Playwright: Arthur Laurents ( book ), Jule Styne ( music ), Stephen Sondheim ( lyrics ). At: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier. Tickets: 312-595-5600; www.chicagoshakes.com; $48-$88. ( special: $20 for buyers under 35 ) . Runs through: March 23
An iconic score, brilliant orchestrations, a fervent back-stage story, a titanic starring role and an overture that is the quintessence of Broadway ... Gypsy is one of the greatest musicals, yet it's an odd duck having no chorus line and relatively little choreography. What it has, in spades, are wit, conflict and characters of a complexity rarely found in musical comedy.
These things came consciously into focus as I watched this new production, directed by Gary Griffin with unusual intimacy made possible by a deep thrust stage, which puts the show in the middle of the audience. The opening-night performance was slow and too deliberate at first, but soon picked up speed and steam. By Act II it had overcome sound system issues in Act I ( or so I think ), in which dialogue and songs seemed flat and often-soft ( or perhaps my ears had adjusted ).
Griffin's powerful cast mixes masterful local veterans such as Keith Kupferer ( Herbie, a leading man at last! ) and Barbara Robertson ( Tessie Tura, the stripper ) with out-of-towners Louise Pitre ( Rose ), Jessica Rush ( Louise ) and Erin Burniston ( June ), adding a gaggle of appealing kids for the early scenes of Louise and June as child performers. The show features period-perfect and clever costumes by Virgil Johnson ( just look at those coats made from blankets ), and a skewed setting by Kevin Depinet which elongates a gold-gilt proscenium arch ( the picture frame around a stage ) and cantilevers it outward over the thrust stage, all but shouting "show biz!" Above all, Valerie Maze conducts a glorious 14-piece orchestra that plays the hell out of the original orchestrations ( modified by Rick Fox ) and, golly-gee, it sounds fabulous!
This production has emotional power and plenty of musical punch, but I have a conceptual problem. Ethel Merman, for whom Madam Rose was written, was 51 years old when Gypsy opened on Broadway in 1959when she was 20 years too old for the role. With two daughters neither yet 10 years old, Rose is 30 at most and still alluring when Gypsy begins, and barely past 40 at the end. Alas, Merman set the casting standard for most subsequent productions and Pitre, distinguished though she may be, is even older than La Merman, and you can hear it in her voice. Also, few directors signal that Rose and Herbie are lovers and neither does Griffin ( the 1989 Broadway revival with Tyne Daley and Jonathan Hadary did, and it was directed by co-author Arthur Laurents, who oughta' know ), but it's important to the relationship and Rose's character.
Kudos to Rhett Guter and his graceful, athletic dancing of "All I Need is the Girl," which Mitzi Hamilton choreographed. Too bad his character is a one-off!