Gypsy (musical)

This article is about the stage musical. For the source book, see Gypsy: A Memoir. For the film, see Gypsy (1962 film).
Gypsy
A Musical Fable
Original Broadway Cast Album
MusicJule Styne
LyricsStephen Sondheim
BookArthur Laurents
BasisGypsy: A Memoir
by Gypsy Rose Lee
Productions1959 Broadway
1973 West End
1974 Broadway revival
1989 Broadway revival
2003 Broadway revival
2008 Broadway revival
2015 West End revival
Awards1989 Tony Award for Best Revival
2016 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Revival

Gypsy: A Musical Fable is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. It is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business mother." It follows the dreams and efforts of Rose to raise two daughters to perform onstage and casts an affectionate eye on the hardships of show business life. The character of Louise is based on Lee, and the character of June is based on Lee's sister, the actress June Havoc.

The musical contains many songs that became popular standards, including "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "Rose's Turn", "Small World", "Together (Wherever We Go)", "You Gotta Get a Gimmick", and "Let Me Entertain You".

It is frequently considered one of the crowning achievements of the mid-twentieth century's conventional musical theatre art form, often called the book musical. Gypsy has been referred to as the greatest American musical by numerous critics and writers, among them Ben Brantley ("what may be the greatest of all American musicals...")[1] and Frank Rich.[2] Rich wrote that "Gypsy is nothing if not Broadway's own brassy, unlikely answer to King Lear."[3] Theater critic 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."[4]

  1. ^ Brantley, Ben. "New Momma Takes Charge" Archived 2019-07-24 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times, May 2, 2003
  2. ^ Rich, Frank (November 17, 1989 The Hot Seat: Theater Criticism for The New York Times, 1980–1993. Random House. 1998. ISBN 0-679-45300-8.
  3. ^ Rich, Frank (November 17, 1989) "Review/Theater; 'Gypsy' Is Back on Broadway With a Vengeance", The New York Times
  4. ^ Barnes, Clive (September 24, 1974) "'Gypsy' Bounces Back With Zest and Lilt" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times