“Gypsy”

[rating=5]If you were down near Division and Dearborn last night , and felt the earth moving, it was not an earthquake. It was the Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of “Gypsy” and the unbelievable E. Faye Butler bringing Mama Rose to life! This is “classic Musical Theater” at its best! Under the spirited direction of Michael Weber, who adds a lot of creativity to this timeless classic, this is a version that will make you forget all others you have witnessed before. “Gypsy” is of course the biography of Gypsy Rose Lee and her sister June Havoc along with probably the greatest stage mother, Rose. Ms Butler is wonderful, belting out number after number and leading her daughters to the world that passed her by. The book  (Arthur Laurents), music ( Jule Styne) and lyrics  (Stephen Sondheim) compose what many call “the greatest American musical”.

Songs such as “Let Me Entertain You”, “Small World”, “You’ll Never Get Away From Me”, “Together, Wherever We Go”, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” and many others are surely classics and this energetic cast does every number to perfection. The big song in this show has always been the final one, “Rose’s Turn” a number that will shake your world, and while I have seen others do this song with heart, Ms Butler adds a lot more soul to her rendition of this gut-wrenching number showing the mother’s frustration with what she did and her rewards for doing it. Just this number is worth the price of a ticket!

As I said, this is a solid cast, with high energy and Weber’s slick interpretation allows quick movement from scene to scene.  The cast members also are crew members, as they are on the sides of the stage and when a scene ends, they place or take off the set pieces and replace them for the next. One might say the scene changes are choreographed, rather than directed, adding even more to this marvelous production. The choreography for the show is done by Chris Carter and the musical direction by David Fiorello.

Weber starts the show with the orchestra on the stage doing the overture and Jillian-Giselle (young Louise) walking from musician to musician. She is adorable and her smile will bring one to your face. This leads to the opening scene with Mama Rose getting her kids into a kids show (Larry Baldacci plays Uncle Jocko along with a myriad of other characters along the road to the final theater). We meet Baby June ( the adorable Izzie Rose) who somersaults into our lives along with her “Newsboys” and we begin our road to the story of one of the most famous strippers of our time.

Along the way, the girls grow up, and June is handled by AAlon Smith, and Louise by Daryn Whitney Harrell. remember these names, as I am sure you will be seeing them on stages all over Chicago in the years to come. Rose meets Herbie along the way, a has been agent who gave it all up, but is attracted to Rose and changes their lives. Jose Antonio Garcia is perfect in handling this role. Other noteable performances are Marco Tzunux as Tulsa, one of the dancers in Mama Rose’s ensemble ( His “All I Need Is The Girl” is a great dance number) who runs off with June and J. Michael Jones as Rose’s father.

The “You Gotta Get A Gimmick” number in the second act, a prelude to Louise becoming “Gypsy Rose Lee” is handled to perfection by a trio of strippers with their own little gimmicks:  Tessie  the light on her feet Melissa Young), the electrifying Electra ( Honey West is well -lit) and Mazeppa (Dawn Bless will blow you away) will have you laughing your a– off. This number has always been a stitch, but these three bring something special to this number.

The ensemble makes a production like this work. Hats off to Saniyah As-Salaam, Joshua Bishop, Elya Faye Bottiger, Tatina Bustamante, William “Pierce” Cleaveland, Jared David Michael Grant, Michelle Huey, Marvin J. Malone II, Desmond Murphy, Hasnnah Love Jones, Renelle Nicole, Jeff Pierpont and Arial Triunfo. As mentioned before, Chicago favorite Larry Baldacci plays a number of roles including the famous Mr. Golstone. Great work by a solid ensemble of players.

The set (Jeffrey D. Kmiec) is simply a rotating proscenium arch that converts easily with set pieces being added and subtracted and giving us the feeling of doing the circuit in vaudeville. Bill Morey’s costumes are terrific and the lighting ( Denise Karczewski) and sound (Robert Hornbostel) perfect. The props were assembled by Andrew Ashley Hatcher and Jennifer Wenau, who made sure they were all in the right place at the right time and in many cases are never applauded for this job. I applaud you!

The orchestra, starting on the stage and moving behind the scene is fantastic. They are: Jackson Kidder (bass), Christian Moreno (drums), Matt Kowalski (trombone), Lara Regan ( reed 2), Anthony Rodriguez( reed 1) and Greg Strauss (trumpet), Conductd by David Fiorello (piano). Great work handling this wonderful score!

“Gypsy” will continue at The Ruth Page Fine Arts Center located at 1016 N. Dearborn Street thru December 29th with performances as follows:

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.  except 10/18 or 11/22)

Fridays  8 p.m.

Saturdays  4 and 8 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m. November 18th and 25th         (10/21,  and 10/28, 11/4, 11/11 and 11/18 at 6 p.m.)

Friday, November 23rd at 4 p.m. ADDED

Wednesday, December 26th  7:30 p.m.

Running time 2 1/2 hours included 15 minute intermission

Tickets range from $34-$61 and can be purchased by calling 773-777-9884 or visiting http://www.PorchlightMusicTheatre.org

Parking is metered and often hard to find, but Valet parking is available ($15) and public transportation is easy .

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Gypsy”