GYPSY Recordings.... Monologue beforehand...

Posted: 4/27/06 at 9:29pm

I have a version of Rose's Turn from a show called Stairway to Heaven and I believe it is Delores Gray. She actually does the whole monologue beforehand. The one about being born to ealry and starting too late....
I am sure there is a way for me to figure out if there are any other versions of it out there but I thought I would ask you all.

Does a cast recording have the monologue prior to Rose's Turn???

[James2]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 9:38pm

The Bernadette Peters recording has some of it, but not all of it.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 10:30pm

I think that you'd have to go to the movie version with Roz Russell, the tv version with Bette Midler or a bootleg recording of any stage production to get the entire monologue.

I know that BBC radio was presenting entire productions of musicals not all that long ago ("Follies" "Mame" "Little Night Music") maybe they did "Gypsy".

Though they haven't been commercially released.

Has this been of any help to you at all?

[philcrosby]

Posted: 4/28/06 at 11:53am

There is a snippet on the Tyne Daly recording too, I believe.

The Dolores Grey track is incredibly powerful despite that fact she gets several of the lyrics wrong.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/28/06 at 12:40pm

Angela Lansbury includes a bit of it, as do Tyne Daly and Bernadette Peters. (It is not on the movie soundtrack: Both takes on the CD begin with "Here she is Boys!")

From a recording standpoint, it makes more sense and give the track a stronger start to leave out the dialogue, but theatre enthusiasts love the monologue and want it included.

Goddard Lieberson who produced the 1959 OBCR was adamantly opposed to including dialogue on cast albums. He felt it would mean nothing to those who had not seen the show and ultimately become a bore to everyone. (He obviously knew when to make exceptions as he did with the brief dialogue in the middle of "Some People.")

Posted: 4/28/06 at 1:45pm

I guess I will do the Delores Grey version.

I like it alot, I just KNOW some damn drag queen is going to be all "Who was that.. Bernedette Peters? Tyne Daly? That was no Angela Lansbury...."

lol