By JAMES D. WATTS JR. Scene Writer on Jun 17, 2012, at 1:11 PM Updated on 6/17 at 1:11 PM
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A gypsy — by name and by nature — tends to wander. LOOK Musical Theatre’s production of “Gypsy: A Musical Fable” does a bit of roaming of its own, in search not so much of a home as a strong, definite sense of purpose.
While there is much to enjoy and admire about this production, which opened Friday at the Tulsa PAC, one comes away from “Gypsy” with the sense that all the pieces do not quite fit together into a complete and satisfying whole.
This 1959 creation by composer Jule Styne, lyricist Stephen Sondheim and playwright Arthur Laurents — inspired by the memoir of burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee — is considered one of the greatest musicals of the American theater. Former New York Times critic Frank Rich went so far as to call it the American musical’s answer to Shakespeare’s “King Lear.”
Much of this is due to the character of Mama Rose, played here by Melissa Parks, a star-struck and stardom-0bsessed woman determined to channel her dreams and ambitions through her two daughters, the precociously talented June (Rachel Womble) and the less obviously gifted Louise (Sarah Smith).
Rose herds her daughters through an endless array of venues, from lodge halls to vaudeville circuit theaters, always doing variations of the same, lame act: a little singing, a little dancing, an appearance by a pantomime cow, all predicated on presenting June and Louise — neither of whom are certain how old they really are — as if they were “babies.”
Along the way, Rose attracts the attention of a former talent agent, Herbie (Ron Loyd), who helps the family get bookings even as he tries to convince to leave the show-biz gypsy life behind.
But nothing is going to stop Rose from achieving her dream of turning one of her “babies” into a star — not June running off to marry a dancer named Tulsa (Stephen Glasco), not rejection after rejection, not even Herbie leaving when Rose pressures Louise into stripping on stage, simply because she’ll be taking “the star’s” place.
It’s one of the most demanding and wide-ranging roles in musical theater. Rose is on stage for much of the show’s three hours, and runs through a gamut of emotions, all of them expressed in either trumpeting tones or soaring songs. She has to be likable and loathsome in almost equal measure — a silly stage mother one minute, a complete monster of ego the next.
Parks, however, seems to be after a kinder, gentler Rose, a mother more misguided than monstrous. And this, unfortunately, blunts the story’s power. Rose becomes just another stage mother who goes off the rails a bit later in life, rather than a truly tragic figure.
Still, Parks has the vocal chops to invest songs like “Some People,” “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” and the climactic “Rose’s Turn” with impressive emotional power.
Smith handles the transitions Louise goes through — from awkward and shy youngster to a woman assured enough of herself to start taking her clothes off on stage — with a winning subtlety. She makes the song “Little Lamb” and her wistful mirroring of Glasco’s movements is “All I Need is the Girl” moving without becoming maudlin.
Loyd’s Herbie is such an even-keeled fellow that his final outburst as he leaves Rose and her world behind is properly startling. And one wishes that the show gave him more opportunities to sing beyond the few snippets in “Small World” and “Together, Wherever We Go.”
Womble is very good as the perpetual child June, gamely trouping through Rose’s ridiculous act year after year. The ensemble of Glasco, Sam Beasley, Russell McCook and Philip Skinner as the various “boys” dancing behind June perform the “official” routines with the proper amount of nervous ineptitude, then prove in numbers like “Mr Goldstone, I Love You” that they truly can dance.
“Gypsy” has a large cast, and director Eric Gibson makes excellent use of this highly talented ensemble. Alixe Ward, April Golliver and Heather Harris tear up the stage as strippers informing Louise that “You Gotta Have a Gimmick” (Harris is equally good as a no-nonsense secretary).
Derick Snow handles the roles of a beaten-down theater owner, a buttoned-down hotel manager and a bevy of boisterous announcers with great gusto. Payton Sipes and Noa Pettit are very good as the younger versions of June and Louise — all the children in the production do very well — and Jenny Guy is hilarious whether she goes by the name of Agnes or Amanda.
Andy Anderson guided the LOOK orchestra through a rousing performance of the Jule Styne score, although the configuration of the pit’s opening made for an unbalanced sound — it’s not often that woodwinds can almost drown out the brass section.
“Gypsy” continues with performances through July 8 at the Tulsa PAC. For tickets: 918-596-7111, tulsaworld.com/mytix.
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