"The Best Damn Musical!"/The First Fifty Years of the Fabulous "Gypsy." In Seven Parts. Part 6.

Ray Sharkey gamely took on the role of Madam Rose in Taylor Hackford's lively "The Idolmaker" (1980)

THE MALE "GYPSY"

One of the least-known bits of trivia is that an unofficial male version of "Gypsy" was made in 1980 - by Taylor Hackford. Let me explain.

Robert P. Marcucci, who was a top handler of talent in the 1950s and '60s, escorted his latest discovery, Matt Dillon, to Philadelphia early in 1980 to promote one of Dillon's first films, Robert Maxwell's daring coming-of-age fable, "Little Darlings."

Among the information Marcucci shared with me during the interview was that a film about his career was going to be released later that year.

"It's like a male 'Gypsy,'" he said matter-of-factly.

I should add here that Marcucci's nickname in the biz was The Idolmaker. And that, of course, was the title of the Hackford film that would be released in November of that year, with Ray Sharkey in the Marcucci role - named Vincent 'Vinnie' Vacarri on screen - as an agent who discovered and groomed young talent, in this case rock n' roll singers.

While "The Idolmaker" is loosely based on Marcucci's experiences with Frankie Avalon and Fabian - with Paul Land and Peter Gallagher in those roles - its narrative has the contours of "Gypsy." Land is clearly the June character, an ingrate who abandons his mentor, while Gallagher has the Louise/Gypsy role. Tovah Feldshuh is essentially playing Herbie.

Sharkey with Feldshuh: Could they be singing "You'll Never Get Away from Me"?

If there's any doubt about the influence of "Gypsy" on "The Idolmaker," there are two musical numbers that seal it. In the showstopping "Here Is My Love," Land performs the number on stage, while Sharkey apes his moves in the wings - just like Rose during the "Dainty June and Her Farmboys" number in the Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim musical.

Even more of a direct steal is “I Believe It Can Be Done”, Sharkey's "Rose's Turn," performed as the last scene in the film after Vinnie's second protégé has left him. "The Idolmaker," a seriously neglected film, would make a wonderful double-bill with "Gypsy."

RUSSELL/LANSBURY

The 1959 Oscarcast, which celebrated the film year 1958, included a song titled "It's Bully Not to be Nominated," sung by Joan Collins, Dana Wynter and Angela Lansbury. The song, an original and very odd, basically ridiculed that year's best actress nominees, including Rosaling Russell, nominated for Warner's "Auntie Mame."
Of Russell, they sang, "Roz Russell, what a marvelous dame / your mother could have scored as Auntie Mame." Ouch.

It seemed harsh and yet, oddly, Lansbury would play that very role on stage in the musical "Mame." Mame Dennis would be Lansbury's greatest stage accomplishment. Makes one wonder if her mother could have "scored" in the role. I can only assume that Lansbury admired Russell, despite that song lyric, because she would inherit two more Russell roles - Rose in the 1974 London and Broadway revivals of "Gypsy" and the title role in the 1999 telefilm, "The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax." Russell starred as Emily Pollifax in the 1971 theatrical film of the popular Dorothy Gilman novel, retitled "Mrs. Pollifax - Spy."

It was Russell's last big-screen movie.

To the best of my knowledge, Lansbury has never discussed her relationship with Russell - or the three roles that they would share.

LAURENTS & SPIGELGASS & SONDHEIM

If I had to pick one element of "Gypsy" that I find transporting, it would be its language - the wordplay devised for both stage and screen.

Arthur Laurents wrote a master script for the play, abetted by the witty, incisive lyrics that Stephen Sondheim penned for Jule Styne's melodies, while playwright Leonard Spigelgass made the smart move of retaining nearly all of Laurents' dialogue for the film version, adding some all-important narration and a few lines of his own here and there.

My favorites:

Rose, learning her chorus boys are bailing: "Ingrates! You'd take the bread out of that man's mouth (pointing to Herbie) and spit it in his face! Well, as the good Lord says, 'Good riddance to bad rubbish.'" (Laurents)

Rose, testifying to a theatre manager that he children like the candy that Herbie's trying to sell: "Butterfingers and Baby Ruth. So help me. I speak as a mother - and who could argue with a mother?" (Spigelgass)

Miss Mazeppa, trying to impress the young Gypsy: "Once I was a schlepper / Now I'm Miss Mazeppa." (Sondheim)

RECORDING THE SONGS FOR THE FILM - STILL STATE OF THE ART

Warners was nothing less than fastidious when it came to putting the marvelous Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim score on screen.

Originally, all three of the film's stars - Russell, Wood and Karl Malden - were committed to do their own singing. Russell had the toughest assignment - singing songs that were actually written for Ethel Merman's voice and range. While Russell sang on stage in "Wonderful Town" and on film in "The Girl Chase," the "Gypsy" score is decidedly more demanding.

I've heard two sets of her test recordings. The first, set to the original Broadway orchestrations, was recorded prior to filming and one can hear Russell struggling. These tracks are included on the recent Rhino reissue CD of the film's soundtrack. The second set, made during filming while Russell was working with vocal coach Harper MacKay, is a distinct improvement. Still, Russell wanted to sing. Jack Warner was uncertain.

A compromise was made: Russell would do as much singing as she could handle. Broadway's Lisa Kirk, a terrific match-up, was brought in to do voiceover loops for the more demanding songs. For the release version, Russell sang live versions of both "Mr. Goldstone, I Love You" and a reprise of "Small World," near the end of the film, as well "Together, Wherever We Go," pre-recored but ultimately cut from the film.

Most of the songs are a brilliant interpolation of both Russell's and Kirk's voices. On screen, for example, Rose's big finale number, "Rose's Turn," starts with Russell singing - again live - and then segues into Kirk for the big finish. Oddly enough, the version on the soundtrack album is all Kirk.

Natalie Wood and Karl Malden did all their own singing.
Wood also experimented. She sang "Little Lamb" live on the set, without music accompaniment, but recorded a seperate version for the album.

Rarely has a studio gone out of its way to get something right.

Note in Passing: Speaking of the back-to back "Goldstone"/"Little Lamb" numbers, a Harbinger CD of Ethel Merman's private recording of the Styne/Sondheim score prior to the show's mounting indicates that "Mr. Goldstone, I Love You" originally wrapped around "Little Lamb," a quiet moment apparently nestled within the marching chaos of "Goldstone."

A nice touch. I would have loved to have seen it staged that way...