The Shaw Festival Theatre Review: Gypsy: A Musical Fable

By Ross

A ghost light is rolled out to scare away the theatrical ghosts that sometimes could, or possibly would, haunt the stage, both personally, professionally, or historically. It’s a very telling and apropos alignment, as Gypsy: A Musical Fable burns bright from within, spotlighting a mother’s regret, and a woman’s own place in her history. It sings out loud, knocking away those ghostly demons that float about asking questions about our past, and wondering why we didn’t decide to attack those moments we had when they came. It’s a haunting of our past decisions, and choices made, and hangs heavy overhead as this epic musical, based loosely on the captivating memoir of the famous burlesque performer, Gypsy Rose Lee is reframed and refocused to spotlight the mother of all stage mothers. Its eyes are on that primal maternal force that pushed personal dreams on daughters hard, forcing them onto the stage and into the spotlight; projecting personal unfulfilled dreams onto her children, strictly because no one ever cared enough to do the same for her.

Literally framed by a magnificent glittery gold proscenium that shines, with placards leading us through location after location on each side, this old-school golden-age Broadway musical rises up and roars in from behind our focused heads. “Sing out Louise!” she yells from the back fo the theatre, just like we expected and hoped would happen. And with that greeting, we are inside the incomparable Gypsy, with strong music by Jule Styne, delicious lyrics by the one and only Stephen Sondheim, and a powerful book by Arthur Laurents, marveling at the solid piece of musical theatre that radiates traditional big musical moments in a structure that almost resembles a play more than a show. It’s an old-fashioned slice of American entertainment written to perfection, and gifting us all with some of the best numbers to be had. And, no surprise here, this Shaw Festival production most wonderfully doesn’t let us down in the slightest. It strides forward as confidently and as magnificently as its main character, Rose, played boldly and clearly by the engaging Kate Hennig (Royal MTC/Mirvish’s A Doll’s House, Part 2), who radiates from within that iconic “pioneer woman without a frontier” persona as solidly as one could ever hope for.

Directed with a clear understanding and vision by Jay Turvey (Shaw’s The Light in the Piazza), the show finds its center in a threesome-made-four, with the ultimate stage mother, Rose, pushing back hard against the likes of the fantastic (and slightly corrupt) Judge Jocko (Allan Louis: Crow’s Red Velvet), the somewhat stiff and unforgiving Pop (Mike Nadajewski: Shaw’s On the Razzle), and anyone else that tries to get in the way of her two daughters, well, mainly, the first, her one prized blonde-curled daughter, the precocious June, wonderfully portrayed by Madelyn Kriese (Gateway’s Fiddler on the Roof). She’ll pop anyone’s balloons (Andi Biancaniello) to get what she thinks June needs, while her other child, Louise (Julie Lumsden), only gets the background light of the ensemble.

The fourth spot, and maybe the true empathetic heart of the show, is where you find steadfast Herbie, played emotionally true by Jason Cadieux (Shaw’s On the Razzle), standing in the wings, hoping and wishing for something we all know will never come. And I’ll just add, it’s Cadieux’s Herbie, that surprisingly – maybe for the first time ever watching this show (and I’ve seen a number of them: Rosalind, Patti, Bernadette, Bette, Imelda – brought tears to my eyes when his dreams come crashing down around him quietly backstage. He managed this twice, and I was as shocked as my companion, as she had the same tearful reaction.

The show rotates and radiates charm and determination, courtesy of the vital work by set and costume designer Cory Sincennes (Citadel’s Shakespeare in Love), giving Hennig plenty of space and spotlight to command the attention her character only dreams of receiving. Hennig digs into the part with gusto, ferociously entrenching herself in the projected dreams of stardom. She does this all while ignoring the real kids that stand before her, believing with all her might that she is doing right by them. But it’s crystal clear that she’s hard-set oblivious to the reality of those before her. This stance is especially apparent during the fantastically well-delivered rendition of “If Momma Was Married” which has, at its core, a desperate plea and need to give her away, that was finally, most wonderfully (thanks to Kriese and Lumsden) getting its moment to be said and sung.

Regrettably, Rose seemingly can’t help herself, telling herself it is all for them, when we know in our hearts that it is really all about her. Even as she majestically sings her Act One showstopper, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” for me (and for you). Her twinkle toes oldest has flown the coop with one of the dancing town-named boys, Tulsa (Drew Plummer), to become a real actress, leaving behind the shyer daughter, Louise, who can’t quite sing out like June. But Louise has something else hiding away deep inside just waiting to come out. Even if she doesn’t know it until it is thrust upon her. Tulsa’s “All I Need is the Girl” is another strongly formulated highlight, utilizing the rotating stage, the strong lighting by Kevin Fraser (Shaw’s Grand Hotel), the determined and dynamic choreography by Genny Sermonia (Grand’s Grand Ghosts), and the gently yearning (and brilliant footwork) of Lumsden’ Louise, joining in for a fantastical moment of heavenly engagement.

“Finished? We’re just beginning,” Rose exclaims with all her unspoken fear and sadness suppressed and pushed deep down inside, and we can’t help but wholeheartedly believe in her unmatched, and maybe unwanted, fierce drive for success. This is one Rose that will never give up until it is “Rose’s Turn“. And the cast, as a whole, rises up to meet the challenge given by Hennig. They are all electric, with Lumsden (Shaw’s On the Razzle) really finding the desperate need to be seen by her mother as something special and as someone worthy of love in her every moment on stage, with or without her “Little Lamb“. Following some spectacularly delivered advice from three tantalizing strippers with heart; Mazeppa, Electra, and Tessie Tura, played deliciously by Jennie Burke (Canadian Stage’s Little Shop of Horrors), Krystle Chance (Grand’s Controlled Damage), and Élodie Gillett (Tarragon’s Marry Me a Little) respectfully, her premiere upward thrust into vaudevillian fame is one of the more awkward links in this otherwise spectacular show, as her nervousness somehow skips a few beats on the road to confidence between town shows. The undressing never really gives us a chance to see the discovery of self on stage as she nervously pulls off her gloves to applause. It’s a leap of faith we must all take, believing that she is as actively embraced as we know she must be. It feels forced and isn’t exactly apparent why, within that first slow tease, she becomes the entertainment headliner that she does pretty quickly become.

The towering arch that rotates the moments from backstage to front does ultimately find glory in its flexible constructs and orchestrations, backed by the strong music direction of Paul Sportelli (Shaw’s Sweeney Todd). This Gyspy, delivered strong and true by the amazingly talented cast and creative team at the Shaw Festival, finds all the punch and the power needed to fill the Festival’s Main Stage in the pretty town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. It is everything one could hope for from, what many critics and writers consider, the greatest, and most well-written American musical of all time. The show, and this production, triumphantly follow the sidelined dreams and efforts of this spectacularly delivered powerhouse Rose, even if it’s not for her, but for her daughters. It casts an empathetic yet clear-eyed vision of what is lost and won inside the kind of world that sings, “Let Me Entertain You” with such desperate mother-pleasing need. Everything does come up roses for us all in the audience though, as we are gifted with a Gypsy that delivers everything we could have hoped for from a musical with such a strong pedigree.

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Gypsy plays at the Shaw Festival Theatre through October 7. For more information and tickets, click here.