"The Best Damn Musical!"/The First Fifty Years of the Fabulous "Gypsy." In Seven Parts. Part 1.

Sandra Church, The Merm and Jack Klugman in the original production of Styne-Sondheim's "Gypsy"

"Gypsy," a musical fable, opened at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway 50 years ago today. And although critic Walter Kerr of The New York Times wrote the most famous quote for the show - "The Best Damn Musical I've Seen in Years!" - he didn't formally review the show for the paper.

No, the review - published May 22, 1959 in the Times - was actually penned by first-string Times theatre critic Brooks Atkinson, who was a tad more restrained, calling it "the most satisfying musical of the season," adding that "Miss Merman, her pipes resonant and her spirit syncopated, struts and bawls her way through it triumphantly."

Miss Merman, of course, is the legendary Ethel.

Kerr would rave about it in a subsequent Sunday piece.

"Gypsy" was my first Broadway show. I saw it in April of '59, during its five-week tryout at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia and my only reason for attending was because my friend, Stevie Cuprese, was in the cast as one of Baby June's newsboys. His stage name was Steve Curry and he would go on to appear as Baby John in the 1964 Center City revival of "West Side Story" and as Berger in the original Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of "Hair," where he would meet and marry Shelley Plympton. (Well, at least, I think they were married.) Together, they played the title roles in Jim McBride's 1971 counterculture cult film, "Glen and Randa."

Stevie was boffo. I loved the show - it was the first cast album I ever bought - and I developed a serious crush on Jacqueline Mayro who played Baby June. Sandra Church, who played Louise/Gypsy, wasn't bad either. I dated a girl in high school largely because she resembled Church.

Merman? She was overwhelming. A real presence on stage. And loud. But even as a kid, I was discerning and observant, and my most vivid memory of Merman as Madam Rose is that she tended to step out of the role for the songs and sing directly to the audience. Arthur Laurents reportedly has called her a bad actress. He's right. If that's what he said.

"Gypsy" would play on Broadway for 702 performances. Not a long run. Oddly, it has never enjoyed a long run in any of its incarnations. Never. The general public seems to like the show but not wildly so. It is strictly the obsession of Broadway types - critics and gay men in particular.

Note in Passing: Given that 2009 is a landmark year in the history of "Gypsy," one has to wonder why the producers of the most recent production hastily staged their revival in 2008. Why not wait a year? Reviving "Gypsy" for its 50th anniversary would have been something festive. Perhaps it might even have had its first long run. Perhaps.