GYPSY by Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim. A Chichester Festival production at the Savoy Theatre, London, England. Runs to November 28. Rating: NNNNN
LONDON Who knew Imelda Staunton could sing?
Most North American audiences know and respect her film and TV work in Vera Drake, Cranford and the Harry Potter films, but in Britain shes also known for her musical performances, including Adelaide in Guys And Dolls and an Olivier Award-winning performance as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd.
Now shes appearing as Mama Rose, the stage mother to end all stage mothers, in a revival of the musical Gypsy.
Its an iconic American show, one that might not translate with a British cast, but director Jonathan Kents production is a knockout, not least because of Stauntons performance.
You probably know the story: desperate, driven mother channels all her energy into making her two daughters into vaudeville stars, first blond June (Gemma Sutton), whom she wont let grow up.
Then, when June runs off to make her own life, Rose is determined to make something of the insecure Louise (Lara Pulver, who played the dominatrix Irene Adler in Benedict Cumberbatchs Sherlock), previously pushed aside. literally, so Rose could focus on June. By the shows end, Louise has become burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee.
Stauntons ferocious, constantly dreaming Rose is sure to remain one of my fondest theatrical memories, conniving for her kids (but actually for herself), confronting everything that stands in her/their way and never willing to give up.
When she meets Herbie (Peter Davison, former Doctor Who), theres an instant rapport hes infatuated, shes tender and seductive. Their relationship is believable, as his increasing disillusionment and anger he finally walks out because she cant let go of her dreams.
Staunton brings volcanic energy and a huge voice to the part, never more so than in the numbers that end the two acts, Everythings Coming Up Roses and Roses Turn. In the former, when shes just lost June and turns her formidable attention to Louise, the song is a model lesson in acting. It begins as an internal meditation and then, as she spins a new dream for her shy second daughter, she includes a frenetic quality, clapping like a fearful child to make her wishes come true. You might even see a touch of madness here.
Roses Turn is, if its possible, even better. Rose is caught up in her past, with angry recriminations for those who have deserted her and agony for what she didnt get despite all her efforts. The result is chilling, especially when Staunton offers a silent but explosive scream of frustration.
Near the end of the song she finally becomes a star in her own mind, the solo performer on a stage with four letters ROSE, big and lit behind her.
And then Kent and Staunton pull off an extraordinary coup de theatre: the audience rises to its feet to give Staunton/Rose a standing ovation, the fourth wall falls away and she sees us. For an incredible moment, we become part of Roses fantasy.
Gypsy now the mature, self-confident star enters, returning the fourth wall and us to our seats. She takes her mother off to a party, putting her arm around the smaller woman in a gesture of love and appreciation that reverses the roles of mother and daughter.
Pulvers great throughout, the best Louise Ive ever seen, capturing both the characters insecurity and her growing sense of awareness and talent. Even her first tentative strip numbers we watch her poise grow are tinged with shyness, and you wouldnt believe its the same person in the final segment, which makes Gypsy the shimmering, alluring snake in the Garden of Eden.
Another standout moment is the number You Gotta Get A Gimmick, in which three strippers the balletic Tessie Tura (Anita Louise Combe), light-flickering Electra (Julie Legrand) and trumpet-playing gladiator Mazeppa (Louise Gold) talk about their trade. Well worn and sagging, this trio has seen (and probably done) it all, and their song is dynamite.
Musical director Nicholas Skilbeck turns the overture into a whole show of its own, leading the musicians with a raucous zip through the stripper music and offering tenderness for Youll Never Get Away From Me. Like most of the audience, I stayed put for all of the exit music, as lively and energetic as the overture, which earned the band an extra round of applause.
If youre in London in the next two months, this is the show to catch. And who knows? Maybe itll come to New York after its close in England. If it does, I see a Tony in Stauntons future, after the Olivier shes likely to win for her extraordinary Rose.
