Customer Reviews

Gypsy - A Musical Fable (1959 Original Broadway Cast)

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Love her or hate her, for all practical intents and purposes Ethel Merman (1908-1984) was the voice of the Broadway musical for more than thirty years: a larger-than-life, flamboyant woman with a larger-than-life voice that could rip a door off its hinges. Her roles are legendary, ranging from Kate in the Gerswhin's GIRL CRAZY to Reno Sweeny in Cole Porter's ANYTHING GOES to Annie Oakley in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. Near the end of her Broadway career she capped all previous triumphs with what most regard as her signature role: Mama Rose in the Sondheim and Styne GYPSY.

Although generally based on the life of celebrated stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, the play focused less on Gypsy and her sister actress June Havock than upon Mama Rose, the bombastic and endlessly determined stage mother from hell who propelled both daughters to stardom largely against their own inclination. By turns hilarious and monstrous, comic and tragic, Mama Rose was perhaps the only role that made full use of Merman's dramatic talents--and it didn't stint her on music either. GYPSY is one helluva show, and this remastered release of the original 1959 cast recording caputures it at full throttle.

There may be other contenders, but to my mind GYPSY has the single finest overture ever written for a Broadway play, an explosion of brass that sends chills up the spine. And when Merman explodes with her first number, "Some People," she puts chills on the chills! Although backed by a superior cast that includes Jack Klugman, it's Merman's show all the way, peaking with the frightening "Everything's Coming Up Roses"--perhaps the single finest example of denial ever found in a musical--and finishing up with the devastating "Rose's Turn." It is an amazingly powerful performance, more than deserving of all the accolades it received.

Over the years the dark GYPSY has received numerous stage revivals and two film versions, with stars that included Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daily, Bernadette Peters, Rosalind Russell, and Bette Midler--but whatever their individual merits, this is the GYPSY to have: all else seems ashes and dust beside it. The bonus of additional songs cut before the play's opening simply make it that much more desirable, but in the end it is Merman, pure, unfiltered, planted at center stage and still able to blow the doors off the joint. An essential.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Anyone considering a career in musical theatre should study this show: It brought together several top people whose collaboration brought out the very best in one another. This is Jule Styne's very best score. Sondheim's lyrics perfectely explain the story and charactres (you can easily follow the plot just by listening to the songs, athough a detailed synopsis is included); Arthur Lauents' swift-moving book provided the framework that holds the score together, and as a "star vehicle" they got the biggest star Broadway would ever know: Ethel Merman. But it wasn't just a Merman show: Sandra Church as the reluctant Gypsy and Jack Klugman as Rose's long suffering boyfriend provide admirable support. Less than a week after the triumphant opening, the cast recorded this album and it remains one by which others are judged. The early stereo sound is wonderful. The performances are exciting and each number tops the one it follows. The extra bits that have been edited back in (after 30 years on the cutting room floor) only add to the excitement. This was the apex of musical comdey. The era is gone. Merman, Styne, Klugman are no more... but the record is here to stay.

"Some People." "Everything's Coming Up Roses." "Together." Ethel Merman got some of her most indentifiable songs from Gypsy, and this recording demonstrates why. But her powerful voice is only one reason to buy this cast recording--the music is excellent, and the rest of the cast extremely entertaining as well. Though the extra material included in this version isn't quite as essential as has been the case in other recordings in this series, this remastered version preserves this classic the way it was meant to be heard. Don't miss it!

Let me entertain you
Let me see you smile

I will do some kicks
I will do some tricks

(Mama Rose)
Sing out, Louise! Sing out!

I'll tell you a story
I'll dance when she's done

(Mama Rose)
You're behind, honey!
Catch up! Catch up!

By the time we're through entertaining you
You'll have a barrel of fun!

Gypsy remains one of the very finest musicals ever produced. With music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim how could you go wrong? Well, they certainly didn't go wrong; and this original cast recording proves it.

I agree with people who believe that the overture for this musical is one of the finest ever written. It flows beautifully and seamlessly through portions of many of the musical arrangements for the songs in this musical. Impressive!

