Gypsy
OPENING: November 16, 1989
CLOSING: July 28, 1991
Seen: October 1988
LOCATION: St James Theater
After I was born, my parents’ theater-going decreased significantly.
Having a kid will do that. Moving out of Manhattan permanently will also do that. My mom decided that moving further up the Metro North line was a better environment for a small child.
But in the January after I was born, they went back into the city and gave them self a Christmas present. They went and saw Gypsy with Tyne Daly.
Was this the only show they saw in this period? I have no idea. I do know that I don’t have every Playbill of every show my dad saw – there are five shows over the course of his life that I can confirm he saw and I have no Playbill evidence of it (Six if you count the one he saw twice). But the timing of this one screams “Christmas present! Leave the baby home with a sitter! RUN!!!!”
If I had been older, I would have been infuriated that they saw Gypsy without me. But I could neither speak nor walk on my own yet, so they probably made the right choice.
Gypsy is based on the memoirs of Vaudeville era stripper superstar Gypsy Rose Lee, birth name Rose Louise Hovick. Interestingly, the main character of the show is not Gypsy – or Louise, as she was known among those who knew her. Instead, it’s about her mother – who, were she alive today, would out-Momager Kris Jenner. It was written originally for Ethel Merman, was written by Arthur Laurents, and directed and choregraphed by Jerome Robbins. The music was written by Jule Styne, who had a young up and coming songwriter assisting him by the name of Stephen Sondheim. The story follows the lives of Rose, Louise, and Rose’s younger daughter June, starting from the time that the girls were small children until right after Louise makes her big break. It follows Rose’s start as a slightly crazy stage mom until her desire to live through her daughters pushes everyone who she loves away.
Since the original production in 1959, the role of Rose has been the definition of “Diva”. To play it on Broadway is the ultimate badge of honor for Broadway’s leading ladies. At the time of this writing, Audra McDonald has entered previews for the sixth Broadway production of this gorgeous show. It’s a testament to how resonating a character Mama Rose is. She is a woman who knows what she wants and will do whatever she wants at the expense of everyone else. I think we all know someone like this. And in 1989, the honor of this role went to Tyne Daly.
By 1989, Ms. Daly had established herself as a successful TV actor in Los Angeles with her hit show, Cagney & Lacey. But her roots were in theater. She made her Off-Broadway debut in The Butter and Egg Man and was consistently treading the boards in New York before her movie to LA and consistently did so after she arrived in between her film gigs.
In a way, Daly was always meant to appear in Gypsy somehow. As a kid, she was given the opportunity to audition for Baby Louise the original cast with Ethel Merman, but turned it down. Was it fate telling her that she was meant for bigger and better things with this show? I’d like to think so. She won a Tony for her performance – just as Angela Landsbury did for the same role fifteen years prior and Patti LuPone would nineteen years later.
I’m not sure this was the best show for my parents to see at this point in their lives. They had a baby girl at home who, unbeknownst to them, would go on to be a theater kid herself. And when I ask – neither of them have a memory of this. But I can only imagine that it was a lovely, gorgeous production – just like the Bernadette Peters (2003) and Patti LuPone (2008) versions were. And the Audra version? The official review are not released yet since it’s still in previews, but the people I know who have seen it are gushing.
Gypsy will be one of those shows that is revived with the rise of a new diva. And honestly, I’m glad. It’s one of those rare shows that showcases the power of women, family, and the toll that mental illness can take on someone. And frankly, we need more shows like that.
CAST: REPLACEMENT
UNCLE JOCKO: Tony Hoty
GEORGE: John Remme
CLARENCE (AND HIS CLASSIC CLARINET): Bobby John Carter
BALLOON GIRL: Jeana Haege
BABY LOUISE: Kristen Mahon
BABY JUNE: Christen Tassin
ROSE: Tyne Daly
POP: Ronn Carroll
NEWSBOYS: Demetri Callas, Boby John Carter, Danny Cistone, Lance Robinson
WEBER: Mace Barrett
HERBIE: Jonathan Hadary
LOUISE: Christa Moore
JUNE: Tracy Venner
TULSA: Robert Lambert
YONKERS: Bruce Moore
L.A.: Craig Waletzko
KANSAS: Ned Hannah
FLAGSTAFF: Paul Geraci
ST PAUL: Alec Timerman
KRINGELEIN: Tony Hoty
MR GOLDSTON: John Remme
MISS CRATCHITT: Barbara Erwin
HOLLYWOOD BLONDES: Barbara Folts, Teri Furr, Nancy Melius, Michele Pigliavento, Robin Robinson
AGNES: Lori Ann Mahl
PASTEY: Jim Bracchitta
TESSIE TURA: Barbara Erwin
MAZEPPA: Jana Robbins
ELECTRA: Anna McNeely
CIGAR: Ronn Carroll
MAID: Ginger Prince
PHIL: Mace Barrett
BOUGERON-COCHON: Jim Bracchitta
SWINGS: Julie Graves, Eric H. Kaufman
UNDERSTUDIES AND STANDBYS: Jim Bracchitta (George, Goldstone); John Remme (Pop, Pastey, Bougeron-Cochon); Tony Hoty (Cigar, Weber, Phil); Alec Timerman (Tulsa); Teri Fur (Agnes, June); and Jeana Haege (Baby June, Baby Louise).
STANDBYS: Ginger Prince (Mazeppa, Tessie Tura, Electra, Miss Cratchitt); Michele Pigliavento (Louise); Mace Barrett (Herbie); and Jana Robbins (Rose).
“Broadway.” Gypsy the Musical. Accessed November 2024. https://www.gypsythemusical.com/broadway/
Internet Broadway Database. “Gypsy”. Accessed November 2024. https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/gypsy-4256
Pender, Rick. “Gypsy”. Everything Sondheim. Accessed November 2024. https://everythingsondheim.org/gypsy/
Playbill Staff. “Look Back at the Original Production of Gypsy Starring Ethel Merman.” Playbill, May 21, 2021. https://playbill.com/article/look-back-at-the-original-production-of-gypsy-starring-ethel-merman
Samelson, Judy. “From the Archives: Tyne Daly Took On Rose for the 30th Anniversary of ‘Gypsy’”. Playbill, May 22nd, 2019. https://playbill.com/article/from-the-archives-tyne-daly-took-on-rose-for-the-30th-anniversary-of-gypsy
