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| Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? | |
| Last Edit: DanielVincent 12:22 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
| Posted by: DanielVincent 12:11 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| I've been on a bit of a Gypsy quarantine kick. Perhaps because I've already had so many conversations comparing different Roses, I'm interested to learn about people's different reactions to the Louises they've seen. I'm particularly interested to know if anyone here can share memories of Sandra Church or Zan Charisse. Church is a fascination because she originated the role; Charisse because there's so little record of her performance. Personally, I've seen Crista Moore (opposite both Tyne Daly and Linda Lavin); Tammy Blanchard; Ginifer King (Blanchard's understudy); Laura Benanti (at both City Center and on Broadway); and Lara Pulver. Moore and Benanti were both spectacularly effective--with opposite fortes. Moore handled Louise's transformation into Gypsy Rose Lee during the strip more believably than anyone else. Her Gypsy was sexy, empowered, and having a great time, but also performed with a sense of ease that now, having YouTube, I see in actual footage of Gypsy Rose Lee. In her climactic scenes with Rose, she was a force to be reckoned with: every moment of the confrontation before Rose's Turn and the reconciliation that follows it was performed with an honesty that people often say does not exist in musical theatre. However, some of that stereotypically mannered musical theatre acting crept into her first act where I could see her working to perform vulnerability. Benanti's scenes as Louise (as opposed to Gypsy Rose Lee) were a master class in sincerity. She was painfully, but never performatively, vulnerable. In her (beautifully sung, but appropriately restrained) rendition of Little Lamb and All I Need Is the Girl scene and song, her sense of longing was so palpable, it hurt. Certainly, her transformation to Gypsy was believable and, of course, Benanti is a stunner--but it was in this final section of the show that I saw *her* working. This was particularly true in the dressing room confrontation where I never quite bought her bellowing, "I said TURN IT OFF." It felt forced, especially on Broadway, where she seemed to push a lot harder than she did at City Center. And in those final moments of the play ("It's okay, Mama; it's okay, Rose"), I never felt her connect to LuPone the way I felt Moore connected to both Daly and Lavin.* Nevertheless, both women gave fantastic performances and were deserving of their respective Tony nominations and win. I had the hardest time with Blanchard: in her scenes as Louise, she came across as too harsh; in her scenes as Gypsy, she came across as too vulnerable. And while Louise does not need to be a great singer, Blanchard--whether it was an acting choice or her vocal limitations--could barely make it through Little Lamb. Her trajectory in the part was so unimpressive, so non-transformational, I felt it didn't give Peters nearly enough to play off of. I found Peters and the production as a whole to work significantly better when the much more believable King was on for Blanchard. King's Louise had a softness and her Gypsy had a confidence that Blanchard's lacked. (Both actresses were also plagued by the production's terrible wigs for the character.) Having been a fan of her work elsewhere, I was quite excited by Pulver's casting. Utimately, I found her take on the role to be fine, but unremarkable: it struck me as a little unspecific, especially opposite the comprehensively conceived and fully realized Rose that Staunton gave us. It may be insensitive to say, but I also felt Pulver read as too old for the part. The production's design didn't manage to convincingly conceal her beauty in the first 3/4 of the show, but, then, surprisingly, didn't showcase what a stunner she is in the last 1/4. What are other people's memories of these performances? What are people's memories of their covers? (I believe Michele Pigliavento went on for Moore several times; did anyone see her?) What are people's memories of impressive Louises they've seen regionally or on tour? It's such an exquisitely written role; I don't think she gets the attention she deserves. *It was in this short scene, particularly in her delivery of "It's okay, Mama; it's okay Rose," where I saw Moore most recalibrate her performance opposite the revival's different headliners. Much has been written about the vulnerability of Daly's Rose and the ruthlessness of Lavin's. Opposite Daly, it had such tenderness, it truly felt like a reversal of the parent-child relationship. That love was there opposite Lavin, but, as Moore took Lavin's face in her hands, there was a sense of breaking it down for her--leveling with her; there was a subtext of practicality in her assurance they'd move past this. I feel so privileged to have seen Moore perform opposite each of these giants. |
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| re: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 07:35 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? - DanielVincent 12:11 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| "Benanti is a stunner--but it was in this final section of the show that I saw *her* working. This was particularly true in the dressing room confrontation where I never quite bought her bellowing, "I said TURN IT OFF." It felt forced, especially on Broadway, where she seemed to push a lot harder than she did at City Center. " I agree with you about that particular moment, but though of course I have no way of knowing this for sure, I have always felt that Benanti bellowed or screamed that line in exactly the way she was instructed to by Arthur Laurents. I just don't think she would have made the decision to scream it so loudly and wildly on her own. |
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| Natalie Wood as Louise/Gypsy | |
| Posted by: mermaniac 02:51 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? - DanielVincent 12:11 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| One of my very favorite moments in the film (among many) is the way Louise says to Tulsa: "Yeah: 'One of the boys' ." Her whole soul is in that moment. | |
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| re: Natalie Wood as Louise/Gypsy | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 07:39 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: Natalie Wood as Louise/Gypsy - mermaniac 02:51 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| ***One of my very favorite moments in the film (among many) is the way Louise says to Tulsa: "Yeah: 'One of the boys' ." Her whole soul is in that moment.*** Agreed. Some people STRONGLY object to the rewrite of the show script for the movie that had June running off not with Tulsa, but with one of the other guys. But I've never minded that change, and I actually prefer the version in the film because it does give Louise and Tulsa that very touching goodbye scene. |
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| Here's a really great interview with a reminiscing Sandra Church, from about three years ago...... | |