The musical score on this CD contains many songs that to this day remain instantly recognizable. "Let me Entertain You;" "Some People;" "Small World;" "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "Together Wherever We Go" boast those catchy Jule Styne melodies and incredible lyrics that only Sondheim could have written.

"Let Me Entertain You" is the first song on this CD; and Ethel Merman as Mama Rose with Jacqueline Mayro as Baby June and Karen Moore as Baby Louise perform this flawlessly. The song flows so naturally that you completely believe that the two young girls are truly being coached by their domineering mother as they rehearse for a kiddie show in a vaudeville theater. Ethel Merman delivers "Some People" very convincingly; it is here that we see the first undeniable evidence that Merman was born to play Mama Rose. Merman belts out this song passionately as only she could; Merman blows the roof off the house.

Other great songs on this CD include the beautifully arranged "Small World" which is performed with great sensitivity by Ethel Merman as Jack Klugman joins in to make the song even more romantic; the moving "If Momma Was Married" by Sandra Church and Lane Bradbury as they deeply wish for a reprieve from their pushy stage mother; "Everything's Coming Up Roses" sung without a single superfluous note by Ethel Merman and "Together Wherever We Go" performed by Ethel Merman, Jack Klugman and Sandra Church.

Ethel Merman also delivers one especially powerful number at the end of the musical, "Rose's Turn." Merman's voice remains as strong, vibrant and passionate as ever as her character laments that things didn't turn out as happily as she had planned. The musical arrangement underscores Mama Rose's descent into a type of nervous breakdown as Mama Rose performs her swan song.

The CD continues with four bonus tracks that include entire numbers that originally wound up on the cutting room floor. These tracks add color to the original cast recording and enable the listener to hear even the slightest of differences editors made as they rushed to release the LP only one week after Gypsy opened at The Broadway Theater. Look for some interesting changes in "Some People;" "Mr. Goldstone/Little Lamb;" as well as two songs that were dropped from this production of Gypsy entitled "Mama's Talking Soft" and "Nice She Ain't." Excellent bonuses!

The sound quality is rather good although there were times when I could hear minor surface noise in the background. The liner notes offer black and white pictures from Gypsy and essays by Martin Gottfried and Tom Shepard. There are liner notes reprinted from the original LP jacket by George B. Dale, too.

Gypsy was produced several times more after this production closed. However, this is the definitive version because Ethel Merman carries the show with her zesty and powerful voice. Nobody could or ever will touch Ethel Merman as the quintessential Mama Rose.

I highly recommend this CD for fans of original cast recordings of great Broadway musicals; and of course Ethel Merman fans will thrill to these superlative numbers.

Enjoy!

With an intoxicating score by Jule Styne and ingenious lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, GYPSY is understandably considered one of the greatest musicals ever created. Though it didn't seem possible, this remastering of the 1959 recording is even more enjoyable than the original. Improved sound enables us to enjoy Ethel Merman's brassy voice and the orchestral details even better, and several delightful extra passages and alternate takes have been added. Also, two songs which were cut during tryouts are presented as bonus tracks. One of these, "Nice She Ain't", was supposed to be sung by Jack Klugman, and since he was not a singer he decided against tackling it (though it is a "talking song" and would have suited his limited range well). The other, "Momma's Talkin' Soft", is a sort of cynical comment on Rose's character and was meant to be sung by Louise and June in counterpoint to "Small World" in Act I. The loss of both of these songs from the first production was a colossal shame, and they deserve to be revived for future productions.

As other reveiwers have affirmed, this album crackles with the excitement of live theater, and allows us to hear character and storyline in addition to a mere succession of songs. One example of this occurs in Track 2, in which Baby June and Baby Louise audition for a vaudeville act. At one point in their duet, Louise enters a split second too late for the line "I'll dance when she's done" and is scolded by Rose, "You're behind honey, catch up, catch up!" The only reason she's "behind" is that June held her note too long in the previous bar. Rose, of course, is blind to this. Marvelous.

