Here She Is Boys, Here’s Rose

Gypsy

Everyone wants approval and attention, to be noticed, to be liked. In the eyes of many people, becoming successful is equated with being loved. This is the universal theme that propels this classic show that playwright Arthur Laurents subtitled, “A Musical Fable.” While on the surface, this is a show business saga. It’s a success story that’s set in the world of theater, particularly in Vaudeville and Burlesque of the 20’s and 30’s. The story is also a twist on the Hans Christian Andersen tale of “The Ugly Duckling,” where a homely, awkward young bird grows up to become a beautiful, graceful swan. But because everybody, regardless of gender, age or occupation, harbors the need to be noticed, praised and loved, “Gypsy” is a fable for every one of us.

Rose is a domineering mother, almost insanely driven by her own need for love and success. She’s determined to accomplish this by seeing her two daughters achieve success—maybe even stardom—through song and dance. Her own mother walked out on her as a child and she’s had two unsuccessful marriages, but Rose is still driven even harder to succeed. 

It’s Seattle in the early 1920’s and times are hard. This aggressive, domineering woman, the stereotypical stage mother, will stop at nothing to have her girls, shy and semi-talented Louise and her bubbly, brilliantly gifted blonde sister Baby June, achieve top billing in Vaudeville. As she travels across the country with her children, Rose picks up a few young street urchins who show promise as backup singer/dancers. Suddenly a new act is created. Backstage at a Los Angeles vaudeville house, she meets a theatre candy salesman named Herbie and, while teasing the nice man with marriage, persuades him to become her agent. Over and over again Rose revamps June’s tired song and dance number, “Let Me Entertain You,” adding new tricks and gimmicks to freshen up the number. 

The kids grow older and grow tired of life on the road; Herbie becomes impatient with Rose continually postponing their marriage. Finally it seems like the end when everyone except Louise and Herbie walk out on her. But Rose is determined to be loved and successful on her own terms. In desperation, Herbie accidentally books Madame Rose and her Toreadorables, now starring Louise and a bevy of young, aspiring actresses, into a Midwestern burlesque house. 

Just as it seems like the curtain has finally come down on this second-rate act, Rose overhears a stagehand lamenting that they’ve lost their star stripper. Mama Rose sees this as a way of finally achieving stardom—for Louise, of course, but indirectly for herself. And thus, the famous real-life queen of Minsky’s Burlesque, Gypsy Rose Lee, was born. But in the final moments of the show, Rose realizes what motivated her to push June and Louise to become successes. She wanted love, recognition and simply to be noticed. In her grand finale, “Rose’s Turn,” she acknowledges the events in her life that drove her to live vicariously through her daughters. And in a cry of anguish, Rose sings from her heart that “Mama’s Gotta Let Go…”

In what may be my twentieth time enjoying a fine production of this extraordinary show, the center of this Musical Fable is most definitely Gypsy’s mother. “Here she is boys, here she is world…here’s Rose,” is portrayed by a phenomenal local actress with an incomparable voice, Amy Arbizzani. This gifted actress, who recently appeared in BrightSide Theatre’s gorgeous production of “She Loves Me,” is everything. This show deservedly belongs to her. Ms. Arbizzani completely understands this characater and her unrelenting  determination to achieve success for her kids and, indirectly, for herself. Having toured Nationally in “Light in the Piazza,” as well as winning the Jeff Award for Best Actress in “Parade,” Ms. Arbizzani really knows how to perform a role and deliver a song. She’s not Ethel Merman or Patti LuPone, both of whom have portrayed Rose, and that’s a blessing. In her performance we hear every note and nuance of Jule Styne’s beautiful score and understand every single word of Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant lyrics. There are even new layers of character here that I’ve never seen before, and Ms. Arbizzani’s performance is a veritable showcase of skill. Although it feels like the actress slightly runs out of steam in the final scenes, that may simply be a character choice. Also, in Amy’s defense, this is a truly challenging role that requires a lot of energy, and I’m sure Ms. Arbizzani’s stamina will grow with every performance.