| Posted by: bwaynut 12:25 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? - DanielVincent 12:11 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| In it, she mentions that Jerome Robbins wanted Carol Lawrence for Louise, but that she was not allowed out of her "West Side Story" contract. She also notes that Suzanne Pleshette auditioned -- another interesting tidbit! There's also a really fascinating, extensive photo gallery from the original production. | |
| Link | Sandra Church and "Gypsy" |
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| re: Here's a really great interview with a reminiscing Sandra Church, from about three years ago...... | |
| Posted by: MikeP (ACL15@aol.com) 12:26 am EDT 04/27/20 | |
| In reply to: Here's a really great interview with a reminiscing Sandra Church, from about three years ago...... - bwaynut 12:25 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| Thank you for this!! Its a fascinating read!! | |
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| re: Here's a really great interview with a reminiscing Sandra Church, from about three years ago...... | |
| Posted by: young-walsingham 02:29 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: Here's a really great interview with a reminiscing Sandra Church, from about three years ago...... - bwaynut 12:25 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| Thanks for this link - a fascinating interview and lots of photographs I hadn't seen before | |
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| re: Here's a really great interview with a reminiscing Sandra Church, from about three years ago...... | |
| Posted by: fredfrankg (fredfrankg427@gmail.com) 02:13 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: Here's a really great interview with a reminiscing Sandra Church, from about three years ago...... - bwaynut 12:25 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| That was great! Thank you, Michael. Hope all is well with you. Best, Fred |
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| re: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 03:02 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? - DanielVincent 12:11 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| No mention of Cynthia Gibb, Natalie Wood, let alone Debbie Gibson?? Gibb, it's been awhile, Wood, glorious, Gibson, I didn't see her. | |
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| Only because I restricted myself to the stage Louises that I actually saw... | |
| Last Edit: DanielVincent 03:12 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
| Posted by: DanielVincent 03:08 pm EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? - KingSpeed 03:02 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| It's been several years since I last watched the 1993 Gypsy, but I remember thinking Cynthia Gibb gave a solid performance...and also feeling it wasn't particularly exciting--credible, but without unique star quality. My feelings about Natalie Wood's performance are more complex. I intensely LOATHE the screenplay and direction of the 1962 adaptation. I see small changes to the script as having major consequences--for example, Tulsa being in the scene that precedes Everything's Coming Up Roses and the way his discussion with Louise changes her arc in the scene. (Her primary focus should be on her family; when the boys refer to Tulsa's act as being swell and ask Louise to weigh in, her comment about never having seen it is enough. So much is said in those few words. Less is more. Having Tulsa there gilds the lily.) I don't feel much more positively about Rosalind Russell's performance and, obviously, so much of what Louise has to do in the story is in reaction to Rose. For these reasons, it's hard for me to compare Wood's work to the other women mentioned in this thread. Which is a shame because it's damn near perfect casting and when she shines in the movie, she shines brightly. A potentially controversial opinion: I wish they'd dubbed her singing. Louise doesn't need to be a particularly stunning vocalist, but I actually find Wood unpleasant to listen to. She sounds...Jennifer Jason Leigh in Cabaret bad. I didn't see Gibson. |
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| re: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? | |
| Posted by: champagnesalesman 12:54 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? - DanielVincent 12:11 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| Zan Charisse was my first Louise...I was young but remember being quite captivated by her she had a great presence and I liked her singing.. Fernanda Gordon played it opposite her real mother Rita Moreno....the only GYPSY I've seen starring an actual mother and daughter ..have there been others?(Carol Burnett and Carrie Hamilton almost did it at one point as well as Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher ) This fact brought an extra layer of reality to the show... I think my favorite Louise was Jessica Boevers(now Bogart..her husband is Matt) who was in the Ravinia production with Patti...she was so good she nearly stole the show from Patti..never an easy thing to do |
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| Can you tell me any more about Jessica Boevers? | |
| Posted by: DanielVincent 02:17 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? - champagnesalesman 12:54 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| I didn't much care for her work in Forum and especially Oklahoma. I'm surprised to see she made such a strong impression. What did you like so much about her performance? | |
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| re: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? | |
| Posted by: Pokernight 02:11 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? - champagnesalesman 12:54 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| I saw Sandra Church, Zan Charisse, and Susan Watson (at St. Louis Muni). I loved Natalie Wood in the film. But, for some reason, the one who sticks in my mind is Julienne Marie (the former Mrs. James Earl Jones) who replaced Sandra Church. | |
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| Wow! Can you share any details? | |
| Posted by: DanielVincent 02:19 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Token Gypsy thread: memories of different Louises? - Pokernight 02:11 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| What separates Marie from the others? Which aspects of Church and Charisse's performances stand out most clearly in your memory? | |
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| re: Wow! Can you share any details? | |
| Posted by: Pokernight 09:54 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
| In reply to: Wow! Can you share any details? - DanielVincent 02:19 am EDT 04/26/20 | |
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| Unfortunately, neither Church nor Charisse stood out for me. Watson was good until she became the stripper. Marie was adorably sweet then transformed into a sensual firestorm, as I recall. It was SO long ago.... | |
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