"Gypsy: A Musical Fable" is a backstage look at the life of famed striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, whose story reveals more than just skin. However, the Overture's production of that story this weekend failed to do more than tease.
The 1959 Stephen Sondheim musical is based on Gypsy's memoirs of her troubled childhood during the Depression. It focuses heavily on the overbearing and self-centered Mama Rose, who pushes her two young daughters, June and Louise, into the vaudeville life. After June, Rose's "star" daughter, runs off and elopes, Rose shifts her attention to Louise, who eventually makes a name for herself as Gypsy Rose Lee.
Phoenix Entertainment, a Maryland-based company that gave performances Saturday and Sunday, and director and choreographer Sam Viverito showed their talents stretched too thin with "Gypsy." While opening numbers ought to leave the audience breathless and eager for more, the first scene of "Gypsy" fell flat. This tone continued throughout the show with little or no energy in many important musical scenes.
Despite stiff blocking and dull choreography, a genuinely talented cast did shine. Scenes in which Rose's troupes of young actors perform on stage were lively and fun to watch. The real treat of the second act is "You Gotta Get a Gimmick," a number in which ladylike Louise is schooled on the finer points of professional stripping. The scene is played to hilarious perfection by actors Rachel Abrams, LoriAnn Freda and Maria Egler as seasoned burlesque dancers Mazeppa, Tessie Tura and Electra.
The second act fared much better than the first, due in large part to Missy Dowse, a 21-year-old actor from Long Island, N.Y., making her national tour debut as Louise. Because the second act focuses on Louise's transformation, Dowse's considerable talent is literally front and center. She carries herself remarkably well for a newcomer, with a lyrical voice and a convincing turn as the seductive Gypsy Rose Lee toward the latter end of the show.
"I really tried to pay attention to who she was and then putting a little bit of myself in the role because I think that is what makes every performance special," Dowse said in an interview with The Badger Herald, adding that she read Gypsy's memoirs in preparation for the role.
The musical itself is excellent, if not always brought to its full potential by Viverito and his cast. The number "If Mama Was Married," a duet between June and Louise in the first act, was sung expertly but was a bore to watch, as both actors stood firmly in one spot.
In some cases, though, the writing works for the actors, if ironically. Upon first meeting her, one-time showbiz agent Herbie is instantaneously drawn to manipulative Rose, who woos him to represent her troupe. When Herbie asks, "Rose, is this act of yours any good?" the double meaning is delicious.
"'Gypsy' [is] one of my all-time favorite shows," Dowse said. "It has such an all-star writing team [with] Sondheim and Arthur Laurents and Jule Styne. I love 'Little Lamb' because when the real Gypsy saw it on Broadway, she sobbed, because that's how she (really) felt."
Mama Rose is a personified slight on show business. Although according to Dowse, Mama Rose is “really the extreme,” the character is oddly believable. Instead of creating a motherly bond, she loads the children with professional expectations. Herbie, now the ragtag troupe’s agent, steps into their lives as a parent. Rose is obsessed with her daughters’ careers, so she cannot connect to reality. Her life’s goal is to see her own name in lights, and she wholly believes that dreams die “for some people, but not Rose.”
Because Mama Rose defined generations of stage mothers, one would expect a certain level of depth in her character. However, veteran actor Kathy Halenda presents Rose as a one-note woman. She moves when necessary, employs small and oft-used gestures to occasionally draw the eye and lets her voice rise and fall, but there was little to catch the interest of the audience. She misses opportunities to add drama to the script, and she fails to give life to classics like “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” and “Small World." However, Gypsy’s plea for freedom produces a wholly believable character crisis, which Ms. Halenda delivers admirably.
"Gypsy" is a delightful musical, clever and well-written, full of hidden meanings and underlying themes that can be appreciated by all. The Phoenix Entertainment troupe, however, fails to do the script complete justice, despite several strong actors and a few shining moments.
But as the "Gypsy" audience is frequently reminded, "that's show business."