Amazingly, there was no London production of the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy until 1973. One reason might be that the show was a star vehicle for
Ethel Merman, who was not interested in appearing overseas. (She never even toured the U.S., in Gypsy or any of her other musicals.) In any case, when the show finally was done in the West End, it was done right. Angela Lansbury might be a native Briton, but she made her career in Hollywood and then on Broadway, originating roles in three musicals (and winning two Tony Awards for her trouble) before she made her stage debut in London in a straight play in 1972. Enough time has passed since
Merman's portrayal for Lansbury to make the starring role of Mama Rose her own, and she does. The part as written is essentially unsympathetic, which is why it requires a star to play it, and Lansbury is both a star and an actress who has some experience with unsympathetic characters. She sings the part beautifully on this cast album, making the performance another triumph to rank with her one in Mame. One fault common to British productions of American shows is faulty American accents, but this one largely sidesteps that problem. It probably helped that the director was Arthur Laurents, the American who also wrote the show's book, and that the leads were Lansbury, who's spent more time in the U.S. than her native country, and, as Louise/Gypsy Rose Lee, Zan Charisse, who is an American. But British actor Barrie Ingham, playing Herbie, not only boasts a good American accent, but also a far better singing voice than Jack Klugman, Broadway's Herbie. It is true that the young boys in "Let Me Entertain You [Montage]" sound British (even cockney) and that Andrew Norman, as Tulsa, singing "All I Need Is the Girl," occasionally betrays his U.K. origins. But these are minor complaints compared with most West End shows cast with British actors playing Americans. As a result, this
Gypsy is usually believable, and it is always well sung, making it an excellent new interpretation, even if it was so long in coming that it probably should be called a revival rather than an original production. ~ William Ruhlmann