All-time Best Mama Rose poll!!!!!

[ChrisLovesShows]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 7:25pm

With all the current talk about GYPSY and Bernadette's performance (pro and con), I thought it would fun to have a vote for favorite Mama Rose of all. PM your vote to me and I'll post the results later. Based on your knowledge of the performances and/or recordings, or just because you feel like it, vote for your all-time-favorite Broadway or movie performance. And the nominees are....

Ethel Merman (1959 Broadway)
Rosalind Russell (1962 movie)
Angela Lansbury (1973 London, 1974 Broadway)
Tyne Daly (1989 Broadway)
Bette Midler (1993 TV movie)
Bernadette Peters (2003 Broadway)

Posted: 6/11/03 at 7:26pm

My vote is Bette Midler, i think she embodied every essence of Rose.

Thats my opinion!

[ShineOn]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 7:45pm

I'm gonna have to go with the Divine Miss M...

I agree she embodied everything Mama Rose is about. Not only did she act the hell out of it, she can sing the hell out of it as well. I would love to see her in a live production of it.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 7:46pm

Well, fine. Since no one PMed like I did... I gave to Bette too.

[BudFrump23]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 7:47pm

That's so weird. It was the first showing of Gypsy I have ever seen (the movie) and I thought Miss M. was AMAZING! I don't know, I fell in love with her. Now, I want all Rose's to be like her.

[Albin]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 7:48pm

Chris, why did you have to go there...

You might as well title this thread "The Thread that will never die!"

Posted: 6/11/03 at 7:50pm

i dunno albin, i think that's the "King Stevos is Hot" message, THAT seems to never die... lol

[ShineOn]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 7:51pm

Wow, it seems like Bette has left quite the impression as Rose. :) Not only can she act it and is brassy enough for the part, she also has that vulnerability that Rose needs. I *do* love Bernadette as Rose, but physically, I don't think she fits the role either. She's too cute. You know what I mean? Whereas, Bette just has this presence about her that makes her very believable as the overbearing stage mother. She has a very commanding presence which gives her an advantage. Not to mention her voice is perfect for the music. The role was totally hers.

Love Bette! :)

Posted: 6/11/03 at 7:56pm

wow, looks like cbs struck gold when they cast Bette as Mama!

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:05pm

as I have stated else where, I really liked Bette. The different ones I saw (five: Midler, Peters, Daly, Lavin---who i think you should add to your poll--and Russell) all embodied well different aspects of a complex character. But if we put voice suitability to music as written, humor, pathos, and physicality in the mix, then for me Midler comes out on top. But I never got to see Merman or Lansbury or Buckley---who might also should be in your poll. Plus Midler had the luxury of retakes if needed, as well as the ability to sing to the dubbed vocal track. And believe it or not, I have heard some professionals I trust say that Joanne Worley does a hell of a Rose. I know, I can't believe it either, but I'm morbidly curious.

Updated On: 6/11/03 at 08:05 PM

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:06pm

I've heard Betty Buckley's Rose's Turn, it's quite good, I bet she's a good Rose too!

[Alvin and My Sheepdog Rex]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:30pm

Add another check to the Bette Midler column.

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:37pm

Oh this a great poll....(sarcasm) Since most people weren't even born when Ethel or even Angela played it for that matter. By far the best are Angela Lansbury and Tyne Daly. Bernadette was also wonderful. Just as Arthur Laurents and Sondheim both said, the TV movie with Bette Midler was altogether awful. And once again all of you believe that Mama Rose has to look a certain way, and that's simply not the case. Updated On: 6/11/03 at 08:37 PM

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:38pm

awful? who said that? hmmmm...

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:40pm

Arthur Laurents (the librettist) and Steven Sondheim (the lyricist) both hated Bette Midler's take on the role. Arthur Laurents has said on many occasions that his favorites were Angela and Tyne. Updated On: 6/11/03 at 08:40 PM

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:44pm

interesting, the two who dont sing it as well... hmm

BUT i didn't see them live, and Angela is lengendary, I'm not baggin, I just think Bette embodied all the sanity, insanity, hopelessness, and everything that comes along with being a stage mom!

[BudFrump23]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:48pm

I couldn't agree with you more! Bette was just...Rose. I'm surprised she hasn't changed her name...

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:51pm

Here is "" what Arthur Laurents said about Bette Midler's performance and the movie in a recent interview.

"Laurents didn't like the film at all. Nor did he approve of the Bette Midler remake. "It was styleless," he complained. "And she ... was so scared of the part, she fell back on her own tricks, devices, and shtick. She wasn't Rose ... [she was] Norma Desmond gone mad." His favourite Roses were the two he himself directed on Broadway - Tyne Daley and Angela Lansbury."

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:51pm

No offense at all for anyone, PLEASE dont take offense

but my guess is that the older more sophisticated of our bdwayworld.comers will prolly pick Angela, or Tyne while us younger more pollers will pick Bette. Mainly becuase we've only had an opporutunity to see Bette, Rosalind, Bernie, Betty and maybe Tyne.

Do you guys understand? :)

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:52pm

Mama Rose is The Merm.

Listen to the Original Cast Album and weep.

Enough said.

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 8:55pm

Hate the OBC recording, there is no depth to Merman's Rose, at least not on the CD (which is all I have to go by). Her Rose's Turn is SO boring in my opinion. She says the "momma's" like they are nothing, and throws away the "for me's" at the end. Angela Lansbury's recording is FAR superior and incredibly powerful. I don't think anyone hear can say Merman was a good or a bad Rose... can't say that unless you've seen her. Updated On: 6/11/03 at 08:55 PM

Posted: 6/11/03 at 9:05pm

i think i even once read that Merman never found the true character of Rose, she kinda went out there and belted the crap outta eveything (included You'll never get away from me,which is sooo weird) but couldnt find the depth behind it.

[SisterMaryOnette]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 9:29pm

Merman, hands down!

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 10:03pm

SisterMaryOnette- did you see Merman? I'm not quite sure how you can judge her performance unless you have seen it. And if you have please share with us what the original production was like. I would love to hear.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 6/11/03 at 11:56pm

again, no offense, but I think it's hard for the creators of a show to be really objective about how their work is interpreted. I'm not saying their take is not without value, it's just that when writers direct their own work it often suffers. I also don't want to say that Laurents doesn't know his stuff, but it makes sense that he would list two he directed himself. Any record of Jerome Robbins' choice? Willing to bet it would not be Merman (which is not to say she didn't bring her own brand to the role, and god forbid is not to offend those who saw her or love the recording of her). And if you've read Laurents autobigoraphy, you know despite his genius, one word that could describe him is "fickle." Wasn't it spun and spun and spun that Bernadette's revival was his inspiration and she was his modern choice for it? does the Tyne and Angela choice come before or after that? for those interested read that book and you might begin to doubt his objectivity on the real world (despite amazing talent and a very good read). It's just a litte TOO convenient how all these people were just dying to get into his bed, and how successfully he seduced them all. And then NONE of them stood by him. All I'm saying is "grain of salt"....