Review: GYPSY: A MUSICAL FABLE at Music Theatre Wichita At Century II Concert Hall

There is a reason the musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable is a Golden Age classic. The text, suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee and written by Authur Laurents, is economical and succinct. Jule Styne’s music varies from catchy tunes to lush, foreboding orchestral maneuvers, and Sondheim’s nascent lyrics are simple and accessible, yet cut to the core of each scene’s objective.

The musical has won numerous awards, including a 1975 Tony Award for Best Actress, two 1990 Tony Awards for Revival and Actress, and three 2008 Tony and Drama Desk Awards. Gypsy opened at the Broadway Theatre on May 21, 1959, starring Ethel Merman as Rose and Sandra Church as Louise. The show later moved to the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for 702 performances. Gypsy played for 300 performances at the Piccadilly Theatre in London, starring Angela Lansbury as Rose.

It was revived on Broadway four times, starring Angela Lansbury in 1974, Tyne Daly in 1989, Bernadette Peters in 2003, and Patti LuPone in 2008. A 2015 revival at the Savoy Theatre in London starred Imelda Staunton. I was fortunate enough to witness Lansbury’s performance in 1976 (or ’77), with Zan Charisse as Louise, when the show toured the United States. I was an apprentice at Melody Fair, a WNY theatre on the the New England Tent circuit, and got to see her performance no less than 7 times!

Gypsy: A Musical Fable, focuses on Lee’s mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business mother.” Rose tries to raise her two daughters to perform onstage, and in doing so, tries to recreate the showbiz success that eluded Rose in her youth.

Many times the word FABLE in this title arrangement has been overlooked. Oxford English Dictionary defines fable as a story that deals  “with a conflict in which animals speak and intervene, but the characters may also be plants, sundry objects, men, or gods, Fable normally deals with the triumph of the strong, but also portrays the cunning of the weak and their mockery of, or triumph over, the powerful.

Fables also stress the impossibility of changing nature…Most often there is a comic element; sometimes the ‘situation’ of a protagonist is depicted, from which the audience may draw analogies.” Pretty heavy, but pretty accurate. So, whoever is stepping into the roles of this musical ought to be able to not only be a monster singer, but be a pretty good actor too.

The score keeps the Golden Age of Musical Hits coming - Everything’s Coming Up Roses, Let Me Entertain You, and Together Wherever We Go. Ben Brantley wrote that Gypsy “may be the greatest of all American musicals…" and Frank Rich wrote that "Gypsy is nothing if not Broadway's own brassy, unlikely answer to King Lear.” Clive Barnes wrote that "Gypsy is one of the best of musicals..." and described Rose as "one of the few truly complex characters in the American musical.”

Brian J. Marcum is such a smart Artistic Director, hiring the right personnel for his seasons’ work. Hiring the team who directed the 1989 Broadway version of Gypsy with Tyne Daly was a brilliant coup that paid off in droves. How could one fail with such an amazing production team? Richard Sabellico (Director/Choreographer) and Adolpho Blaire (Associate Director/Choreographer) did a remarkable job helping the actors find nuances in such a short rehearsal period. Music Director Thomas Douglas helped craft remarkably dynamic vocals and, as usual, the orchestra was sublime.

Aaron Mooney’s moody and subtle lighting design was absolutely breathtaking, conjuring so many atmospheres in so many scenes, but the standout was the scene at the rail yard in Omaha at dusk, with the haze, Rose and Louise waiting for the train, waiting for Tulsa and June, finding the rest of the boys deserting the act - the deep, silvery blue light blending with the drop, accurately reflecting the desperate nature of the scene, was gorgeously poetic.

Scenic Coordinator J Branson created some achingly beautiful locations for the actors to inhabit, suggesting a dazzling array of locations with handsome period set pieces (like that table in Grantzinger’s office), and the breathtaking, colorful backdrops. An audience favorite was clearly the Bald Eagle that burst out of the caboose in front of the cow backdrop on the stage of Granzinger’s Palace.

Costume Coordinator Melissa Penkava Koza’s work was spot on, clothing her actors in well edited pieces which ran the gamut of depression era highbrow/lowbrow garb to show biz glamour, and suited each character to a T. The addition of Joshua Harris’  great hair and wig designs recreated the era perfectly, from finger waves of the 1920s to the period progression of Rose’s wigs well into the 1940s.

We were greeted with a pre-show speech by Miss Kansas of 2024, Courtney Wages, to introduce the MTWichita season as The Year of the Woman, since each show features a strong female lead! Brian J. Marcum then joined her onstage and they performed a tap duet to Broadway Baby. This was followed by an appearance of two members of The Academy at MTWichita Rising Stars Youth Ensemble: Elliot Dyer, and Jacob Crabtree, respectively singing Sondheim selections Not While I’m Around and Being Alive.

Gyypsy opens in Seattle, where we get the first look at the characters. First off, I have to say that little Chowsie, played by Spencer Lang-Ramirez, was such a good boy! He wants to remind you to Adopt, not shop! Ava Richardson, our first Baby June, was everything you wanted her to be. She was adorable and she sounded great.  Wichita is lucky to have some great character men, and we get to see them in the opening scenes!  Uncle Jocko, played by Tim Robu, was perfect. Wichita native David Stone plays Rose’s father with realistic seriousness, and David Raehpour was top notch as Mr. Weber!

I’m a sucker for the classic Baby June and her Newsboys crossover at the end of Scene 5 in Act 1. This leads us into the meat of the relationships for the duration of the show. Everything is looking and sounding great up until this point. Karen Robu, an MTW veteran and local favorite, is playing Rose. She’s doing a wonderful job, at some points channeling Bette Middler in Mr. Goldstone, and other points really building Rose up to be the ordinary single mom doing what she needs to do, sacrificing and pushing for her kids to help them get ahead.

