GYPSY

Review by Celia Ipiotis

Determined to make her daughter a star, Mama Rose, the irrepressible Audra McDonald attempts to vanquish every single obstacle in her way. Vibrantly directed by George Wolfe, Gypsy moves with the force of a freight train.

Considered one of America’s singular performers, Audra McDonald blazes across the stage releasing her voice in a tornado of singing that is amazing to watch.

A single mother with two young girls, Mama Rose has honed a vaudeville routine for her most talented little daughter Baby June that ostensibly freeze-dries her daughter into a “child” performer. Sharing a small  living space with her father, Rose bristles at his denigrating comments about her dreams. Unlikely to marry and settle down, she goes on the road.

A high stakes woman, Rose, who is incapable of hearing the word “no” battles her way into producer’s offices and onto their stages–not an endearing quality. Luckily, Rose stumbles onto Herbie (Danny Burnstein), a candy salesman who maneuvers a deal on her behalf. The wonderfully understated and congenial Herbie becomes the point person and emotional center for the traveling troupe.

Louise dodges her mother’s insatiable lurch at fame because Baby Jane remains the recipient of Rose’s suffocating drive. Consequently, the less visible, neglected older sister, Louise  gets space to develop emotionally and intellectually.  These skills serve Louise (an excellent Joy Woods) well in the future.

Much of the show is driven by Camille A. Brown’s choreography that pulls out the motifs from vaudeville and minstrelsy acts. Tinged with ironic visual cues such as the blond wigged young black girls and the all-American themes with Louise posing as a Black Uncle Sam, Brown gives the male dancers some serious choreographic routines that require a robust ballet,  modern dance, jazz and of course, tap background. In a stellar group of dancers, Kevin Csolak (Tulsa) stands out for his dynamic presence coupled with expert technique.

When the vaudeville circuit begins to wane,  Louise and her mother unwittingly land in a burlesque strip-club. The colorful characters include three winning strippers, whose gimlet eyed view of life as a stripper evolves into one of the show’s funniest scenes. Each woman has a gimmick and they flaunt it in an audience favorite: “You Gotta Get A Gimmick” with Mezeppa (Lili Thomas), Electra (Mylinda Hull) and Tessie Tura (Lesli Margherita). This in-turn leads to one  the theater’s  funniest bump and grind sequences with hips pumping, backs bending and breasts twirling on the beat of the music. Whether you grab a horn to toot or flash body lights on and off–always be certain to demand the audience’s attention. To her credit, Louise listened to the street-wise advice and when her mother pushes her out on  stage, Louise figures out her gimmick.

Throughout the production, McDonald overwhelms the theater. With impeccable range and vocal control, sometimes it feels like she’s too good for the role of Mama Rose. A potent whirlwind of fury and drama, determination and insecurity, McDonald’s fierceness drives away her daughters and the one man who loved her most.

Built on blue ribbon musical theater bones featuring a book by Arthur Laurents (based on Gypsy Rose Lee’s memoir), lyrics by Jule Styne  and music by Stephen Sondheim, Gypsy, is a reminder that despite an abundance of talent, success can levitate on the wings of fate.

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis