Music by Jule Styne – Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim –
Book by Arthur Laurents
Directed by Richard Carroll – Musical Direction by Joe
AccariaChoreographed by Cameron Mitchell – Designed by Alicia Clements
Lighting Design by Trent Suidgeest – Sound designed by
Camden Young.
Cast: Blazey Best – Laura Bunting – Anthony Harkin –
Mark Hill – Rob Johnson – Matthew Predny – Jessica Vickers – Jane Watt – Sophie
Wright
Presented by Luckiest Productions and One Eyed Man
Productions.
The Hayes Theatre, Sydney, until 30th June 2018.
Performance 22nd May 2018 reviewed by Bill
Stephens
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| Blazey Best as Rose in "Gypsy" |
The role of Rose, the mother of all stage mothers, in
the musical “Gypsy”, is acknowledged as the Everest of musical theatre roles. On
Broadway such theatre legends as Ethel Merman, Patti Lupone, Angela Lansbury
and Bernadette Peters have been acclaimed for their interpretations of this
role. In Australia few who saw Gloria Dawn, Toni Lamond or most recently,
Caroline O’Connor, will forget their memorable performances in the show which
many claim is “the greatest of all musicals”.
For his production, director Richard Carroll has
thrown away the template of previous productions to re-imagine this show as a
chamber musical in the Hayes Theatre house style. With the help of a resourceful set and
costume design by Alicia Clements, and a truck-load of props, Carroll has
devised a gritty production in which just nine actors conjure up the milieu of the
hard-slog, shabby show-biz world of vaudeville and burlesque. A world in which
Rose battles to eke out an existence for herself and her two untalented
daughters, who, she’s convinced, will become “stars”.
Of Rose, Sondheim has said, “the fact that she’s
monstrous to her daughters and the world is secondary…she’s a very American
character, a gallant figure and a life force”.
Blazey Best, who gave such a remarkable performance in
the previous Hayes Theatre production of “Miracle City”, takes on the role of
Rose in a startlingly uncompromising tour-de-force performance which will
certainly sear itself into the minds of all who see it.
Her Rose snarls at everyone in a curious
clenched-teeth, slurring delivery which sometimes compromises the clarity of
Sondheim’s lyrics. She shouts her songs rather than sings them, and it is not
until the second act, when she is challenged by her daughter, Louise, that any
rays of humanity are allowed to emerge.
Best plays the entire show on full throttle, leaving
little petrol in the tank for the climatic “Roses Turn”, which although delivered
at almost frightening intensity, fails to move as it should. It’s a technically
brilliant performance which will ripen when Best locates some heart and soul for
Rose.
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| Laura Bunting (Louise) and Jessica Vickers (Baby June) in "Gypsy" |
As Louise, Roses’ eldest daughter, Laura Bunting gives
a compelling performance as the shy, adolescent slowly growing aware of her
mother’s motives when Rose begins molding her into their next meal ticket as a
budding burlesque queen, when her sister, Baby June (Jessica Vickers) flies the
coop.
Her singing of the charmingly staged “Little Lamb” and
the duet with Vickers “If Momma Were Married” provides two of the vocal
highlights of the production, and her strip routines, performed towards the end
of the show, are the closest yet witnessed in any production of “Gypsy” to
those of the real life Gypsy Rose Lee.
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| An audition scene in "Gypsy" |
Ingenious staging by Carroll and spot-on choreography
by Cameron Mitchell keep the hard-working cast, including Joe Accaria’s
versatile four-piece band, busy playing multiple roles. The results are sometimes
surprising, occasionally confusing with very little time for anyone to make a
real impression. Standout performances however include Mark Hill as Tulsa, brilliantly
tap-dancing through “All I Need is the Girl”, Jane Watt, first as the sassy
put-upon director’s audition assistant, then, hilariously, as the shop-worn
stripper, Tessie Tura, and Anthony Harkin as the Rose’s long-suffering, but
smitten, agent Herbie.
But in the end, and despite its title, “Gypsy” is all
about Rose, and while this production is never less than interesting, its
success will rest on how audiences respond to Blazey Best’s brave and
idiosyncratic performance in this role.
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| Mark Hill as Tulsa in "Gypsy" |