Enjoy this incomparable Broadway musical in a sparkling remastering!

Take the two leading composers of post WWII Broadway (Styne and Sondheim), stir in a libretto by Arthur Laurents based on an autobiography by Gypsy Rose Lee, and frost with the number one Broadway performer of all time. How could this recipe be anything but atomic? Happily, "Gypsy" had a cast recording by Columbia, the premiere company for such efforts. The sound is crisp and well mixed, the album notes are informative and well-written, and the newly-issued material is appealing rather than intrusive. What other show had such great orchestrations, such an imposing overture, except perhaps for Merman's own "Annie Get Your Gun" revival in 1966? That "Gypsy" has also been a success with Lansbury, Daly, Midler and Peters is not the point. This is the 14 karat original, and no one has ever or will ever sing this score better than legendary Ethel Merman! Buy this CD immediately!

The great Ethel Merman dominates this classic original Broadway cast recording of GYPSY. Along with FUNNY GIRL, this musical has Jule Styne's most brilliant score - and that score is enriched by Stephen Sondheim's equally brilliant lyrics. Merman's voice, in 1959, remained strong, powerful, and trumpet-like in its clarity, showing its age only on certain sustained notes, where it wobbled slightly. Her way with a song, however, was as winning and unmistakable as ever; just listen to her touchingly simple and direct rendition of "Small World." Playing Herbie to Merman's Rose, Jack Klugman (of whom I am a fan) may seem an odd choice for a musical, but he gives excellent support -- if that is the word I want -- to Merman in "You'll Never Get Away from Me" and "Together Wherever We Go." As "Gypsy" herself, Sandra Church, with her warm middle voice, sounds lovely in the touching "Little Lamb" and like a fully mature star in her solo version of "Let Me Entertain You." Both Don Walker's orchestrations and Goddard Leiberson's engineering are superb, as is Columbia's digital remastering, which adds extra space and "liveness" to the recorded sound. This GYPSY fully deserves its fame as the finest cast recording ever produced.

Of course I have always known of Ethel Merman and the general style of her singing, but I had never actually sat and listened closely to her until I bought this CD reissue of Gypsy. What an amazing talent she was. Her voice, though often impersonated for kitsch, was a remarkable instrument--that high belt was always clear, always focused on pitch and rhythmically precise (at least on Gypsy). This is a truly absorbing score to listen to, and the remaster has been done wonderfully well, with great taste and attention to detail.

1959's "Gypsy" was a landmark musical and arguably Ethel Merman's greatest role as Rose, the "stage mother" driven to make her daughter a star. In addition to Ms. Merman, the production included great performances by Jack Klugman and Sandra Church as Herbie (Rose's suitor) and Louise (aka Gypsy Rose Lee), respectively.

The classic score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim is filled with memorable songs.

Best tracks include:

Some People
Small World
You'll Never Get Away From Me
All I Need Is The Girl
Everything's Coming Up Roses
Together Wherever We Go
Let Me Entertain You
Rose's Turn

Despite losing that seasons Best Musical Tony Award to "The Sound Of Music" & "Fiorello" (a tie), "Gypsy" remains a force on Broadway, revived three times since its original run, with Angela Landsbury, Tyne Daly & Bernadette Peters in the starring role. Each brought a different perspective to Rose, but the character will always belong to Ms. Merman!

A classic!

For those of us who were born too late to see the original GYPSY with Ethel Merman, the excellent revivals are indispensible. Who would want to have missed Lansbury's intelligence, Tyne Daly's power, or most recently Bernadette Peters lovely layered performance, mixing determination with vulnerability and warmth?

But make no mistake, Ethel Merman is Momma Rose. At her very best, which she was here, Merman was an irresistable performer. Her generous involvement in the character and the music is felt here in every note. Merman isn't just loud, she uses her mammoth voice with a laser beam focus and a rhythmic vitality that impels the listener to feel every ache and yearning of Rose's experience.

Buy em all! (Tammy Blanchard is a wonderful Louise in the new Peters revival.) But don't miss Ethel's Rose. This one is for the ages.