HOOD COUNTY NEWS
GYPSY
Theatre Review
‘Gypsy’ takes theater to new level of professionalism
by STAN WEINBERG
Staff Writer
Wow!!!!
That’s what I said to my wife Friday night when the curtain came down on the opening of ‘Gypsy’ at Texas Star Theatre at the Historic Granbury Opera House.
I’ve seen many productions at that theater, but ‘Gypsy’ was one of the most energetic and professional performances I’ve witnessed.
Other members of the packed audience appeared to appreciate the outstanding performance.
‘Gypsy’ is first show under the new management team, and director Tom Morrissey had a lot riding on how it would be received. If Friday night was any example, the performance could be declared a hit.
Broadway actress Cindy Benson, who plays Mama Rose, earned every dollar director Morrissey paid her to come to Granbury.
Benson is a powerful entertainer. She acts, sings and dances with a level of energy that dominates the stage and engages the audience.
She was entirely believable as the overbearing, relentless and indefatigable stage mother who is determined to make stars of her two daughters.
‘Gypsy’ opens with ‘Baby Louise’ and her sister ‘Baby June’ as young girls in a rather hokey vaudeville act. They are in a show with a bunch of other talented and semi-talented kids.
The opening musical number with a kids’ ensemble will knock you out. The kids never miss a beat in their singing or dancing. They are a treat to watch.
The story moves along as Louise (later, Gypsy Rose Lee) and her sister June Hovick (later, actress June Havoc) grow up, but do the same act they did when small children.
Mama Rose insists the sisters, having grown into young women, can maintain the illusion of being kids.
The demise of vaudeville ends that illusion. But Mama Rose insistence her girls will be great vaudeville stars.
Benson’s superb performance is well supported by Michael Kostroff, who plays Herbie, the girls’ agent and frustrated never-to-be Mama Rose’s fourth husband.
In desperation to find work, Herbie books Mama Rose’s ‘Hollywood Blondes’ into a burlesque theater. Mama is enraged but realizes it’s that or nothing.
It’s that experience that leads to the creation of Gypsy Rose Lee. Mama convinces Louise she can become a striptease artist without compromising her dignity.
‘Remember, you’re a lady,’ Mama Rose tells her daughter.
‘Gypsy’ is a musical, a drama and a comedy.
Laughs come throughout the show, but reach a crescendo when two not very good burlesque dancers—Mazeppa, played by intern Allison Heyman and Electra, played by intern Marissa Rosen—do a very funny routine to the song ‘You Gotta Get a Gimmick.’
The scenes in the burlesque theater depict the less-than-proper and tough life of burlesque entertainers. Also, some of the language is mildly profane, but what one would expect in such an environment. By today’s standards, the language and the burlesque performances are tame.
Brittany Bailey, an intern, plays Gypsy Rose Lee with the right amount of reservation about becoming a stripper. As she gains confidence, however, Gypsy creates a provocative act, without being lewd.
Her sexy rendition of ‘Let Me Entertain You’ adds to her classy act.
The show’s drama intensifies as Gypsy becomes more successful and her own person. Her rejection of Mama Rose’s overpowering interference is filled with pathos.
The entire production was carried off with seamless transitions between scenes, and one scene flowed into another.
The set effectively used the Opera House’s natural structure as the backdrop for this show about show business. The lighting effectively highlighted the action and the sound system—performers used small hidden microphones—added to the performance.
This performance of ‘Gypsy’ doesn’t diminish the many fine performances conducted at the Opera House over the past 30 years. It does, however, take the theater to a new level of professional entertainment.