Gypsy

Curtain Up!

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Written by: Arthur Laurents (Book), Stephen Sondheim (Lyrics) & Jule Styne (Music)

Starring

Bernadette Peters - Rose

Tammy Blanchard - Louise (Gypsy)

John Dossett - Herbie

With

Kate Reinders - June

David Burtka - Tulsa

Kate Buddeke - Mazeppa

Julie Halston - Electra

Heather Lee - Tessie Tura

Heather Teppe - Baby June

Addison Timlin - Baby Louise

Brooks Ashmanskas - Mr Goldstone / Pastey

Michael McCormick - Uncle Jocko

and standing by for Rose, Maureen Moore

Set during the vaudeville era, GYPSY is about a relentless stage mother, Rose, traveling the country with her two daughters, June and Louise, and their manager, Herbie. While June and Louise wish their mother would settle down and marry Herbie, Rose continues to pursue dreams of stardom for her girls. When June deserts the act, Rose turns her attention to the shy Louise, whom she hopes to fashion into a star. When the act is booked into a burlesque house by mistake, Louise is forced into the spotlight and Gypsy Rose Lee is born.

Gypsy opened for the first time on Broadway on May 21, 1959 at the Broadway Theatre, starring Ethel Merman in the greatest role of her career. Sandra Church played Louise. GYPSY played for 702 performances, and was filmed by Warner Brothers in 1962, starring Rosalind Russell as Rose and Natalie Wood as Louise. Gypsy has returned to Broadway in two other productions, both directed by Arthur Laurents, with Tony Award-winning performances by Angela Lansbury (1974) and Tyne Daly (1989). In 1993, Bette Midler and Cynthia Gibb starred a TV Version of the Musical.

"Well, everyone likes to see a caterpillar turn into a butterfly, right? Everyone loves to see a shy, scared little girl grow up to be a beautiful, strong woman. It's fabulous. I can't wait to take my clothes off!" --Tammy Blanchard

"The coltish Ms. Blanchard finds new gradations in Louise's metamorphosis into Gypsy. You sense flickers of personal ambition in the character's still waters, and in her final scenes she retains charming vestiges of the gawky girl she was. She also brings genuine resentful heat to Louise's climactic confrontation with Rose. This is clearly a woman who has learned more from her mother than Rose might have liked" NYT

"And Tammy Blanchard pulls off the transformation — from insecure daughter to confidant burlesque star — with ease" AP

"Co-star Tammy Blanchard makes her own strong impression in an equally challenging role, that of Rose's daughter and reluctant protégée Louise, who must blossom from an awkward teenager into the glamorous but still conflicted Gypsy Rose Lee. Anthony Ward's costumes may assist Blanchard's physical transformation, but her subtle acquisition of grace and sexual confidence owes more to genuine presence than sartorial savvy" USA Today