one - shows that she is miscast). Three years prior, Caskey performed in the piece, written by Clark Gesner in a California production that starred Jill Tanner, who brought the British sensibility required for the part (the part calls for a Patricia Routledge type). Ms. Caskey, and you wouldn't know this from Gypsy, is a lyric coloratura who has essayed the roles of Cunegonde in Candide and Carlotta in the Broadway and Toronto companies of The Phantom of the Opera, with plenty of voice and class to spare. One of the real highlights of this entire evening was having the chance to spend a few moments with this lovely and warm character actress. I hope to seeing her onstage again very soon.

The day was long, eventful and highly memorable. It mirrored the first time I saw Gypsy on Broadway, which was the closing performance of the Bernadette Peters revival in 2004. It was a bit surreal to have done two closings of the same show in less than five years. The audiences react with the same ferocity at the book scenes, the songs and the overall ambience that comes with this classic musical. My only hope for the next revival, which we can pretty much guess will be longer than five years away, is that it restores the complete libretto, still my only official gripe with this most recent incarnation. It's always an event when the Great American Musical comes to town.

Other than that, it's time to move on and look forward to the new musicals and revivals (and plays!) of this season. And I say it here: one of the non-profits should stage a revival of The Rose Tattoo for Ms. LuPone.

"The Ecdysiast Play"

Oh you know the one I mean. Where crazed patrons choke one another. Where vents fall from the ceiling and light bulbs explode. Oh, and curtains come down on Laura Benanti. Yes. It's the latest revival of Gypsy. It's a little strange for me since its the first time I've seen a second production of a show on Broadway (especially in so short a lapse between). Bernadette Peters. Remember her? Well, anyway, Gypsy is welcome back on the Rialto anytime, as far as I'm concerned. And tonight was one of those electric nights where everything aligned for that certain 5'2" bundle of dynamite, Ms. Patti LuPone in what early ads were referring to "the role she was born to play." They were not wrong.

Patti came.
Patti saw.
Patti conquered.

Taking the early mold of her previous experiences with the musical, both at the Ravinia Festival in '06 (the start of the journey that culminates in her opening last night) and the City Center presentation last summer, LuPone has refined her character with the precision of a diamond cutter. Rose is a determined mother of two very lovely young girls that she thrusts into the throes of show business in an effort to assuage her own unfulfilled ambitions. It just screams musical comedy, no? Well, anyway. It's genius. The score. The orchestrations (and that overture. yowza!) The book. It's almost fool-proof (so why did you tamper with it, Mr. Laurents?) You follow through Rose, the character as she goes from unmitigated determination ("Some People") through desperation when she uses Louise in an effort to mask her emotional scarring and fear of failure ("Everything's Coming Up Roses") through her eventual breakdown when confronted with the reality that both show business and daughters have passed her by (her defeat: "Rose's Turn"). Might I add, Patti's diction was almost too perfect (not a problem, just an observation) and her vocals were the best I've ever heard live. Just for the record.

From Mr. Brantley, who was decidedly mixed this summer:

"When Ms. LuPone delivers “Rose’s Turn,” she’s building a bridge for an audience to walk right into one woman’s nervous breakdown. 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. This Gypsy spends much of its time in such intoxicating air."

Nuance, chemistry and impressively layered acting abounds. From Patti. From Laura. From Boyd. From Leigh Ann. From Nemora. From Alison. From Tony. All of whom are superlative in their roles. (For my money, Laura, Boyd and Tony are definitive in theirs). As for the ending, I'm not really sure what I think. I guess if you tamper with what has been for years, you're bound to notice. But on the flipside, the staging of the new ending is a bit more naturalistic and honed into the unresolved rift between mother and daughters. It's not really going to make or break the experience. That happened five minutes before.

Did I mention, it was opening night? Yep. Noah and I sat in the balcony behind a deluded crone and her rude mother. One insisted on leaning forward the entire show and the other chimed in with an extensive crinkling of a candy wrapper, for literally the entire show; except when she leaned forward. That group clearly had no idea what was going on and looked out of water when the crowd continually went to pieces, especially the overwhelming standing ovation received at the end of the "Turn." Thankfully it didn't detract too much from the overall experience. Kari and Sarah were also among the first nighters reveling in what was a thrilling experience. Post show, we had dinner at Angus McIndoe's. As Kari and I sat waiting like wallflowers for Noah and Sarah while they kibbitzed, I spotted none other than Mr. Stephen Sondheim at the bar. Kari and I immediately made our way over; not to speak with him make no mistake, but to sit near at the bar like the total theatre geeks we became in about, oh I don't know, 3 seconds. (Kari surreptitiously snapped a photo with her iphone - and no one was the wiser. And she was literally trembling from her proximity to musical theatre's living deity). Dinner was fantastic. The booze was fantastic - and I drank almost half a bottle of water - not a Poland Spring or Fiji, no I guzzled one the size of a large merlot bottle - as we made our way out. Pity it wasn't vodka or gin. I might have had another act to my evening.

