Gypsy - Putney Arts Theatre (Review)

[Detomah]

IT’S 50 years since Gypsy took Broadway by storm and it’s wonderful that Swanbank Music should have recognized this with a new production.

Gypsy was born when Arthur Laurents, following the success of West Side Story, suggested to his collaborators Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Robbins that they should adapt Gypsy Rose Lee’s memoirs for the musical theatre.

It was proposed at that stage that the music and lyrics should be left in Sondheim’s hands but when the producers got Ethel Merman interested she insisted that the score be written by a well-known Broadway composer.

She had just had an unsuccessful run in Happy Hunting and was not proposing to trust herself to an untried composer again. Cole Porter and Irving Berlin were approached to write the score, but both turned it down so the job was given to Jules Styne.

Between them, Styne and Sondheim produced what is arguably one of the best show scores of all time. Catered as it was to Merman, it predominates in large brassy numbers but is equally adaptable to other leading ladies, as Angela Lansbury proved in her successful performance in the first London production in 1974 (which she subsequently took, with equal success to New York).

In fact there are many, the current writer amongst them, who maintain that whilst Merman is indelibly imprinted on the part, Lansbury was the greater of the two in her performance as she had subtlety, humanity and humour, which Merman lacked.

Merman was intransigent; she referred to herself as “Miss Birdseye” in that, by the last week of rehearsals, her character was frozen and she would not deviate from that performance throughout the run.

All very well if you are in your own starring vehicle where the rest of the cast has to play round you (as her ’30s and ’40s shows proved) but not so good when the book requires an interplay of character which may only develop as the run progresses, which is why Miss Lansbury and others score over her.

The play is, in essence, a series of episodic scenes delineating the rise and fall of Madame Rose and her child act; the emergence of June (June Havoc) as a potential star and the creation of Gypsy Rose Lee when June runs away and the troupe collapses.

Rose is aided and abetted by Herbie, a small time agent, who acts as her manager out of personal regard but even he is swamped by Rose’s overwhelming egotism and leaves too.

Rose battles on but is defeated by the real success of her ugly duckling, Louise, and finally confesses in the overwhelming Rose’s Turn that she is really living her own dreams through the children and that she did it all for herself.

A formidable part for any actress; in addition to having to portray Rose’s complex character she needs an ability to belt out numbers and generally dominate the stage and Swanbank have found the ideal Rose in Billie Stephens.

Apart from the fact she has the physical attraction that is essential, she has a strong and musical voice that is perfect for the numbers.

Whilst she lacks the stridency of a Merman, she still packs a punch when it comes to belting out a number as she proved without a doubt in Roses Turn. Her achievements in this respect were all the more remarkable as she, and the rest of the cast, had to fight an orchestra whose amateur playing, stridency and ignorance of the score was breathtaking.

I realise this is an amateur production and one cannot expect the RPO but I don’t think it too much to expect an orchestra which plays in tune!

But I digress, the infelicities of the orchestra did nothing to diminish the power of Billie Stephens’ performance… she was the domineering, caring yet careless mother; the woman whose wishes and ideals destroyed her hopes and happiness… – in a word she was Mrs Rose Hovick to a T and although she has announced this as her retiring performance I am sure that her swansong at Swankbank is the greatest performance of her career.

However, a star cannot shine alone and Mrs Stephens’ supporting cast was admirable; Mary Elizabeth White was a demure and touching Louise who showed even in the drabbest scenes that she had star quality, and it was no surprise that she was a triumphant Gypsy Rose Lee.

She was particularly moving in her quiet reminiscent number, Little Lamb, and her galumphing attempt to emulate her sister with Tulsa in All I Need Is The Girl.

Her sister, June, disappears in the middle of the play but Evey Bowman showed clearly in her scenes and songs the star quality the producers recognized in her.

As the long suffering Herbie, Mike Pardoe made one understand why he put up with Rose for so long and why in the end she was too much for even his dog-like devotion. A well studied performance and a good foil for Rose’s ebullience, Mr Pardoe made the part his own.

The audience loved the three burlesque strippers – Tessie Tura (Pam Taylor), Mazeppa (Holly Candlish) and Electra (Helen Perry) – but I was less dazzled by them. Their numbers are showstoppers but, as one line goes, “I do it with finesse” – and it was this that was singularly lacking in their performances. But as I said, the audience loved them and the audience is what matters… not me.

From the rest of the cast one has to pick Ben Grozdanovik’s Tulsa and his very proficient dancing. It is hard, however invidious, to pick out any of the others as they all had their moments which registered well and were I to list every one I would be here until Christmas.

It is, however, Rose’s show and this the director, Ray Jeffrey, acknowledged this and his deft direction and scene-changing kept her story moving fast and dramatically effective.

Had it nor been for the orchestra, I would have had no hesitation in giving this show an enthusiastic thumbs up for, as amateurs go, the performances are exceptional and cope very well with what is a very complex and difficult book.

However, perhaps by the time you get to make your way to Putney to see the show (and you should, for it’s well worth the trip!) the men with the instruments (I will not glorify them by the name of “musicians”) will have discovered what those pieces of paper with dots on in front of them are for and all will be well.

Don’t let them put you off seeing what is a very good show with an outstanding lead; Billie Stephens alone is well worth the price of admission and with her in the show everything, in the words of the song, “is coming up Roses”!

Gypsy – Book by Arthur Laurents (based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee).
Music – Jules Styne.
Lyrics – Stephen Sondheim.
Director – Ray Jeffrey.
Choreographer – Tamysn Salter.

CAST: Billie Stephens and members of the Swanbank Music.

Putney Arts Theatre – The Upper Richmond Road – Putney.
Wednesday, November 4 – Sun, November 8, 2009.



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