Gypsy

Gypsy (1959), a musical play by Arthur Laurents (book), Jule Styne (music), Stephen Sondheim (lyrics). [ Broadway Theatre, 702 perf.] Rose (Ethel Merman), a pushy stage mother, is determined to make a star of her daughter “Baby June,” so she makes candy salesman Herbie (Jack Klugman) the manager for her kiddie act and they try to make it in vaudeville. But as June (Lane Bradbury) grows up she develops a mind of her own and runs away, so Rose centers her drive on her other daughter, Louise (Sandra Church). Louise flops in vaudeville but manages to become the great burlesque queen, Gypsy Rose Lee. Rich and famous, Louise thinks she no longer needs Rose, who is left uncertain whether all the ambition and sacrifice were worth the effort. Notable songs: Everything's Coming Up Roses; Rose's Turn; Let Me Entertain You; Small World; Together; You'll Never Get Away from Me. Based on Gypsy Rose Lee's autobiography, the David Merrick and Leland Hayward musical inspired Styne's finest score and Merman's greatest performance. The show was revived on Broadway in 1973 with Angela Lansbury as Rose, in 1989 with Tyne Daly, and in 2003 with Bernadette Peters.