By Karen Wolitzer
I've never seen it on stage, but always wanted to. So, when I saw that it was coming to Hofstra, I knew what my next Stepping Out feature would be about.
That's the great thing about this job when I want to see something, I'm welcomed with open arms and this was no exception. I was invited to a dress rehearsal in the John Cranford Adams Playhouse.
Having never been there before, I expected the theater to be nice, but was not expecting what I walked into. It was huge and just as elaborate as any Broadway theater I've ever been to except newer and prettier than most.
Soon I was watching Mama Rose (played by talented Mary Ellin Kurtz), Gypsy (played by Annemarie Rosano) and June (played by Jenna Pasqua) singing on stage and I got chills. They were incredible.
For those who don't know, Gypsy is based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, a famous burlesque stripper. Her mother, Rose, is a domineering stage mother who is determined to break into show biz by pushing the vaudeville career of her younger daughter June. When June elopes with a dancer, Mama Rose turns to her older, less talented daughter Louise. Eventually Louise becomes a famous burlesque stripper known as Gypsy Rose Lee.
The original production opened on Broadway on May 21, 1959, featuring Ethel Merman, as Rose. In 1963 it was made into a movie starring Natalie Wood and Rosalind Russell. Written by Arthur Laurents, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Sondheim, it is truly one of the greatest musicals of all time.
When the show opens, Louise and June are kids. Talented young actresses Diana Valenti and Christina Ames play Baby Louise and Baby June. Singing and acting are fun, says nine-year old Christina, who belts out Let Me Entertain You, like a pro.
Kevin Franznick, who plays Herbie has performed in many plays at Hofstra, including Phantom, The King and I and 42nd Street. And this is the fourth time he's been in Gypsy. I love the play, he says. It has the best score of any musical ever.
Jenna Pasqua is absolutely adorable as June. She's appeared in many plays, including Tommy, Fame, and Godspell. Theater's my life, she says with a smile. This is such a stretch for me. I've always played down-to-earth, non-superficial parts, and June's very superficial. It's new for me and I twirl batons. I've been practicing day and night. It's a lot of fun...and it's gonna be a really good show.
Choreographer John Sheridan agrees. Sheridan was actually in the original production with Ethel Merman and played Tulsa in the Angela Lansbury production, as well as working on the Tyne Daly revival. I've choreographed it a couple of times. So, I have a long history with the show. It's got one of the best books in theater history. It's not about pretty costumes and scenery; it's a great story.
Sweet young Spencer Glass is one of the newsboys. I do a lot of dancing and I'm in a lot of scenes, he says very excitedly. I'm having a very fun time in this play.
Beautiful and talented Annemarie Rosano and Mary Ellin Kurtz are the stars of the show. I was in Phantom, here, says Annemarie. And I was in Annie, here, when I was nine. I love everything about playing Gypsy. I was so excited when I found out I got the part. But what's really cool is almost 20 years ago, my mother did the same exact part, here.
Mary Ellin Kurtz graduated from Hofstra University and was part of their theater company for many years. She auditioned for the role of Rose ten years ago, but was told she was too young. You really have to be the right age, she says. This is the role that everyone dreams of doing. And it's turning out to be great. I'm enjoying it so much, that I come to the theater even when I don't have to be here.
It's definitely a show that you don't want to miss. Perhaps, Director Dan Held put it best when he said, I consider it the greatest musical of the 20th Century the greatest music, the greatest book, the greatest overture it's absolutely brilliant!
