Gypsy - A Musical Fable (1959 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Considered by many to be the last great musical comedy, Gypsy tells the backstage tale of vaudeville entertainer turned stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and her overbearing mother, Rose. Stephen Sondheim's lyrics--composed in advance of Jule Styne's infectious music--provide a tight structure and natural language to the 1959 score, which produced more than its share of Broadway standards, including "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Small World," "Some People," "If Momma Was Married," "Together Wherever We Go," and the climactic "Rose's Turn." Although the role of Rose has seen subsequent memorable interpretations by Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, and Bette Midler, the show was written for Ethel Merman, and she remains the definitive stage mother.

For this 1999 release, the recording has been remastered with numerous short passages restored and four tracks added. Merman sings alternate lyrics to "Some People" and a medley of "Mr. Goldstone" and "Little Lamb," all with piano accompaniment. Two other tracks are songs cut in tryouts: "Momma's Talking Soft" (gently swung here by Laura Leslie) was a duet for June and Louise that provides some context to the later line "Momma's talking loud," while "Nice She Ain't" is crooned by Bernie Knee, who is infinitely more suave than Jack Klugman ever would have been. Expanded to 63 minutes, this essential cast recording is now even more essential. --David Horiuchi

VideoHound's Soundtracks
The old girl from the world of showbiz, Mama Rose, proves both indestructable and a fine vehicle for singing female stars. Originally created by Ethel Merman, for whom it was written, the part has been variously handled by Rosalind Russell in the film version (not available on CD), Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, and more recently Bette Midler, among many others. The quintessential backstage musical, and for many the best ever written, Gypsy related the real-life story of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and... read more

Gypsy - A Musical Fable (1959 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]

Tracks:

Act I: Overture
Act I: Let Me Entertain You
Act I: Some People
Act I: Small World
Baby June And Her Newsboys
Act I: Mr. Goldstone, I Love You
Act I: Little Lamb
Act I: You'll Never Get Away From Me
Dainty June And Her Farmboys
Act I: If Momma Was Married
Act I: All I Need Is The Girl
Act I: Everything's Coming Up Roses
Act II: Together Wherever We Go
Act II: You Gotta Get A Gimmick
Act II: Let Me Entertain You
Act II: Rose's Turn
Some People
Mr. Goldstone / Little Lamb
Momma's Talkin' Soft
Nice She Ain't

Amazon.com

Considered by many to be the last great musical comedy, Gypsy tells the backstage tale of vaudeville entertainer turned stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and her overbearing mother, Rose. Stephen Sondheim's lyrics--composed in advance of Jule Styne's infectious music--provide a tight structure and natural language to the 1959 score, which produced more than its share of Broadway standards, including "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Small World," "Some People," "If Momma Was Married," "Together Wherever We Go," and the climactic "Rose's Turn." Although the role of Rose has seen subsequent memorable interpretations by Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, and Bette Midler, the show was written for Ethel Merman, and she remains the definitive stage mother.

Customer Reviews:

Let Them Entertain You.......2007-01-27

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!

Fabulous! Fabulous! Fabulous!.......2006-06-28

One of the best scores ever written for the stage!

One of the all-time greats, but it needs a new Kleigl light.......2006-03-17

Despite its front-and-center place in the theatrical pantheon, one wonders if we can really do "Gypsy" justice anymore. A lot of termites have invaded the flats. For one thing it mysteriously morphed into a gay musical. That's because it's "about" an overbearing stage mother who was first played by a famous loudmouth. Well, that's simplistic. But "Gypsy" staged right is not about bossy broads; it's about vaudeville, and burlesque, and the heartache and triumph of reaching the top. It's also about stripping. We seem to have lost track of that given the long line of actresses who've tried in vain to overthrow Ethel Merman's memory: Roz Russell (too low-key and literary), Angela Lansbury (too British), Tyne Daly (too coarse), Bette Midler (too kitschy), Bernadette Peters...what's she doing there? Actually, she belongs there -- not as Mama Rose. Thirty-five years younger she could (and should) have played Gypsy. (John Simon, reviewing the misbegotten 2003 revival, noted a definite facial resemblance.) We forget too the stroke of genius that ends this show. Gypsy, having utterly wowed them at Minsky's, is "topped" by her own mother! So, this is a contest -- and a contest requires more than one person. What "Gypsy" deserves is two great actresses. Ethel Merman's hold on the memory of her part is safe. Now -- who here can tell me who played Gypsy? Natalie Wood, well, that's easy enough. But was she memorable? One thinks of how the real Gypsy denigrated Sandra Church. What this show needs is for people to stop approaching it as a strong-woman musical, and more as the story of a stripper's rise to stardom. Maybe the time has come to put the emphasis on Gypsy, and get comely actresses who know how to strip. Perhaps the writers of this unquestioned landmark chose the wrong work; they should have done William Wellman's "Lady of Burlesque" (based on Gypsy's ghosted mystery novel "The G-String Murders" -- there's a title!). That way it would have been all fun, and no overbearing significance, or stage mothers. Hmmm: Barbara Stanwyck as Gypsy? There's a thought.

But I've discussed the property when I should be discussing the cast album. There's little to say. People who call this the greatest show ever are being silly. Perhaps it is as an integrated whole. There are better scores. Indeed Jule Styne wrote better tunes; go back to his work with Sammy Cahn, and go back especially to that Harry James-Kitty Kallen immortality "It's Been a Long Long Time." Go back to Blue Eyes's renditions. No, I would not want to say this is better than "Show Boat." But it's still darned good. (Of the newly-renovated album it goes without saying.) The problem is, it could be better; and with Ethel Merman eternally ringing in our ears we know how difficult that will ever be. But we can always...have a dream.

Amazing to Discover.......2006-02-01

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.

Essential Ethel.......2005-08-14

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!

Gypsy: A Musical Fable (1959 Original Broadway Cast)

Average customer rating:

HAH! ['an then sum ...]
Brilliant!!!
Heaven

Gypsy: A Musical Fable (1959 Original Broadway Cast)
Jule Styne , and Stephen Sondheim
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002522
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Overture
Let Me Entertain You
Some People
Small World
Baby June And Her Newsboys
Mr. Goldstone, I love You
Little Lamb
You'll Never Get Away From Me
Dainty June And Her Farmboys
If Mamma Was Married
All I Need Is The Girl
Everthing's Coming Up Roses
Together Wherever We Go
You Gotta Have A Gimmick
Let Me Entertain You
Rose's Turn

Customer Reviews:

HAH! ['an then sum ...].......2005-02-16

WHERE is the comparison???

This is an amazing document of WHAT Broadway [and musicals] should be all about.

The rest?

Pale imitations - see track # 16!

Brilliant!!!.......1999-04-27

Totally agree with the other reviewer who wrote about the overture. There is an overture from one other musical that comes close - "Funny Girl" - another Jule Styne score :-) As for "Gypsy", there is no point listing highlights. The entire score is magnificent!!!

Heaven.......1998-12-19

In the beginning, God created the heavens, the earth, and the overture to "Gypsy." This is still one of the greatest cast recordings in the whole Broadway pantheon. Sheer bliss.

Music:

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