I was just talking to a friend of mine about GYPSY since she's planning on producing it next year and we got to talking about Rose and if she could have ever really been a star. What do you think?
Is it more tragic that, perhaps, if she'd taken a different path in her life, she could have been a star like her daughter OR is it equally as tragic that she possessed as little talent as most of the hundreds upon thousands of hopefuls who never make it?
If you watch all the versions of "Rose's Turn" on YouTube (and trust me, there are MANY), do you find it more emotional, pathetic, or terrifying if Rose seems to really believe she's going to be a star or if she sings the last verse out of desperation, hoping that, maybe this time, someone will notice her?
Laurents nailed the final moment in his last revival by having Patti's Rose reach for the Rose sign as the bulbs slowly dim, unable to let go of the dream of seeing her name in lights.
I do think that was an excellent choice by Laurents. I found this recent ending to be the most powerful personally, especially with Louise laughing haughtily and leaving Rose alone on the stage. I found that very moving. I usually can't stand the last few seconds of the show with Rose and Louise acting like no damage has been done and walking off into the sunset. I prefer the more truthful ending Laurents gave us.
Well if you want to step outside the fantasy of the musical, you have Rose singing her tits off throughout the show so she certainly WOULD have been a star performer.
No need to drag all those kids around while she had the voice to be a headliner.
That's not how the story played but an interesting turn to reverse the situation to start with Rose the star and little by little her childrens' needs and her marital need slowly eased her out of the spotlight ending with her desparate plea 'it coulda/shoulda/ been me',
The show is mainly about vaudeville... not trying to launch a career in movies or music or the "legitimate theater." So when asking the question of whether Rose could have been a star, I think you need to think in that context. She certainly has hustle and powers of persuasion and charm. And she was able to coach her daughters to some degree of success. But then her concepts for acts were... interesting. Granted, the vaudeville style acts you see in old movies (Bandwagon, Easter Parade, etc.) aren't always that much better but for vaudeville her talents seem somewhat limited unless you believe she would just park and bark with the kinds of voices that Roses usually have. Then I can imagine she could have been a concert hall success like Nola in Show Boat. But I think we're generally led to believe that Rose is expressing herself as a character and that she doesn't have the great voice of the actresses who usually play her.
I read a very interesting book on the latter years of Rose. It was certainly not walking happily into the sunset. Gypsy did support her mother to some extent. The book alleges that Rose murdered two people. Now that is a play or film waiting to be written.
Gypsy's son, Erik Lee Preminger wrote a harrowing book about life with his mother. It was originally entitled Gypsy and Me.
I don't believe she did. Seems like such a no brainer. I wonder why it never happened. It's one of those roles where I'd pretty much like to see anyone take a crack at it. Every interpretation I've seen at least has a few interesting moments.
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joined:
3/14/11
Posted: 7/29/17 at 3:08pm