I still don't understand what the orchestras have been playing for all these Gypsy revivals here and overseas and everywhere for the past thirty years?
What they play is what Tams-Witmark, now Concord Theatricals, leased to them for GYPSY.
For instance, the reed doubles in a lot of shows are simplified for the national tour; in the case of BYE BYE BIRDIE, the leased orchestrations were done by Phil Lang and not Robert Ginzler's originals; in the case of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED . . ., for the national tour, the violas were rewritten for violins and the number of reeds was reduced. ONCE UPON A MATTRESS opened off-Broadway at the Phoenix Theater with an orchestra of 19; when it transferred to Broadway, they added seven more players to meet the union minimum, else they would have to pay seven walkers to do nothing but draw a weekly check. We think - not certain - that the harp part for WHERE'S CHARLEY was droppped from the tour; we do know the reed doubles for the show were simplified.
So, when John Yap's complete recordings claim to be "original orchestrations," they sometimes are not because he records the orchestrea parts provided by the leasor of whatrever show he's recording.
