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"Gypsy" is the ultimate story of an aggressive stage mother, Madame Rose. Join Rose and her daughters June and Louise in their trip across the United States during the 1920s and 1930s, when vaudeville was dying and burlesque was born. The onset of the Depression and the rise of the talkies bring many irrevocable changes into their lives.
The award-winning score of Jule Styne's music and Stephen Sondheim's lyrics include "Let Me Entertain You," "Some People," "You'll Never Get Away From Me," "If Momma Was Married," "All I Need Is the Girl," "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "You Gotta Get A Gimmick" and "Together Wherever We Go."
"Gypsy" tells of how Louise Hovick became the world-famous stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, a transformation brought about under the watchful eye of her indomitable mother. Having failed to turn daughter June into a star, Rose turned her attentions to her less talented but more accommodating daughter Louise.
“I was fortunate to meet June Havoc (the real June) many times over her very long life,” said Lou Ursone, Curtain Call’s executive director and producer for "Gypsy." “To hear her speak of her sister, Gypsy Rose Lee, and her mother was a real treat."
In a 1998 New York Times interview, Havoc said, "Mother was very prim, and she was tiny and lovely with big blue eyes. … She was endearing and alluring beyond belief. If she had drive and ambition, what's wrong with that?"
Havoc was a longtime Stamford resident who lived the last several years of her life in the city.
Under the direction of Mamaroneck, N.Y., resident, Tom Coppola, (who also choreographed this production) a cast of 33 area performers will bring this Broadway classic to life.
Starring as the titular character is Stamford resident Rachel Schulte, a veteran of many Curtain Call productions. Playing her mother, Rose, is Woodbridge resident Marilyn Olsen, who was recently seen at Curtain Call as Madame Thernadier in "Les Miserables."
Joining Olsen and Schulte on stage are, from Stamford: Eli Brennan, Thomas A. Burke, Lily Fine, Jerry Kranz, Michael Kraus, Tessa Kurtz, and Ethan Riordan; from Norwalk: Claire Kenny and Caitlin Roberts; from Fairfield: Jim Hisey, Chloe Kronzer, Kalle Meehan and Natalie Steele; from Wilton: Allison Farago, Matthew Farago, Julia Foodman and Kevin Sell; from Westport: Alice Hickson, Julia Mandelbaum and Christian Melhuish; from Stratford: Sarah Giggar, Tom Torpey and Nora Watson; from Southport: Steve Benko; from Redding: Clara Blackwell; from Greenwich: Addison Albano and Katie Suss; from New Canaan: Tom Butterworth; from Bridgeport: Leslie Jones; from Pelham Maor, N.Y.: Susan Rauh; and from Port Chester, N.Y.: Heidi Giarlo.
The production team also includes music direction by Greg Chrzczon, costumes by Megan Latte Ormond and hair/wig designs by Cindy Schulte, all of Stamford; set design by Peter Barbieri Jr. of Fairfield; lighting design by Adam Lobelson of Ridgefield; and stage management by Jeffrey Bianco and Jordon Michael Hensley of Norwalk and Dan Travers of Stratford.
Tickets are available from the Box Office at 203-461-6358 or online at www.curtaincallinc.com. Adult tickets are $29, $22 for senior citizens: $22.Students and children are $14.50.
Curtain Call is the nonprofit theater company in residence at The Sterling Farms Theatre Complex, 1349 Newfield Ave.
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