| The name of the game is the fame (re: "Gypsy" Title Question) | |
| Last Edit: Marlo*Manners 01:25 pm EST 12/23/24 | |
| Posted by: Marlo*Manners 01:22 pm EST 12/23/24 | |
| In reply to: "Gypsy" Title Question - HudsonLivermore 12:24 pm EST 12/20/24 | |
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| Gypsy Rose Lee was a famous person in the late fifties. She was a stripper and sometime actress who put butts in seats. She had a few successful (or semi-successful) innings on Broadway and movies as a performer. She got lots of press. The original producers and creators wanted you to think this was a show about stripping and strippers. It's more about vaudeville and its inevitable decline after the talkies came in along with the Great Depression. The strippers come in late in the show. Faith Dane (Miss Mazeppa), a real stripper turned legit performer, got a lot of press attention when the show opened. "The Mama Rose Story" or "All About Rose Hovick" would not sell as well as "Gypsy". No one knew who Rose Hovick was back then. Gypsy Rose Lee they did know and would go to see a show about her. The musical was based on her autobiography. Of course, it is Rose who takes over the story and the emotional arc of the show. It is the indisputable lead and Ethel Merman would expect no less in a show. People also knew who Ethel Merman was back then and were willing to throw down cash to see and especially hear her. So the "Gypsy" name and titillating reputation of Gypsy Rose Lee was an audience draw. Ethel Merman was a draw. Rose Hovick not a draw. Now Mama Rose is the quintessential stage mother and a legendary character - but it took the "Gypsy" musical to make that happen. Marlo Manners (Lady Barrington) |
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