If Momma Was Married, sung beautifully by June (Stephanie Reuning-Scherer, MT program, University of Michigan) and Louise (Darien Crago) make us hope for this little family to get off the road and have a normal life! We think Herbie, played so well here by John Scherer, is going to marry Rose, and take her and Louise away from all this showbiz hell.

In the meantime, the young adults are yearning for lives of their own. Louise is in love with Tulsa (Ronald Spoto) and she cannot hide it when he shows her the act he’s been creating for himself - All I Need Now is the Girl. Spoto, a senior in the MT program at Penn State, gives us a beautiful song and dance routine, and Crago helps him finish it off in grand style. Unfortunately for Louise, Tulsa’s love is for June, and Tulsa and June decide to run off together to have an act of their own.

The remaining Farmboys also decide to ditch the act,  which leaves Herbie, Louise, and Rose at the train station. Undaunted by their situation, Rose turns to Louise to play out her star making scheme. Karen Robu tears into the first act finale, Everything’s Coming Up Roses, with incredible resolve and determination. Robu’s delivery is so moving my companion had tears in her eyes. She remarked “I’ve never seen this show before and so I’ve only heard the songs out of context. To hear them in the work is so powerful.” I concur.

The ante is raised for Act 2. We see Rose’s new act, the Toreadorables, rehearse, and they are so cute. These ladies carry much of the ensemble work in the second act and they did a wonderful job. Agnes, the barometer of the ensemble, played deftly by Regine Torres (MT Major, Penn State) does a great job here, playing this stock role with intelligence and heart.

The trio, Herbie, Rose, and Louise, plan to stick out the burlesque house for the week that they’re booked, and Rose vows to marry Herbie once the run is over. The trio sings Together Wherever We Go, and we believe their long odyssey will finally end. The chemistry between Scherer, Robu, and Crago is wonderful, and there is so much nuance here. We believe Rose will capitulate and give up the business once and for all.

Herbie books the new act, renamed Louise and the Hollywood Blondes, into a Burlesque house in Wichita, KS, and get a touch of culture shock. This ain’t vaudeville. Kudos here to director Sebellico for making the burlesque palace cute, comedic, and family friendly. The ladies encounter Tessie Tura, a resident stripper, played by Mychal Phillips, who proceeds to steal all the scenes she’s in. Phillips also played Miss Cratchitt in the Grantzinger scenes. She leads her fellow strippers Miss Mazeppa and Miss Electra in the best character number in the show, You Gotta Get A Gimmick! Mazeppa, played by local actress Molly Tully, has some fun here, playing the trumpet live as she bumps it. MTW veteran Jennifer Marcum is a lovely Electra, sweet and bubbly in her light up costume! Kudos here again to Koza - the strippper costumes were colorful, sparkly, comical, yet super tasteful.

All is well until the featured strip act fails to show. There is an audible gasp from the audience when Rose suggests Louise should strip in that slot. Louise succumbs to Rose’s wishes and takes the featured spot. What follows is an amazingly powerful cascade of events that lead to a tempestuous climax. Herbie breaks it off with Rose. Scherer, who is such a wonderfully comedic actor - his work was sublime in MTW’s Drowsy Chaperone - who up until now has played Herbie as a super affable guy who goes along to get along - puts his foot down with such a commanding power, building the scene with Robu, which is fraught with such tension and frustration. This was a very powerful moment, well executed by both actors.

We still have the tension of Louise’s first strip, and this is where Crago goes to work. We watch Louise transform from a gawky, nerdy young woman, unsure of her identity, to a woman who knows what she wants. Crago builds Louise’s confidence during this strip sequence, which takes us from that burlesque house in Wichita, KS, to the famed Minsky’s in New York, where she reached the zenith of her strip career. Another nod to Koza for these gorgeous gowns Crago gets to shed, particularly the gorgeous gold one!

The second climax of this musical is Louise’s fight with Rose for her independence, and a truce to the battle. This is the second obstacle of the night for Rose, and Robu keeps her in the fight, even fiercer than her battle with Herbie. I loved the blocking here, like two tigers pacing off in fight, which was well pitched. Crago’s transformation into the independent, confident Louise is complete, and Robu’s Rose is even more in conflict with herself. Robu wheels into Mama’s Turn with an abandon that mature actresses are hardly ever allowed to express in modern musical theatre.  This explosive empowerment for Rose is a shockingly beautiful moment. Women lose themselves in the act of motherhood, and it was refreshing to see this woman reclaiming herself at the end of this particular space in the journey. Great job, Karen, for taking us on such a rich, emotional journey!

Up next for MTWichita is 9 to 5, which runs June 12-16 at Century II Concert hall. The show runs 2 hours, 30 minutes, and is rated PG for sexual innuendo, language, and drug use. Experience the hustle and bustle of 9 to 5, where ambition clashes with the everyday grind, and three resilient women take charge of their destiny. With Dolly Parton’s spirited musical composition, this show comes alive, offering a narrative celebrating the resilience, humor, and camaraderie of strong women in the face of adversity.

Make sure to get your tickets for Star Night, which is a fund raiser for the company, June 21 and 22, at Mosley Street Melodrama. Go to mtwichita.org to order tickets online, or call the Box Office at 316-625-3107

Century II Concert Hall is located at 225 W. Douglas, Wichita, KS 67202

Photo Credit: Kacy Meinecke

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