Laura Benanti

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Gypsy Musical – the Story of Stage Onstage!

Come March 27, 2008, and St. James Theatre will turn into a ground of celebration with the opening of the Gypsy musical Broadway show. Produced by Roger Berlind and The Routh Frankel Baruch Viertel Group, the show premiered on March 3 This Year and is ready to set the stage on fire.

Watch Patti LuPone, the Tony Award winner, reunite with Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines. Arthur Laurent has directed this musical. He has several Tony Awards to his credit.

Gypsy musical is regarded as one of the greatest of its times in America. Now, this musical is ready with a fresh revival to charm the young generation. The musical is based on the 1957 memoirs of the renowned striptease artist named Gypsy Rose Lee. The production revolves around the horrendous experiences of stage mother Mama Rose who badly wants her daughters to reach the zenith of success.

June and Louise are the two daughters of Mama Rose. They are on a tour of vaudeville circuit in the period of the Great Depression. Mama wants her daughters to achieve stardom. On the other hand, the daughters want their mother to settle with Herbie, their stage manager. Louise gets all the attention of Rose when June leaves the act. By mistake, the act is booked at a burlesque house. Louise is pushed into the spotlight. There, she’s compelled to become Gypsy Rose Lee. Every performance makes her alter ego come out in the open and overshadows her true self.

Arthur Laurent has written the book, while the music is given by Jule Styne. The terrific lyrics of the Gypsy musical are the product of award winning lyricist and composer, Stephen Sondheim. The classic numbers such as “Together Wherever We Goâ€, “Everything’s Coming Up Rosesâ€, and “Let Me Entertain You†leave the audience in a humming mood.

This 2-hour and 30-minute musical show has managed to win the hearts of the critics. The original show was produced in 1959. It starred Jack Klugman and Ethel Merman. After that, Gypsy musical has been revived many times. In 1989, the show received a Tony Award for Best Revival. A movie was also made in 1962, which was inspired by this musical story. The movie starred Karl Malden, Rosalind Russell, and Natalie Wood.

The 2008 version of Gypsy musical stars Patti Lupone. She’s regarded as the stage legend. She has won the Tony Award twice and is famous for her striking roles as Eva Peron in “Evita†as well as Reno Sweeny in “Anything Goes.†Lupone has portrayed the character of Mama Rose with utmost depth and excellence. Lupone debuted in 1973 as a Broadway performer. Since then, she has been stunning the audience through her realistic performances.

Boyd Gaines plays the character of the stage manager, Herbie. Gaines has won the Tony Award thrice. He was seen recently as Colonel Pickering in the hit Broadway show “Pygmalion,†produced in 2007.

With such talented performers in the Gypsy musical, it becomes a must-see show. Time to dial the number to book the tickets!

About the Author

Al is the webmaster of the Gypsy Musical site, a New York City entertainment website with reviews and news on every event, as well as Gypsy Musical tickets information.

Into the Woods: Original Cast or 2002 Revival?

I'm kind of leaning towards both, because the OBC has Bernadette Peters, & the Revival has Laura Benanti, who is one of my favorite Bway actresses ever. But which one is best overall, without regard to any particular actor/actress?

Overall, I personally prefer the OBC. Mostly because I strongly prefer Bernadette Peters' performance to Vanessa Williams'.

I also love Laura Benanti- She does sound lovely on the 2002 cast recording. Her "No One is Alone" is dreamy!

The two performances I really prefer on the revival recording are Gregg Edelman as the Baker and John McMartin as the Narrator/Mysterious Man. They just sound so wonderfully sincere.

I know you said you wanted an overall opinion without regard to the particular actors... but I can't help myself!

I think it's always good to own multiple cast recordings of the same show... It's fascinating to hear different people's interpretations of the same role. And in the case of Into the Woods, the 2002 cast recording has the song "Our Little World" which is not on the OBC recording!

LuPone and Benanti to Reteam for CBS Pilot
Two-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone has joined the cast of the new CBS comedy pilot "Open Books," according to the Hollywood Reporter.

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