Gypsy, Savoy Theatre

So on Saturday 13^th June 2015 I travelled to London with my Nan (yes I mean Nan not man, HAHA!) to see the matinee performance of ‘Gypsy’. Just a quick note on my lovely Nan (Cora); My Nan was the lady who got me into (somewhat hooked) musicals when I was a young boy (I sound old I am 26). The first musical I saw was ‘Cats’, one of the best from Lloyd Webber. ‘Cats’ is my favourite musical to date (I have seen it 4 times, one with Nicole Scherzinger and I am hoping to go see it again with Beverley Knight as Grizabella). Anyway the point I was trying to make was that my Nan is often my companion to many of the shows I see (and a woman who has had two knee replacements managing to get around London and use the underground network, well she’s a great hero and musical role model). Anyway I have divulged and it’s my first blog of a show – sorry (if you are going to be a regular reader you may have to get used to my divulgent personality J).

 

So, Gypsy. Well I have to say it was an amazing show and I am so glad to have seen it. I knew very little about the show and story before going to see it (the story being great so let’s thank Arthur Laurents). The main reason for my purchase of the ticket was to see a favourite actress of mine – Imelda Staunton (For whom I love for her roles in Harry Potter and Pride. As well as this I know she won the Olivier Award for best actress in a musical for her portrayal of Mrs Lovett in ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ in 2013 – I did not see this although there are some awesome YouTube clips of her immense skills, so check them out - Imelda in Sweeny Todd - Priest).

 

 

So as I was saying I did not know much about the show or its back story. I had heard of Gypsy Rose Lee and I love a bit of burlesque. Well the show was amazing I absolutely loved it. The music from Jule Styne and the lyrics from the great Stephen Sondheim were fabulous and some of the songs I had heard before. I have since downloaded the 2015 cast album and is my current driving music. I actually did not like the character of Rose (played by Imelda Staunton). I have never been a fan of pushy parents and wished they would let their kids be free – look what happened to Baby June. Although I do see the good Rose gave her kids from her pushiness, they were both great successes. I loved the fact that the show was focused on the mother and not on Gypsy (Louise) herself. As I said on my introductory post I am also interested in psychology and understanding the reasoning behind Rose’s pushiness was that she was living her own dreams through her children which in itself is quite sad.

 

Imelda Staunton has a fabulous voice and her American accent was cute. She belted out ‘coming up roses’ and ‘Rose’s turn’ which gave me goose pimples. I really hope she is nominated for the Oliver Award for Best Actress 2016 for her role as Rose. Both supporting actor (Peter Davison as Herbie) and actress (Lara Pulver as Louise) were also good however I feel the outstanding performance from Staunton outshone both of their performances.

Gypsy is only on a short run at The Savoy Theatre (a great theatre, my first visit although the stairs are a nightmare – again well done Nan!). Visit the website (Gypsy) to find out more about the show, cast and creatives and GET A TICKET! I thoroughly recommend seeing this show before it ends on 28^th November 2015 (which is the extended date); who knows I hope there will be a tour. I would be very tempted to go see this show again. I guarantee you the show will “entertain you and make you smile!” A joke for the Gypsy fan.