Gypsy - 2008 Broadway Cast Recording [Cast Recording]

Laura Benanti | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 26, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Time Life Entertainment
• ASIN: B001CHFM12
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,181 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #42 in Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Musicals > Classic Musicals

Track Listings

1. Overture

2. May We Entertain You

3. Some People

4. Seattle to Los Angeles

5. Small World

6. Baby June and Her Newsboys/Let Me Entertain You

7. Have an Eggroll, Mr. Goldstone

8. Little Lamb

9. You'll Never Get Away From Me

10. Dainty June and Her Farmboys

11. Broadway

12. If Momma Was Married

13. All I Need Is the Girl

14. Everything's Coming Up Roses

15. Together Wherever We Go

16. The Strip

17. Rose's Turn

18. Tomorrow's Mother's Day

19. Small World/Momma's Talkin' Soft

20. Nice She Ain't

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Did we really need yet another recording of Gypsy, the 1959 classic by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim? After all we already have albums headlined by the likes of Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly and Bernadette Peters. The short, answer is an emphatic yes. The 2008 version stars Patti LuPone, superbly supported by Laura Benanti, Boyd Gaines and a luscious 36-piece orchestra. LuPone sinks her fangs into the role of the indomitable Mama Rose, and delivers the show’s epic anthems ("Some People," "Everything’s Coming Up Roses" and "Rose’s Turn") with the right balance of manic energy and slightly cracked vulnerability. Touted in the liner notes as "the most complete recording of Gypsy ever," the album only adds more ammo to the arsenal of those who hold the musical as possibly the best of all time. There is not a single weak cut here. And because this production was directed by the book’s author himself, Arthur Laurents, access was granted to seven goodies cut from the original production and tagged at the end. The highlight clearly is Rose’s "Who Needs Him?," a torchy number that manages to pack a punch in just over a minute.--Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HERE SHE IS BOYS, A MUST HAVE FOR GYPSY FANS!!!, August 26, 2008

By 

Frank - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gypsy - 2008 Broadway Cast Recording (Audio CD)

Patti Lupone's phenomenal performance as Mamma Rose is captured on this extensive recording, including songs that were cut from the original production.
If you have other recordings of Gypsy, you will still want this in your collection. Patti Lupone's Gypsy is the finest of the many recordings of Gypsy released over the last 30 years. Laura Benanti as Gypsy and Boyd Gaines as Herbie also lift this recording to must have status.
If you don't buy this recording for yourself, buy it FOR ME, FOR ME,
FOR MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PATTIS' TURN, August 28, 2008

By 

Robert F. Powers "show maniac" (Quincy, Ma USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gypsy - 2008 Broadway Cast Recording (Audio CD)

"Roses' Turn" is one of the greatest 11 0' clock numbers ever written for the stage and 50 years ago when Ethel Merman stormed Broadway in "Gypsy" she grabbed the song in a strangle-hold and never let it go.......until now. Patti Lupone roars through this nervous breakdown set to music like a diesel train until the track (pun intended) threatens to lift off the CD. Ms Lupone is simply amazing.

She also belts the first act finale "Everything's Coming Up Roses" with her almost psychotic determination to make Louise the neglected and seemingly untalented daughter into a star after June the perceived star runs off with a dancer from their vaudeville act to escape the clutches of Mama Rose. This song as performed is one of the scariest songs about optimism.

Rose also shows a softer side with "Small World" but even here she has ulterior motives as she seduces poor hapless Herbie a candy salesman into becoming the manager of her rag-tag vaudeville troupe. Boyd Gaines is excellent as spineless Herbie until he grows a backbone and leaves Rose when she pushes Louise into becoming a stripper.

Laura Benanti who I liked in "Nine" and "The Wedding Singer" sings the poignant "Little Lamb" where all she wants for her birthday is to know how old she is (Mama Rose purposely never counted the years).

The score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim is loaded with other goodies such as "You'll Never Get Away From Me" "If Momma Was Married" "Together, Wherever We Go" "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" and "Let Me Entertain You" which is a appropriate cornball song Rose uses and uses and uses for her hilariously awful vaudeville routine for Dainty June and Louise. There is also a number "Mr Goldstone" where Mr Sondheim uses his clever lyric writing and in the course of a two-minute song manages to pair up the word stone with every kind of stone he could think of eg: grindstone, milestone, rhinestone, millstone and gallstone.

Does anyone really need another "Gypsy" for their musical theatre library? Yes you do when it's Patti Lupone And does Ms Lupone wrest the crown from the great Merman? Well...lets just say the crown now sits a little lop-sided but whomever you prefer, the dynamic Patti Lupone will not dissapoint you.


One little theatrical anecdote: It has always been rumored that when "Gypsy" was being rehearsed, Ethel Merman was threatened by the talents of the young actress who played the title role. She exercised her diva will and had the creators tone down her role. This accounts for the fact that Gypsy is nearly a supporting role. This incident was the inspiration for Jacquelin Sussans "Valley of the Dolls" where Patty Duke as Neely O'Hara was an up and coming broadway musical performer and is fired when Susan Hayward as Helen Lawson the star is worried that the young upstart may outshine her.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PATTI LUPONE CREATES THEATRICAL HISTORY: AN ESSENTIAL, VIBRANT RECORDING, August 28, 2008

By 

DEWEY M. "MOVIE & MUSICAL THEATRE MAN" (ELLENSBURG, WA,) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gypsy - 2008 Broadway Cast Recording (Audio CD)

"Here she is boys...here she is world!" Here is Patti LuPone as Mama Rose in the musical theatre classic "Gypsy."
History has definitely proven that "Gypsy" can survive without Ethel Merman. Librettist/director Arthur Laurents seems to have the magic touch with this show. Laurents has directed three different productions of "Gypsy", and each time he has directed it, the actress playing Mama Rose: Angela Lansbury (1973-1974), Tyne Daly (1989), and now Patti LuPone (2008) has received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The 2008 Production also saw Boyd Gains (Herbie) and Laura Benanti (Louise/Gypsy Rose Lee) win Tony Awards as Best Supporting Actor and Actress in a musical, respectively.
But after Ethel Merman, Rosalind Russell (1962 film version), Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bette Midler (camping it up and desperately channeling Ethel Merman in a TV presentation) and Bernadette Peters have all taken individual turns as Mama Rose, you may well wonder... do we need another Cast Recording with Patti LuPone? The answer is a resounding "YES!!!!!" This recording is so fresh and vibrant, it seems that the show was just written today instead of nearly 50 years ago. Patti LuPone gives a ferocious performance as Mama Rose; justifying all the praise she has deservedly received and creating theatrical history in her own right.
And, unlike Mama Rose, Patti LuPone does not hog the spotlight here. Boyd Gaines makes a touching Herbie, and Laura Benanti, alternately heartbreaking and sultry-seductive, is a major revelation as the pushed aside daughter Louise who comes into her own as sophisticated stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.
The CD booklet is packed with gorgeous color production photos. The CD boolet also includes a complete synopsis and the entire 50 year history of "Gypsy"; and entertaining liner notes by LuPone. This CD also includes seven songs cut from the show prior to Broadway. The one outstanding "cut" song is "Smile, Girls"-- which furthur reinforces Mama Rose's unwavering drive and optimism in the face of reality and disaster. LuPone's tour-de-force, go for broke performance of "Rose's Turn", the emotional and mental breakdown that Rose has long been on the brink of, will haunt you. This recording is absolutely essential for fans of Patti LuPone and the musical theatre masterpiece that is "Gypsy."