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| Author | Topic: Gypsy- whoo hoo I finally saw it!! |
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BroadwayQueen06
Registered User
Registered:
9/3/2003 | posted: 11/25/2003 at 12:39:30 AM ET
Wow. I just got back from seeing Gypsy for the first time, and let me say right now that Bernadette Peters is God. She should be nominated for presidency or something. How she didn't win the Tony is beyond me. I don't care *who* her competition was, she gave a Tony award winning performance. Hell, she gave a Pulizter-Prize-winning performance, if you can get one for theatre. (Which I don't think you can, but I don't care, she should have gotten one anyway 
The whole experience was extra special to me because I didn't think I'd be able to see Gypsy at all, considering that I live in Chicago and am a broke student. But, on Saturday my parents surprised me with an early Christmas gift. I left for New York yesterday morning and saw Gypsy this evening.
The atmostphere in the theatre, first of all, is just magical. It's something so indescribable, so intense that you can almost feel it physically. Knowing that everybody is there for the same purpose makes me feel so connected to every individual inside the building, despite the differences in age, gender, race, etc. That feeling alone is amazing.
My seats were first row Mezz so we could see everything really well. First of all, hats off to Marvin Laird and the orchestra for a marvelous overture. Exciting, invigorating, and nerve wracking all at the same time. You see, as wonderful as the overture is, I was a tad bit anxious to see Bernadette, as I have never seen her live, so I was on the edge of my seat up until "Sing out, Louise!"
When the curtain first went up and the set was first placed, I was a bit surprised at how bare the set was. I had expected something a bit more elaborate, but as time went on I got used to it and found that it worked really well, putting more emphasis on the characters.
Not that the characters really needed extra emphasizing. Bernadette simply shined as Rose. During her dialogue, I noticed that she played up the comedy a bit more than the other actresses I had seen as Rose and I liked it. It almost seemed to show another dimension of Rose. Rose: the commedienne. (I probably spelled that wrong)
Her first big number, "Some People" really caught the attention of the audience, especially those who had not seen Gypsy. I heard the woman next to me whisper to her friend "Damn she's kind of scary." Rose's determination was evident in every gesture Bernadette made, in every word she sung. She was sick of Seattle, she wanted OUT and Bernadette made that very clear. On "Goodbye to blueberry pie," she appeared to trip over something and then covered it by kicking whatever it was she had tripped over. (I couldn't see what it was exactly, but I think it was the table.) It was cute. LOL.
What continued to amaze me throughout the entire show, besides the obvious things like the singing which I knew she could do because I have the CD, was the way she acted the role. Now, I knew that Bernadette could act, and I had no doubt she'd act Rose marvelously, but just knowing that is in no way any kind of preparation for actually seeing it. She gave Rose depth and feeling and emotion instead of going the easy way and bringing out the "monster" part which actresses so often choose to do. She went the extra mile and put in the extra work to make this character believable to the audience. I really admire that.
Everything's Coming Up Roses was absolutely breathtaking in a scary way. I remember wondering what the woman sitting next to me who had thought Rose scary in Some People was thinking during this number. Bernadette's voice was clear as a bell and her actions direct and purposeful. I think a lot of actors miss that. The move because they're supposed to. Because they constantly have to be doing *something* they can't just stand there and sing. But Bernadette can. She doesn't move unless Rose moves. If there isn't a reason to move, she won't. When Rose pushed Louise into Herbie after hugging her in Everything's Coming Up Roses, the two nearly fell over. I think this was a bad night for everyone's balance. For the first time all night, the audience was silent.
Moving on, the three strippers cracked everybody up. I loved it that Electra basically did nothing except for flipping a switch. I had never though "You Gotta Get A Gimmick" an extrordinarily funny song until I saw it performed tonight.
Another person I was really impressed with was John Dosset. (Probably spelled that wrong.)For the first time, Herbie was a believable character. I could see that he really loved Rose, but in having Louise strip, she took it a step too far. (Side note- these two have such great chemistry. They are so dang cute!!) Aside from all thats already been said about the Small World reprise, I'd like to add one of the things about it that really struck me. Rose does almost a complete 180 in attitude from being angry at Herbie for wanting to leave, to not understanding why people leave her. "Why do men always walk out?" I think was the line. She truly and honestly does not understand. She just cannot see what it is about her that drives men away, drives people away. Even after Herbie leaves, she's quick to blame it on him, on Louise, on anything other than herself because admitting to herself that she is pushy and difficult and too determined for her own good will ultimately destroy her. Rose is all Rose has left. She's got herself and she's got show business, which she only has through Louise. So if she admits to herself that she's been a rotten person (she hasn't been *rotten* but I think if Rose were ever to admit her faults she'd put it that way)what does she have left? She's got a rotten person and a business that doesn't and has never needed her. So she doesn't admit it. She forces herself not to understand and comprehend Herbie's reasons for leaving her.
