Dark Monday • 'Mama Rose' Streisand

There has long been a rumor that a new movie version of 'Gypsy', the Broadway show with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. It opened on Broadway in 1959, and was adapted for film in 1962, featuring Rosalind Russell in the iconic role of Rose Hovick, the mother of Louise Hovick, who went on to find international fame as burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee. It has been said Streisand has long been interested in playing the role, even though some scoff, as the star recently celebrated her 71st birthday. In fact, for the last few years, the entertainment columns have contained report after report, stating the project is moving forward, and Barbra will direct, to hearing the project has stalled, as Arthur Laurents has refused to allow her permission to direct the film. Well, on her last tour, Streisand took the bull by the horns, and performed a medley of songs from the show. Here is a clip of Barbra performing "Rose's Turn" and "Some People", with the added bonus of "Don't Rain On My Parade", reminding everyone she is no stranger to the music of Jule Styne, or the movie musical. Enjoy.

This video was from a performance in Philadelphia on October 8, 2012. At the age of 70, she sure sounds great to me. If the movie happens, I am willing to buy my ticket now!

Dark Monday - RIP Arthur Laurents

Top: Arthur Laurents. Bottom left: The crew for West Side Story, including Bernstein & Sondheim. Right: Mr. Laurents.

Last Thursday, May 5, 2011, the theater lost a giant when writer/director Arthur Laurents passed away. He was preceded in death by his partner of 52 years, Tom Hatcher in 2006. Mr. Laurents was 93 years old. In a 2000 memoir, Laurents was quite open about his relationship with Hatcher, as well as a previous relationship with actor Farley Granger.


Arthur Laurents with partner Tom Hatcher.

Mr. Laurents wrote the libretto, now more commonly referred to as the book of the musical, for some of the great shows of the last 50 years. Starting in 1957, he wrote West Side Story, followed by Gypsy in 1959, Anyone Can Whistle in 1964, Do I Hear a Waltz? in 1965, Hallelujah, Baby! in 1967, The Madwoman of Central Park West in 1979, and Nick & Nora in 1991. I was lucky enough to see Nick & Nora in preview and thought it was a far better show than the critics declared it to be, and that Barry Bostwick and Joanna Gleason were quite good in it.



As a director, he helped make a star in 1962's I Can Get It for You Wholesale of a young, unknown named Barbra Streisand. He also directed the Sondheim show Anyone Can Whistle in 1964, the 1973 London production of Gypsy starring Angela Lansbury which transferred to Broadway the following year, The Madwoman of Central Park West in 1979, La Cage Aux Folles in 1983, Nick & Nora in 1991, the 2008 revival of Gypsy starring Patti LuPone, and the 2009 revival of West Side Story.



He was an important part of the creative team as the director of La Cage Aux Folles, with Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein. It was quite a sensation when it first came out, incorporating a few girls amongst the boys playing drag queens to up the inquisitive quotient. In 1983, this was thought to be rather risque and risky, although the audiences flocked to the theater to see it. Laurents went on to win the Tony Award for his direction of the musical.



He also worked in film, most notably as the screenwriter on the immortal The Way We Were and the dazzling The Turning Point. With The Way We Were, Laurents was able to utilize his time in Hollywood as a screenwriter, as well as someone whose political beliefs landed him on the famed blacklist, something touched on in the film. For The Turning Point, it is said Laurents was inspired by his love for ballet dancer Nora Kaye, with whom he had a relationship with in the early stages of his career. At the time of the film, she was married to the movie's director, Herbert Ross.



Rest in Peace, Arthur Laurents, you certainly left this world with plenty of beauty.

Dark Monday - Gypsy

One of the great musicals out there, Gypsy has stood the test of time. The 1959 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy was based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist. There was also the 1962 film version, starring Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wood. It became ingrained in the modern culture, with Mama Rose being the quintessential stage mother, and you'd have to search far and wide to find a gay man who has not shouted out 'Sing out, Louise' at one time or another.



The list of women to play Rose is impressive. In the original production, Ethel Merman played the role, followed by Angela Lansbury in 1974, Tyne Daley in 1989, Bernadette Peters in 2003, and Patti LuPone in 2007. And that is just the Broadway production original casting, not replacements. There was also a 1993 version for television starring Bette Midler. Interestingly enough, Merman and Peters were nominated for Tony Awards, Lansbury, Daley and LuPone won the Tony, both Russell and Midler won Golden Globes, and Midler was nominated for an Emmy.



It is a simple story of a woman who had dreams of stardom, only to be sidetracked with marriage and kids. On her own with two daughters, Louise and June, she tours the smalltime circuit to make Baby June [based on real-life actress June Havoc, sister of Gypsy Rose Lee] a star. Baby June runs off with one of the boys in the chorus, and Mam Rose decided to make Louise a star, whether she likes it or not. She ultimately pushes Louise to be a vaudeville entertainer, and her stage name becomes Gypsy Rose Lee. She is infamous for never 'taking it all off' but instead offering a seductive dance. Eventually, Louise becomes a star and she and Mama have a falling out, leading to Rose telling Louise she made her a star.



The music was magical, and the lyrics inspired. Take, for example Some People, the first time you are introduced to Mama Rose. This is not a woman who will be content being a stay-at-home mother, no sir. She has dreams, not only for herself, but for her girls, too. Here is Patti LuPone in a fan video, that might lack a little in quality, but certainly Patti's performance shines through.



Perhaps the most famous song from the show is Everything's Coming Up Roses, a song in the show used by Mama Rose to bring up the spirits of Louise and Herbie after Baby June and the boys have left the show in the lurch. Here it is sung by original star, the incomparable Ethel Merman.



As Herbie, Louise and Mama Rose set their sites on a new show, they discuss the relationship in Together (Wherever We Go). Whether or not the singers are telling the truth about their own motivations, it certainly defines a good relationship. Here are Bernadette Peters, John Dossett, and Tammy Blanchard singing it. I also remember a time when this was a total must-sing song at any amateur night or talent show.



When the show they are talking about falls through, and Mama Rose turns down Herbie offer of marriage, she takes Louise from the respectable Vaudeville circuit to the shady burlesque halls. It is here Rose and Louise get a lesson from the girls about what it takes to be a stripper in You Gotta Have A Gimmick. I took this clip from the 1962 movie.



When they were just starting out and Baby June was the star of the act, she sang the song Let Me Entertain You with the innocence of a pre-teen child. When searching for a song for Louise to do her first strip number, Mama Rose pulls out the sheet music, and Louise makes it her own. As the performance moved forward, you see more polish and less innocence from the song that is no longer sung by a kid. Soon she was a pro. This is Natalie Wood, from the movie.



The big end to the show is Mama's Turn, the song that captures the breakdown/meltdown/epiphany/anger/disappointment of Mama Rose once Louise tells her she needs to back off, and let her live her own life.



Currently, there is no production of the show on Broadway or touring.