GYPSY to Open at Second Street Players' Riverfront Theater

The classic musical GYPSY will be held at the Second Street Players' Riverfront Theater; 2 South Walnut Street; Milford, DE on July 10 through July 19, 2026. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7 p.m., and Sunday shows begin at 2 p.m.

GYPSY is loosely based on the real-life Vaudeville-era upbringing of Louise Hovick (who later became the famous burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee) and her younger sister, June Hovick (who became the actress June Havoc). Far from just a biographical tale about a stripper, the musical focuses heavily on their tyrannical and fiercely ambitious mother, Rose. Rose has since become Broadway's archetypal "ultimate show business mother," living vicariously through her daughters' pursuit of fame. The original 1959 Broadway production starred the legendary Ethel Merman as Mama Rose. The role has since been portrayed by several theatrical icons in major revivals, including Angela Lansbury (1974), Tyne Daly (1989), Bernadette Peters (2003), Patti LuPone (2008), and Audra McDonald (2024), as well as a TV-movie version starring Bette Middler (1993).

GYPSY, critics have said, is "the greatest musical ever written" about "the mother of all stage mothers.' The musical "wraps around the audience like a Mink Stole." Arthur Laurents' landmark script explores the world of show business with brass, humor, heart, and sophistication. GYPSY is the ultimate tale of an ambitious stage mother fighting for her daughters' success, while secretly yearning for her own. Set all across America in the 1920s and 30s, when vaudeville was dying and burlesque was born, the score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim boasts one hit after another, including "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "Rose's Turn", "Small World", "Together Wherever We Go", "You Gotta Get a Gimmick", and "Let Me Entertain You."

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