#Jule Styne

[operaqueen]

Ethel Merman, the original Broadway production of Gypsy, 1959.

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Above: Sandra Church, Jack Klugman, Lane Bradbury, Ethel Merman, and Peg Murray in Gypsy.

Gypsy, the musical based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, opened at the newly-refurbished Broadway Theater on May 21, 1959. It had a book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and music by Jule Styne. Originally, Sondheim had been slated to write the music as well as the lyrics, but Ethel Merman was nervous about entrusting the whole thing to such a young man (he was 29). Jerome Robbins directed and choreographed it.

Despite the title, the star of this show is Gypsy's mother, Rose Hovick, the stage mother to end all stage mothers. Often described as monstrous, she ruthlessly pushes her two young daughters into vaudeville, spotlighting the pretty blonde, June. But vaudeville is dying, and the girls are eventually forced into doing their act in burlesque theaters. It is there that one of the dancers persuades Louise, the "plain" brunette daughter, to consider striptease. She blossoms, of course, and becomes the famous stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. Her sister runs away and becomes the actress June Havoc.

Above: left, Jacqueline Mayro as Baby June (doing split) and Karen Moore as Baby Louise (Uncle Sam). Right, Sandra Church as the adult Gypsy and Ethel Merman as her mother.

The score is chock full of what would become standards: "Let Me Entertain You," "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "You Gotta Get a Gimmick," among others, as well as the most exciting overture in all musical theater. But the crowning musical achievement was the show's final song, "Rose's Turn," which one critic described as a "quick-mix of aria, stomp, anthem, hymn, recitative, shout, [and] wail." It's also the essence of the integrated musical number.

Above: Ethel Merman and Maria Karnilova.. Right, Jack Klugman and Merman.

Gypsy is often mentioned when the question of Best Musical Ever Made comes up. In addition to a film and a television version, it has been revived on Broadway four times; it would have been five if not for Covid. The 2015 West End production, starring Imelda Staunton as a stunning Rose, was supposed to have transferred. But the production is available to watch on DVD.

All photos: Friedman-Abeles via the NYPL. Click/tap on each one to enlarge.

[broadwaydivastournament]

Performances will begin Thursday, November 21, 2024, at Broadway’s newly renovated Majestic Theatre and will open on Thursday, December 19, 2024. Tickets for GYPSY go on sale Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 10am via telecharge.com.

[lydiahosek]

[Image ID: A traditional pencil drawing of Suki and Sokka from Avatar: The Last Airbender in a modern setting. They sit together on a couch, leaning against each other, with a blanket draped over their shoulders. They are dressed in sweatshirts and pajama pants. Suki's sweatshirt is partially obscured but the letters "oshi" are visible on the front. She drinks from a mug and Sokka reaches into a bowl of snacks. Behind them is a window. It is dark outside and snow is falling and piling on the sill. /.End ID]

And since we've no place to go

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Sukka Week Wild Card: Snowed In

They're watching that classic B movie, The Boy in the Iceberg. Sokka said it was weather-appropriate.

Prompts by @sukka-week

"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn

[glimeres]

Gypsy (2008, Broadway) - Digital Booklet Pics

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[willstafford]

Stars and Strips

GYPSY Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, Sunday 12th May 2024 They’re an ambitious lot at the Crescent.  I’ll say that in their favour from the off.  Now they’re tackling this mammoth of a musical, which brings its own challenges: the many locations, the large cast of characters, and the musical numbers. Ostensibly the origin story of burlesque star, Gypsy Rose Lee, it’s really the story of her…

[operaqueen]

Angela Lansbury as Mama Rose in the first Broadway revival of Gypsy. 1974.

[unwelcome-ephestion]

I’m currently watching Funny Lady, which is the film sequel to Funny Girl. It’s not regarded as as strong as the original - it certainly lacks the tragic propulsion that gives Funny Girl its magnetism. But it’s good, and has a strong score by, of all people, Kander and Ebb, mixed in with a lot of early 20th century popular songs.

It’s only a film (so far), and just like it lacks Styne and Merrill who composed and wrote lyrics to the original, it also lacks William Wyler, the original director, who is replaced by Herbert Ross, who staged the original film’s musical numbers. Streisand finally agreed to do it after seeing the script, thinking it was more than a half-baked sequel, and she’s right - Fanny feels more mature than the original, like it’s real character development.

It’s an underrated gem, I think! Maybe not a knockout, but Streisand is great, and the Kander and Ebb score is better than most. Fred Ebb in particular finds the maturer, more cynical, sarcastic voice of Brice in his lyrics . It also has pretty much all diegetic music, unlike the original, possibly because in the seven years between the films, musicals were out and music films were in. Streisand does a Brice impression that is much more recognisable as the late era Brice who was captured on film and tv than her early, more innocent years, which most people are unfamiliar with, and it really feels like she’s making an adult performance in the role, and shows her talent for comedy maybe even better than the original. A shame that so many songs are montaged, but Spotify gives you them in full!

This song, I Found A Million Dollar Baby (in a five and ten cent store), sees Barbra absolutely radiant in a top hat and tails, but was also originally written by Harry Warren, Mort Dixon and Billy Rose - the latter one of the characters in Funny Lady!

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Gloria Vanderbilt, seated to the left of Broadway composer Jule Styne, at a dinner celebrating the opening of the New York Philharmonic season, 1958.

Photo: Gordon Parks for Life magazine

[citizenscreen]

1990 Kennedy Center Honors winners:

Jule Styne, Rise Stevens, Dizzy Gillespie, Katharine Hepburn, and Billy Wilder

[onenakedfarmer]

Currently Playing

BELLS ARE RINGING Original Soundtrack Album

Judy Holliday Dean Martin

André Previn

[doyouknowthismusical]

Note that there are a lot of Peter Pan musicals, this is the 1954 one with Mary Martin originating the role of Peter