Gypsy is the musical is based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, and tells of her life in show business. She was a famous strip tease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose. The name rose has become the name associated with the stage mom. Rose dreams of having her two daughters in the limelight, and comes to find out the hardships that come along with show business. The musical has become one of the greatest “book musicals” to date, and has provided many timeless songs to the musical theatre cannon.
Rose Hovick pushes her young daughters into show business. She travels around promoting them to the entertainment industry with little success. She puts a lot of her focus on her talented daughter June. Not focusing a lot on her less talented daughter
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For example, in the musical number “If Mama was Married” we see the girls longing to leave the show business. The girls (June and Louise) want their mother to find a new kind of happiness, and that would be in a man. The girls would be happy if their mother were to marry Herbie, and let them be. Many other numbers capture the essence of vaudeville/burlesque world. With the high powered jazz numbers, that keep the show moving forward. In the number, “You Gotta Have A Gimmick” the girls create the world of “Stripping” hoping to explain to Louise how to take the world of stripping by storm. The drum beats that accentuate the ladies hip thrust help create the world very well, and help to create the world that Louise has been thrown in.
Overall, the musical Gypsy is an American classic and provided amazing music to the musical theatre cannon. Unfortunately, this stage to screen adaptation is lack luster, leaving much to be desired in the role of Mama Rose. Had the film producers selected a more talented Mama Rose, I believe this paper would have taken a different turn. Rosalind Russel’s portrayal of Mama Rose is awful. She does not capture the essence of a stage mother who is ruthless, driven, and selfless when it comes to her