Momma's talkin' loud, Momma's got the stuff, Momma ... Momma ... Momma's gettin' ... old.
Over the past 50 years, there have been only a handful of productions of "Gypsy" and, by extension, a handful of actresses playing the lead character - the crown jewel of musical comedy - Rose Hovick. Rose. Madam Rose, not Mama Rose, as critics and entertainment writers have referred to her over the past five decades. The character is never - never - called Mama Rose in the play or film. Check it out.
We've had Roses who have been great (Rosalind Russell), mediocre (Bette Midler) and awful (Bernadette Peters) - but all of them have been examples of ageist casting (yes, ageist, but not in the direction you think).
To put it bluntly, why has the character of Rose traditionally been cast with an actress well into her 50s? I mean, the show spans only about 10 years or so, starting when Rose's two young daughters are 7 and 9 at best. Shouldn't the character be 30ish or maybe a little younger? Imagine how revelatory - and different - it would be with a younger, youthful, vibrant performer in the role.
But this has never happened.
Wait. It happened once. In 2004, Andrea McArdle, then 40, played Rose in The Bay Area Houston Ballet and Theatre production of "Gypsy." At 40, McArdle (who has the perfect voice for the role) was the youngest Rose to date. It probably also helped that McArdle invariably identified with the material, having started out as a child actress.
The oldest Rose? That would be Patti Lupone who was 60 when she undertook the part in the most recent - 2008 - revival of the show. The talented Lupone was 58 when she also played the role in the 2007 Encores! production and 57 when she tackled it for the first time for the 2006 Ravinia Festival production. Following Lupone, age-wise, are these estimable actresses, some miscast, some well cast but all a tad too old for the role, a trend that I covered in an earlier post:
Ethel Merman, age 57 (original 1959 Broadway production)
Bernadette Peters, age 55 (2003 Sam Mendes revival)
Rosalind Russell, age 55 (original 1962 film version)
Linda Lavin, age 52 (succeeded Tyne Daly, below, in the 1989 revival)
Betty Buckley, age 51 (1998 Papermill Playhouse production)
Angela Lansbury, age 49 (1973 London production, followed immediately by the first Broadway revival in '74)
Bette Midler, age 48 (1993 TV-movie remake)
Betty Buckley, age 45 (1992 Southern Arizona Light Opera Company production)
Tyne Daly, age 43 (1989 Broadway revival)
Betty Hutton, age 41 (1961 National Tour)
Joanne Worley, Mary McCarty and Gisele MacKenzie have also played in productions of the show, Worley opposite Aundrey Landers as Louise/Gypsy. Somehow the role has evaded such powerhouses as Barbra Streisand, Carol Burnett and Liza Minnelli - and Stockard Channing, someone who I've always thought would be absolutely terrific in the part.
Hmmm. A younger, youthful, vibrant performer in the role?
Well, I have the perfect choice. Several months ago, I came up with a Rose who is the right age (38) and, more importantly, who has the right bearing, attitude and stature for the role. She's tall and imperious. She's been a force both on-screen and off, intimidating and often in overdrive. Plus, she has the kind of husky, powerful voice made for the Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim songs. With that said, my pick (drum roll, please) is ...Catherine Zeta-Jones.
It could work. A real movie star in the role. It would be worth the price of admission just to watch Zeta-Jones belt her way through "Rose's Turn."
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