Jeri Tidwell Photography
It’s been a while since Toby’s Dinner Theatre tackled one of the classics of the stage (and the last time was the first show I reviewed there, Show Boat), and now they are taking on one of the true classics of musical theatre, Gypsy, which made its Broadway debut on May 21, 1959. The show has seen many incarnations on stage, as well as a film adaptation and a TV movie, with the role of Rose becoming iconic and portrayed by such esteemed actresses as Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Linda Lavin, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Betty Buckley and Imelda Staunton, with Rosalind Russell taking the role in the 1962 film and Bette Midler taking the spotlight in the TV adaptation.
If you’re unfamiliar with the story, Gypsy focuses on Rose, mother of June and Louise, who will do anything to make ‘Baby June’ a star. Sister Louise is always included in the act as they attempt to break into the vaudeville circuit, but it’s obvious Rose sees June as the star (although she makes sure to give praise to Louise, who knows she’s not as good as June). Rose picks up various kids along the way and barrels her way into agents’ offices to get the act booked, and a chance meeting with former agent now candy salesman Herbie, helps them get a foot in the door and contracts with bigger venues. And it all seems to come to an end when June has finally had enough of her sometimes monstrous stage mother — and pretending to be a child when she is well into her teens — and runs away.
Jeri Tidwell Photography
Refusing to give up the spotlight, Rose tries to mold Louise into a pale imitation of June but Louise just doesn’t have it in her. And vaudeville is having its last gasp. Herbie somehow gets them booked into a theatre but is unaware that it’s actually a burlesque house which sends Rose into a tailspin but the show must go on. Herbie has been in love with Rose and she finally agrees to marry him on the last day of the show, thinking their time on the road has finally come to an end. But when a performer is arrested before the next show, Louise agrees to step in even though the job requires her to do a little striptease. With Rose pushing her to get on stage, Herbie realizes Rose’s thirst for fame will never end and he leaves. Louise has finally found something she’s good at on stage and becomes Gypsy Rose Lee, but will Rose be able to accept her sudden rise to stardom?
The stereotype of the ‘stage mother’ has become familiar over the years in both fact and fiction (look at the mothers on reality series Dance Moms for example) but Mama Rose — she’s never called this in the show but it has become a familiar way to address her — may be the first representation of a stage mother in a work of entertainment. And what’s perhaps a bit horrifying is that Rose was a real person, and the story is based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee. It may be a little easier to accept this behavior if you think it’s a work of fiction with a few catchy songs thrown in, but it becomes more troublesome when you realize this is a true story.
Uncredited photographer for Los Angeles Times – Gypsy Rose Lee 1937
No matter how you feel about Rose after seeing the show, there is no denying that this is the role of a lifetime for any actress who is lucky enough to be cast and it’s a role that also demands an actress who can command the stage and belt out Rose’s signature tunes like ‘Everything’s Coming Up Roses’, ‘Some People’, ‘Mr. Goldstone’ and ‘Rose’s Turn’. Toby’s struck gold with Cathy Mundy. Mundy does command the stage, and even though the show is called Gypsy, it’s really Rose’s show. Rose obviously pushed her kids into show business because Rose craved that attention, but she never got to see herself become the center of attention, passing away five years before the Broadway debut. Rose is also a tricky role for any actress to play because in the wrong hands she could just become a monster, especially for someone who doesn’t have the estanblished personae of Merman, Lansbury or Midler. It takes skill and talent to not make Rose become a villainous caricature and Mundy is simply brilliant with her performance under the guidance of directors Toby Orenstein and Mark Minnick. She brings Rose to life in all of her dubious glory and belts out those signature songs like nobody’s business. It is one of the roles of a lifetime and Mundy’s performance is powerful enough to stand with the very best of the best.
Jeri Tidwell Photography
The show is interesting in that it gives us a little bait and switch too, especially if you’re not familiar with the story. It seems to be setting up June as the one who will eventually become Gypsy, but in real life she went on to become actress and singer June Havoc, while Louise (whose actual first name was Rose) became Gypsy Rose Lee (the Lee part of the name was, according to the show, just a slip when an announcer misread or misremembered her as Lee instead of Louise and it stuck). This puts Louisa Tringali as June at the forefront of the first act while MaryKate Brouillet’s Louise is always there but a bit faded into the background. Tringali is terrific and holds her own against Mundy, and it’s a bit surprising when she exits. And even though Louise is in June’s shadow for most of the first act, Brouillet is always a joy to watch as she reacts to the action taking place around her with great facial expressions and body language. When she does get to step into the spotlight, Brouillet can go toe-to-toe with Mundy. Regardless of the subject matter, it’s great to see a show with three strong females at the center, taking charge of their own destinies.
David Bosley Reynolds’ Herbie is a nice counterpart to the overbearing Rose, showing the girls and the others in their little troupe the love that Rose seems to be incapable of. Shiloh Orr, who plays Tulsa one of the boys in the troupe, gets a nice solo moment as he runs through a dance number he’s working on for himself and June with Louise as his audience. Once at the burlesque house, Louise encounters three of the performers — Tessie Tura, Mazeppa and Electra — and they advise her through the classic song that ‘You Gotta Get a Gimmick’ if you want to be noticed. It’s a terrific number and while each of the ladies has their own moment in the song, Tina Marie DeSimone steals the show as the brash Mazeppa. Gypsy is filled with a number of familiar faces from past Toby’s productions in smaller roles (Jeffrey Shankle, Russell Sunday, Robert Biederman, David James, Coby Kay Callahan, Heather Beck, Justin Calhoun and AJ Whittenberger among them), as well as a very talented cast of children who play Baby June, Baby Louise, Tulsa and the others in Rose’s troupe (who magically transform into the older actors during a neat number that involves strobe lights). Everyone is perfection.
Jeri Tidwell Photography
Direction by Orenstein and Minnick is solid as usual, and Minnick also contributes some creative choreography that keeps everyone moving around the stage without bumping into each other — a real feat in a small space and in the round! Janine Sunday’s costumes are top notch from the identical child and adult costumes June, Louise and the boys wear, to the ‘Gimmick’ costumes and Rose’s iconic red dress for her final number. And how Louise appears in three different gowns with only seconds to change is pretty amazing. The lighting and scenic design by Lynn Joslin and David A. Hopkins is a little more subtle than it was for The Little Mermaid but it’s still effective without being obtrusive. Mark Smedley’s sound design was perfect, giving a nice balance between the singing and the seven-piece orchestra (also in top form), which never over-powered the wonderful voices.
Gypsy may be troublesome as far as the story goes, showing us how someone can behave when they just crave to be noticed (and we only get a little background on what really drives Rose), but there is nothing troublesome at all with this production. Let the cast of Gypsy entertain you! And don’t forget the wonderful food served before the show with dinner including such fare as Gypsy’s Cabbage, Baby June’s Broccoli, Rose’s Rice, Herbie’s Pork Loin, Tulsa’s Tilapia, desserts, an ice cream bar and the specialty drink ‘The Gimmick’ (a frozen pina colada also available in a non-alcoholic version) that comes in a collectible glass. All in all, everything’s coming up roses at Toby’s!
Gypsy runs about 2 hours 20 minutes with one twenty minute intermission. Note that fog, haze and strobe lights are used in this production. The show runs through March 17, 2019. Toby’s next production is Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame opening March 21, 2019.
Check our Ticketmaster link for ticket availability.
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