Rose's Turn was dynamic. Having never seen this performed (I was a friend's graduation party during the Tony's and my tape recorder broke)I was almost surprised at the intensity in her face. When she walked on stage and all through her monologue the audience was silent. Her "I made you" was almost screamed, pushed so much from her diaphragm that we nearly felt our seats shake with her anger. And in that moment, we- the audience, felt Rose's pain. We felt sorry that Herbie left her, that June left her, that Louise didn't need her. We felt sorry and hurt and desperate for her. I personally wanted nothing more than to run up to her and give her a hug and tell her that I was sorry. I was angry at Louise and at June and at Herbie and at every other sorry son of a bitch who had ever hurt her. And yet, I knew that it was her own fault, I knew that they all had good reasons for leaving her, I knew that she was pushy, selfish, insensitive, and manipulative at best. And even though I knew all this, I didn't care. I just wanted everything to turn out okay for her. Everything to come up roses.
Rose's breakdown was perfect. After the first part of it... after "Mama's got the stuff, Mama's lettin' go" Bernadette stopped. Her face went blank and she pushed the beginnings of "Maaa" from the pit of her diaphragm. She started up again with "Mama's got the stuff" and her determination to get through it was clear. She was still fighting for control over her own emotions, she still fought to manipulate the truth so that it suited her purposes. When it finally came to "Mama's gotta let go" the line was almost whispered, said through tears coursing down her face. There was no separating Bernadette and Rose. To be honest, in the beginning of the show I saw Bernadette because that was who I was looking for. Any remnant of that feeling was completely dissipated at this point. At the end of Rose's Turn, we all stood in a well deserved standing ovation which Rose bowed to gracefully. I don't know how long it would have lasted, had Tammy not walked in to say her lines. I bet we still would have been clapping, at least I probably would be.
To conclude, Bernadette is a goddess. And so ends a "novel" as UCFGuardgirl puts it. Goodnight all.
Rachel
|  Brandon29
Registered User
Registered:
6/13/2003
From:
Brooklyn, NY | posted: 11/25/2003 at 2:01:15 AM ET
ME TOO!!! But I saw the performance before you... the Saturday night show... here are my thoughts...
Sam Mendes very clearly wants you to know you are in a theatre, and these are merely actors. I got that... however, it ticked me off... Here I am seeing Bernadette Peters live for the THIRD time, and I am dissecting her as an actor rather than sitting back and enjoying her performance. For all of the actors, I see them as actors, not as their characters. But you know what, it worked out in the end. I forgot. This show deliberately wants you to see actors, and then you forget. That amazes me. John Dossett was the best Herbie I have ever seen. I told him that after the show, but he saw a friend and kind of turned his shoulder. Nice guy regaurdless. Tammy's LOUISE character was good, but her transition to GYPSY was far too fast... it should have started long before she started stripping. Her GYPSY was fabulous though. I had an understudy for June, and she wasn't bad at all. There is one kid, I think it's LA, that has a bit of lines, especially in the birthday scene, that upstaged far too much. He pulled focus from the scene and bothered me. Tulsa was pretty to look at, and sang and dances very smoothly. And then there's Bernadette...
She was tired. And you know what, her performace was still phenomenal. Just when I thought to myself "She looks tired, I hope her voice doesn't give out" she used an alternative ending for SOME PEOPLE, and ended on a FREAKING HIGH NOTE that made SO much more sense in the end of that song!! From there, you knew she wasn't going to let this performance fail her. When it came to SMALL WORLD, the wicker basket broke, and she and John laughed throughout the scene. It was hilarious. Then, the scene before ROSES TURN was going on without a hitch, and then Bernadette swallowed wrong and started choking!!! I got so scared! She could barely talk... (I hate when that happens). But she was fine when she came back on for the song, and it was incredible. She was obviously worried about choking, and it made her mess up some lyrics, but she never let it phase her, and it worked. I was in tears the whole show. Afterward, the necklace she wore went for $2,500 (though someone accidentally yelled out $22,000 instead of $2,200!!!). It's for cvharity, right? Anyway, I will be seeing GYPSY again when I move (probably a lot) and definately not on a two show day... because Bernadette was tired at the stage door, almost asleep standing, and I don't like bothering people in that situation... stage door is a privilige, and we don't want our stars getting sick from staying after shows to sign a hundred autographs after a two show day, right? haha... well KUDOS to Bernadette and the cast of GYPSY... it was amazing, and Bernadette... "Mama's Doin' [Better Than] Fine!"
"Isn't it a great score?"
-Bernadette on MACK & MABEL
"I just drove through a town called SUPRISE!"
-Bernadette on Suprise, AZ
"I was the one with the long blonde hair... you probably wouldn't remember me, that was twenty years ago. And I looked much better than I do now!"
-Nancy Opel on her role in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
|  PA Fan
Registered User
Registered:
11/6/2003 | posted: 11/25/2003 at 6:23:19 PM ET
I also saw gypsy (again) on Saturday but I saw the matinee.
It was the best performance I've seen thus far. The audience was very good in that they were "into it" and "got" the jokes, etc. That seemed to pump up the cast.
BP was absolutely great. She also ended "Some People" on a very high note as she did for the evening show as mentioned by, I think it was, Brandon. She also played some of the funny parts to the hilt by holding her stance longer than usual for emphasis....for example, her comment that "things are looking up" (not sure of the exact quote) at the second act opening rehearsal of Madame Rose's Toreadorables (sp?)
In an earlier thread I mentioned how I thought this week's schedule was going to be difficult for BP. While BP will be doing the usual 8 shows a week, the schedule will require her doing 3 (days)of two shows a day in a matter of 4 days.
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