Artistic Director Jeffrey Cass has once again wielded his theatrical magic, staging and sensitively guiding this large cast through this epic story. When the audience first walks into the theatre, jaws will drop at the splendor that lies before them. Eric Luchen’s massive, sumptuous Scenic Design is dominated by an old-fashioned theater proscenium, lit with running lights and sporting a red (Rose?) curtain, trimmed with gold fringe. This piece not only serves as a framing device for the entire show, it also continually reminds the audience that this is a story about the theater. In addition, as a subtle, clever reminder that Rose and her clan are gypsies and forever on the move, all of the furniture and major props are actually trunks and suitcases of varying sizes and shapes.

The large supporting cast features some notable talents, as well. Noelle Jay returns to BrightSide, after playing Sophie in the their production of “Mamma Mia!” The effervescent actress lights up the stage as the adult Baby June, with an impish Lanah Vurnakes dazzling the audience as a younger Baby June. Willa Zatzenbloom nicely plays younger Louise, then Emma Widlowski, familiar to BrightSide audiences from her appearances in productions of “Hairspray,” “Mamma Mia!” and “She Loves Me,” is terrific as teenage and adult Louise. As we watch the shy, ugly duckling evolve into a lovely, confident Gypsy Rose Lee, theatergoers empathize with the young lady’s struggle to win her mother’s love and approval and eventually achieve her independence. The final scene is especially touching as Louise puts her arm around Rose. We understand now that the roles have reversed, and the daughter has forgiven her mother and is going to take care of her.

Tom Jesse makes a kind, caring and gentle soul as Herbie. His patience is tried over and over again by Rose’s refusal to consider him as anything more than a vehicle to achieve success for her daughters. In his eleventh hour scene backstage at the burlesque house, Mr. Jesse brings all of Herbie’s frustration, anger and sadness to a head. Also, one of the many highlights of this show are the three strippers who belt out “You Gotta Get a Gimmick,” trying to teach Louise how to make it big in burlesque. They’re hilariously portrayed by Marianne Embree as Tessie Tura, Kelley Dale as Mazeppa and Michelle Bolliger as Electra (who’s also very funny as Miss Cratchitt,  a hard-nosed secretary in Act I).

The ensemble displays their many talents playing a multitude of smaller roles. And, when not showing off their song and dance skills, they also serve as the hard-working stage crew. Paul Mullen pops up in almost every scene, portraying several small roles and playing them well. Trent Ramert is especially exciting as Tulsa, the young dancer who gets to showcase his talent in “All I Need Now is the Girl.” Although Louise clearly has a crush on him, it’s June’s heart that Tulsa has won by the end of the Act. All of the children and young singer/dancers in this company are terrific and make this show extra special.

The backstage orchestra, led by conductor Sara Cate Langham, is strong and keeps the beat, although some of the brass sounded a bit strained on opening night. Jeni Donahue has choreographed the show to highlight the strengths of her cast, particularly for Baby June, Louise and the Newsboys. Most of Shana Hall’s costuming choices are period-perfect and beautiful, especially Rose’s dresses and Louise’s striptease gowns. The only thing that needs attention is Gypsy Rose Lee’s strangely-styled wig. I’m not sure why it was necessary, when Emma Widlowski has long, lovely hair of her own. But the wig just didn’t add anything to the actress’ portrayal of the stylish Queen of Burlesque.

I overheard one patron complementing Mr. Cass opening night, telling him that this was his best production of all ten of BrightSide’s seasons. While there have been so many entertaining productions, there’s certainly a lot to recommend in this musical. While celebrating the survivor, this show acknowledges our universal need for attention, to be noticed and to be loved. One of the best reasons to see BrightSide’s finale to season 11 is the stellar performance of Amy Arbizzani, in addition to a supporting cast of talented triple-threats and Jeffrey Cass’ fine, sensitive direction of this classic Musical Fable. Don’t miss it!    

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented June 2-18 by BrightSide Theatre, performed at Meiley-Swallow Hall at North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth, Naperville, IL.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 630-447-8497 or by going to www.brightsidetheatre.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.