As I was saying...
I somehow managed to snag a first row mezzanine seat for Saturday night's performance of
Gypsy. Well, when the man at the box office told me the best available seat he had was the first row of the mezzanine
and that my discount voucher could be applied, I took that as a sign that I should finally see the show. -If only less than ideal seats were available, I was going to pass. *Apparently, the Playbill.com voucher is the only one that is valid for Saturday nights, and I just had to wonder if it was simply a matter of an oversight since all the other ones I checked out had a strict "not valid for Saturday eves" clause. But on with the show...
I knew I was going to be in for an interesting evening when the overture started and the house lights came down to half, and there were about six seats behind me still empty, and the immediate seat to my left was still empty. Of course, they all came in just as the overture was ending. And the people in the row behind me proceeded to "discuss" which order they wanted to sit while they kicked the back of my seat and dragged their coats along the back of my head. But on with the show...
The last time I was in the Shubert Theatre was when I saw
big - and I was also in the front row of the mezzanine for that one too - although smack dab in the center rather than four seats of the aisle. What a difference some scenery makes!
The minimalist approach to the set design worked well for me, and the general spareness helped to point up the more elaborate moments in the second act strip sequences. And the whole show-within-a-show conceit basically worked for me, but the title cards on the side really only worked when I remembered that they were there to look at.
Well, as the opening scene started, the girl to the left of me proceeded to point out her friend who was in the show and on stage to her mother who was sitting next to her and to her brother who was sitting next to their mother. From left to right: Me, Daughter, Mother, Son, (Aisle). Well, the mother pointed him out too. Of course, they weren't just pointing them out with their fingers, but they were pointing them out with their voices too. And at this time, the lady to the left of me couldn't decided whether she wanted to sit back in her seat or sit up and put her hand on the railing. Well, she sat back... then when when Ms. Peters made her entrance, she decided to sit up and forward again. At least when she sat forward, I couldn't hear her audible breathing. Ah, well... But on with the show...
Ms. Peters was good, and she was in good voice when I saw her Saturday night. There was a little bit of a rasp in her voice, but I think that's just her voice right now. She had her moments. Unfortunately, for me, and at least on that night, you can't play Mama Rose in moments. I wasn't disappointed with her performance, but I just wished for a better sense of consistency throughout the evening. I also felt that she tended to "love" certain notes more than others to the point where certain words and/or musical phrases would get highlighted when they shouldn't have been.
So, the girl beside me decided to dig out some more gum from the jacket which she was sitting on. Well, she had a fresh pack.
fidget, rip, rip, tear, tear, fidget, chew, chew, chew Then her mother offered her the pack of Twizzlers, which are or course wrapped in plastic/cellophane... Meanwhile, while all this was going on next to me, the lady behind me kept adjusting her coat on her lap, and consequently on the back of my head. But on with the show...
I loved everyone else in the cast, especially John Dossett and Tammy Blanchard. John Dossett - yet another Sondheim Celebration alum (Fredrik in
Night Music) - as Herbie really stood up to Mama Rose. I haven't seen that many productions of Gypsy, but his Herbie has to be the best one I've seen. It's just too bad that the part was not more "singy" due to it's originator since John has a wonderful voice - I would have loved to hear more of it (again) throughout the evening. *I also caught up with him afterwards, and he's still having a great time, and he's very glad to have his wife, Michelle Pawk, home for a while with their son. -I had forgotten that Michelle had been working so much with
Hollywood Arms and
Bounce back to back and in between. He's very happy to have her home - and she's happy to be home too. *Oh, and John still has some of the blue-est eyes around...
Well, intermission is about to end, and the lady behind me is still not back from the bathroom. And the family next to me has brought their drink cups back to their seats with them. Well, in the middle of "Together, Wherever We Go", the lady behind me makes it back - of course, that means the other people at the end her row have to step out into the aisle in order for her to get in. Oh, and that's also the point where the kids reached the bottom of their cups and started slurping their straws and stirring around their ice. Thankfully, the mother took both cups of ice from her children and put them under her seat. But on with the show...
Tammy Blanchard... WOW! Again, another instance of an actress finding the perfect balance between playing "shy" and playing "in the background". I really got a sense of Louise's growth and transformation and heartbreak and risk. It was the first time I didn't find myself cringing during "Little Lamb" - up until now, the song just always made me cringe. And when she starts to blossom and grow in the second act, it was a pleasure to watch. And kind of scary too. This was the first time where I truly noticed that it was Louise who made the initial move to strip, and Mama Rose just jumped on the band wagon. Which made Louise's transformation all the more poignant in a sense, and Mama Rose's decline - and "Rose's Turn" - all the more sad and almost-pitiful. -Sorry, I'm kind of at a loss for words right now...
Well, the husband of the women behind me started to cough, so she passed him some cough drops. They were the type in those "blister" packs which are made of very crunchy plastic, and then you get that "great"
pop as you push the cough drop through the foil. After he got his cough drop, then he passed the pack back to his wife who put it back in her handbag - which was resting behind my head. Then he asked for another one...
Then the mother decided she wanted to crunch on the ice which was still in the cups she took from her children. And she would scoop out cubes with her hand... Ah, well... But on with the show...
Overall, I liked this
Gypsy. I didn't love it, but I liked it a lot. Oh, and "Gotta Get A Gimmick" was truly the highlight of the show for me - and the three strippers came across more as characters rather than caricatures. And I'm glad I got to see this production. -However, part of me still wants to see Ms. Peters stand-by, Maureen Moore do the role - what an amazing actress and singer! *And with none of that "star" baggage to work through and overcome.
After the show, Ms. Peters made the curtain speech for the BC/EFA fundraising. And as a special treat for the end of the week, they auctioned off Ms. Peters amethyst necklace that she had been wearing that night - and all week - and the lucky "winner" would also have the honor of being presented with the necklace by Ms. Peter in her dressing room after the show. I almost bid, but as soon as the bidding broke $1,000, I had to back off. However, I did start thinking I could give up one week of scale... Hmm... The winning bid was $1,2000, and they also had various other signed items - including "Louise's other glove" for sale afterwards.
-And while the auction was going on, John Dossett mentioned that while his wife was doing
Bounce in DC, Mr. Sondheim told Ms. Pawk one night after the show that Bernadette Peters was the best Mama Rose that he had ever scene. Hmm... I guess they were at the Watergate Brasserie.
So, beside the audience distractions, I like the show. And, again, it was sooo nice hearing a live pit again. No synths (even though that's how I primarily make my money). And the trumpet player really rocked in the overture! I'd hate to be sitting in front of him in the pit!
