Betty Buckley did it at Papermill in 1998. Most said she had no humor and was way too serious for the role. There may be a few press clips on Youtube.
Arthur Laurents and Sondheim were invited to the production. They were hoping the two creators would approve a transfer to Broadway. But Laurents said it wouldn't come near Broadway. He hated it.
HELLO ALL. Loved Rosalind, entertained by Bette . Still paying off the loan seeing Patti on Broadway, she totally blew me away, so GLAD she got to play the role, won the Tony,I am saddened by the anti Patti notices on this board, I appreciate 'each to their own' but come on, this woman lives.breathes,throttles this role, and such a great supporting cast. PATTI ROCKS , come to london pronto X
Patti is one of the best performers on Broadway right now, but Merman is probably one of the best performers in Broadway history, so I'm going with her.
I love Lupone's Rose. Lansbury's is great too. The others are just so-so to me. Bernadette, as much as I love her - a lot!, just didn't pull it off, IMO.
"As we all should probably have learned by now, to be a Stephen Sondheim fan is to have one's heart broken at regular intervals" - Frank Rich
Dearest, how can this be so? You were dead, you know. - Candide
Oh my god, this show has everything! Half naked guys and girl on girl action! - [title of show]
(My avatar? Why, yes! That is Laura Benanti making out with a chick!)
I probably speak for most of us when I've only seen about 10% of my fav shows live. That, however doesn't make it any less obvious that Ethel was an AMAZING Mama Rose. We have cast recordings to prove that she had the firmest grasp on the singing and the character. The word of mouth proves the rest: Ethel is still more revered than all of the other Mamas. No one can be remembered that long in such a (for the most part) talented community without being nothing short of excellent.
"There are only two worthwhile things to leave behind when we depart this world of ours: children and art."
-Sunday In The Park With George
I probably speak for most of us when I've only seen about 10% of my fav shows live. That, however doesn't make it any less obvious that Ethel was an AMAZING Mama Rose. We have cast recordings to prove that she had the firmest grasp on the singing and the character. The word of mouth proves the rest: Ethel is still more revered than all of the other Mamas (slight overstatement =0. it's arguable). No one can be remembered that long in such a (for the most part) talented community without being nothing short of excellent.
"There are only two worthwhile things to leave behind when we depart this world of ours: children and art."
-Sunday In The Park With George
I saw the movie version of Gypsy so many times as a little girl (mostly in two parts on the 4:30 movie Channel 7) that Rosalind Russell is indelibly Mama Rose to me and I STILL rewatch that movie every time it's on.
Stagewise, I've seen the Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters and Patti Lupone versions live and I'd rate them:
1. Lupone 2. Daly 3. Peters (I absolutely love her but not as Mama Rose)