We saw Gypsy a few nights ago (a week ago?) We had seen the concert version but it's transferred to the Broadway and we had guests from London and so we went to see it again. I'm so glad we did!
Gypsy, the story of Gypsy Rose Lee and more, the story of her mother, is a classic American musical. And like all true art, it seems to change with the times, reflecting what is most important in our culture at the moment, leaving you breathless and changed.
First things first, Patti LuPone is a genius - no quibbles, she just is. So you are seeing a woman at the height of her powers in one of the last great roles for a woman of her age. And she brings every ounce of experience and knowledge she has and gives shades and nuances to a difficult, exhilarating role.
But what struck me this time, is the not the line that so resonated last time - Roses cri du coeur: I was born too early and started too late. That line was almost thrown away this time. What struck me in Rose's huge song towards the end was her hunger. Patti LuPone wore these awful barrel shaped dresses through out the show, making Rose vaguely sexless or certainly having no sensuality. But during the song Rose takes off her grey paint splotched coat and for the first time wears a form fitting dress. Now no disrespect to Ms LuPone, but she isn't one of those freakish celebrities who looks perfect, with legs to here and augmented breasts. Her body is that of a woman in her 50's, with thicker hips and thighs. But when she starts to mimic Gypsy's walk, all of a sudden this coarse, powerful sexuality comes out and grips you by the throat (or lower!) and takes over the stage. It was an amazing metamorphosis, Rose in all her frightening power. At the end of the song, Patti got a standing ovation (not at the end of the show, in the middle of the show, that's how good it was!) It was a master class in acting. You just saw Rose.
And one thing I suddenly realized about Rose (not about Patti, whose talent is overwhelming) was that she was not only a woman who was born too early and started too late. She was a woman whose desire was far greater than her talent. The theme of talent runs through the show, and one of the highlights is when the strippers assure Louise that she is perfect in having 'no talent', no talent is essential but not sufficient in being a stripper - you need no talent but you also need a gimmick, and a great, very funny song follows.
But Rose, and in a sense Gypsy Rose Lee too, with their desires without talent, are an eerie foreshadowing of reality TV today. All those people, whose desire for fame and attention far outweigh any talent they may have, all with some gimmick (the bitch, the geek, the romantic, etc, character definitions rather than skills) they are all Rose in her narcissistic glory, selling bits of their souls, or their children's sexuality, to get their moment in the sunlight, and growing weedy and scary (not coming up roses, but more like a choking vine)
And it made me think of the genius of Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents, the writers of Gypsy and how Art speaks to you, illuminating timeless matters. It really is one of the best things on Broadway right now.
So having seen most of the shows (or at least all of the musicals) on Broadway playing right now, my recommendations - go see Gypsy and if you have another night free, go see South Pacific (it's polar opposite in theme, but so romantic and beautiful.)