Those sighted: Angela Lansbury, Mandy Patinkin, Laura Linney (flawless with little to no makeup), Martha Plimpton, Corky from Life Goes On, Thomas Meehan, John Weidman. Others I probably had no clue were in the house. They even had a red carpet and an official opening night sticker on the playbill.

Oh, and after her curtain call, Patti LuPone lay fully prostrate onstage to her cast. It was that kind of event. Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents got their props. And Sondheim gave a shout out to the late Jule Styne. (Class act). Though it appears Laurents gave Patti notes as they exited the stage...

Hey guys. Gypsy is back on Broadway. What the hell are you doing reading my blog? GET TICKETS AND GO NOW!!!!

An Open Letter to Arthur Laurents

Dear Mr. Laurents,

It comes to my understanding via Michael Riedel of the New York Post that you wish to see another Gypsy on Broadway within the remainder of your lifetime that will vanquish memories of the Sam Mendes production of 2003. Now, I myself enjoyed that particular production, especially since I had never seen the show live in a theatre before. (You'll have to forgive me, Mr. Laurents, at 24, I've missed the Merman, Lansbury and Daly productions that left such indelible marks on theatrical lore). I was in the camp that thought Bernadette Peters was a thrilling Rose, who acted and sang the part with deft aplomb. At the closing performance, I was stunned to see the legendary overture get a standing ovation, thrilled when the audience rose en masse when Ms. Peters made her entrance, and scintillated by the moments which followed, which made for a delightful time at the theatre.

Now, I also became aware of Patti LuPone and her desire to play Rose, but that a begrudged feud between the two of you prevented her from playing any of your roles in New York, where you bear great weight in the casting of your productions. It was gratifying to hear that she was finally have her wish granted at the Ravinia Festival, which sparked enough interest for you to grant her the inestimable privilege of portraying Rose on the New York stage (specifically at the City Center).

It was a wonderful production. Filled with electricity from beginning to end, Patti gave Rose a down-to-earth determination and ferocity that exploded off the stage, particularly in her two showstoppers. (The gutteral scream at the end of the 'Turn' left an indelible mark on my experiences as your average theatregoer).

I worry though, that a rush to remount this production at the St. James Theatre in the spring may lead to a less-than-stellar run. In order for this to be successful, perhaps you can allow the entire script and score to be performed. The Kringelein sequence is hilarious and is what makes everything leading into "Mr. Goldstone" memorable. Not only is it a funny bit, but it also is shows how Rose can think and act on her feet. Also, reconsider the reprise of "Small World" in the second act. Rose deserves that brief moment to absorb the loss of Herbie; then bury her emotions. It was sorely missed. And lastly among these minor quibbles. Don't tamper with the Turn. It's one of, if not, the greatest eleven o'clock numbers in the history of the musical theatre genre. Cutting even a few bars like you did was jarring to the ear, b/c one expects the full piece. Fortunately it didn't diminish the impact the number had, but still, Mr. Laurents, was cutting it that necessary?

I know you wouldn't agree as your opinions and attititudes over the years have remained self-serving and well, megalomaniacal. I figure since Gypsy is the last impressive work you've ever written for the theatre, you would want it presented it with the originality and with every word intact. Let's face it, your books for Gypsy and West Side Story are among the most regarded in the canon, with My Fair Lady and Guys and Dolls being only other examples who are as well regarded. Hell, given the reception the show receives every time it is staged, it's regarded with a reverence generally provided only for Shakespeare.

So put those generous moments back into the show. Regardless of what you may think, Patti is a big girl and knows her stuff and she will acquit every word with eager discipline and creativity. While we're at it. Don't think of casting anyone else as Herbie and Louise, as Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti may well be the definitive interpreters of their respective roles.

And while you're at it, record a cast album. Spring for sets. Costumes. Fill the space. Use the space. If we're getting a full production, make it worth the $120 a person will pay. And make sure it's good.

Best of luck to you in this and all other future endeavors (especially your revival of West Side Story).

Sincerely,
Theatre Aficionado (At Large)

PS - While we're on the subject, when may we expect a revival of Nick & Nora?