Review: GYPSY, Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Photo Credit: Fraser Band

Gypsy: A Musical Fable is a classic musical full of showstopping numbers and complicated, imperfect familial relationships. This new production at Pitlochry Festival Theatre captures the magic of those iconic musical numbers and the complexity and emotion of the relationships in an intimate, effortless way.

Gypsy is based on the memoirs of burlesque entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee, and tells her story from childhood, when she was still just Louise, part of a vaudeville act with her sister Baby June, through to the beginnings of her burlesque success. Despite it being Louise’s story, the show hinges on the girls’ overpowering, overbearing mother, Mama Rose. She’s the ultimate stage mother, a momager long before Kris Jenner coined the term, and frankly, the musical will fall apart without a stellar Mama Rose.

Thankfully, in this production, we have the phenomenal Shona White taking on the role that Ethel Merman created in 1959. White absolutely makes it her own, imbuing Mama Rose with a surprising softness which helps to stop the character from becoming unpleasant and unlikeable. We really feel like Rose is doing everything she does, however misguided, for her babies – she wants them to become stars and have the life she dreamed of, and she’ll do whatever it takes to get them there, whether they’re happy or not. White’s voice is glorious – she handles each of Jule Styne’s numbers (with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) with ease and poise and she wonderfully contrasts a lighter, legit sound with a powerful belt, giving wonderful light and shade to songs that could easily become one-note.

The rest of the company is equally talented – many of them double as the band, with ‘You Gotta Get a Gimmick’ a particular highlight as Kristin Weichen Wong, Rachael McAllister and Trudy Ward not only singing, dancing and acting in this number, but also playing piano, trombone and double bass. It’s an impressive feat, and the talent of the actor-musicians in the company elevates this production to something very unique and special, in no small part thanks to Rob Hiley’s musical direction.

Blythe Jandoo as Louise is a delight – her crystal clear vocals are effortless and beautiful and we really see growth in her character throughout the piece, moving from shy and awkward to blossoming in confidence as she becomes Gypsy Rose Lee. Her dance duet with Tulsa (Robbie Scott) is charming, choreographed beautifully by Maggie Rawlinson. Patricia Panther is a vibrant June – it’s a shame she doesn’t appear in Act 2 and that we mostly see June’s onstage persona rather than the real girl, although the glimpses we get are sweet and balance well with Jandoo’s Louise. The final member of Rose’s family is Ben Stock’s long-suffering love interest, Herbie. He’s really quite a tragic character by the end, and Stock captures this, as well as his earlier fun, bubbly side, very effectively.

Liz Cooke’s designs are clever – the use of a stage-on-the-stage which constantly revolves between the audience view and backstage is very effective in showing the passage of time, particularly in the ‘Let Me Entertain You’ sequence where June, Louise and the Newsboys are performing their routine in various cities across the US over a very prolonged period of time.

This is a very clever production reimagining a classic show, and Ben Occhipinti’s direction brings a freshness and warmth to it. At the heart of the story, despite many foibles and bad decisions, is a mother and the love she feels for her daughters, and this production captures that beautifully.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Lorna Murray

Gypsy plays at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 30 September, with further information here.