Review of Gypsy at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called Gypsy. It was directed by Gary Griffin and the music was by Jule Styne and the lyrics were by Stephen Sondheim and the script was written by Arthur Laurents. It was about a woman named Rose (Louise Pitre) who wanted all of her children to be stars. She wanted fame and appreciation for herself and for her kids to be kids for their entire life. I think that all the acting was great and it was very funny. I thought the songs were really cool and some of them were funny. I think that the story tells that parents shouldn't want their kids to be kids for their entire lives because they have to grow up. It is kind of like a lesson for moms to tell them not to be like this.

At the beginning almost everybody was kids. There was Baby June (Emily Leahy) and Louise as a kid (Caroline Heffernan) and there were a bunch of newsboys (Killian Hughes, Nate Becker, Benedict Santos Schwegel). I think that all of the kids did a really good job. They were so much like when they became adults: Louise was shy and June was happy-happy-funtime. At the beginning it was June and her Newsboys and they went, "Extra! Extra!" at the beginning of each song. But then they did that exact same routine even when they were farmers, and then they switched it out with some girls (Landree Fleming, Betsy Farrar, Dana Parker, and Kelly Anne Krauter), who were being Spanish, and they still said "Extra! Extra!" even though they were ladies who were not newsboys. I thought that was kind of hilarious but also showed that Rose didn't like any changes.

There was a man named Mr. Goldstone (John Reeger) from the Orpheum Circuit who came to see Rose and June (Erin Burniston) and Louise (Jessica Rush) when they were teenagers. And then Rose sings this song about having an egg roll, Mr. Goldstone, and she gets very nervous. So then she just starts putting egg rolls and noodles and soy sauce in Mr. Goldstone's hat. I thought that that was hilarious. I loved how Mr. Goldstone was happy for some of it and after a little bit of time that he'd been talked to about "have an egg roll, Mr. Goldstone" he started getting into it, like "I will have an egg roll." And then Rose started talking about how she didn't like any other kind of stone but a goldstone. I was laughing for the entire time!

There was a song that Rose and Herbie (Keith Kupferer) and Louise sing and it was called "Together Wherever We Go." Louise and Rose and Herbie were all just talking and then they went into this dance number that was really cool. I think that the choreography (by Mitzi Hamilton) was really awesome overall. There was this part where they tried to throw plates and catch them across, but then they all just fell to the ground and just clattered. That was funny because they were all ready and they just threw them and they were singing and then suddenly the plates just clattered to the ground. And then they started doing a tap dance number with them instead. It is there to show that they still loved each other even if they weren't always like, "Oh! May I pass the tea for you, sir?" June had just run away with Tulsa (Rhett Guter) so that means that they don't have an act anymore. But this song shows that they won't give up.

I liked the song, "You Gotta Get a Gimmick." It was hilarious even though it was about stripping. It was really really funny when Mazeppa (Molly Callinan) was playing the trumpet while she was doing a bunch of hilarious sexy moves because usually you don't think of strippers playing a trumpet. I also really liked when Electra (Rengin Altay), the Eiffel Tower Girl, turned on all her lights and the stage lights went off and then you could see all her lights twirling everywhere. There was a girl named Tessie Tura (Barbara E. Robertson) who was on pointe shoes and then she would do a bunch of beautiful movements and then--boom! She would make a jerky movement with her behind. That was funny because you wouldn't expect a ballerina to go boom at any moment.

People who would like this show are people who like newsboys, sexy trumpet girls, and egg rolls. People should definitely go see this show. It is really funny and I love it.

Photos: Michael Brosilow