PicksInSix Review: Gypsy: A Musical Fable - Marriott Theatre

“A PIONEER WOMAN WITHOUT A FRONTIER.”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Say what you will about the manipulative Rose Hovik—the complex character and commanding force at the center of “Gypsy: A Musical Fable,” the 1959 Arthur Laurents book with music by Jules Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim that has its origins in the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee—she proves that very little will stand in the way of her personal ambitions. Whether it’s stealing from her father for the next big break, relentlessly pushing her two daughters into the business that passed her by or leaning on everyone around her whenever necessary, Rose is the engine that’s barreling down the track. Never giving up, whatever the cost. It’s all the stuff of epic musical theatre, and the fruit of a historic collaboration, that opened Wednesday at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire in a bright, brassy and entertaining production, directed by Amanda Dehnert and choreographed by Stephanie Klemons.

The show features Broadway veterans and vocal powerhouses, Lucia Spina and Nathaniel Stampley as Rose Hovik and manager/companion Herbie, who ‘pool their resources by joining forces” to create a vaudeville show around Rose’s daughters Louise played by Lauren Maria Medina and June played by newcomer Tori Heinlein. Always the star in Rose’s dream of greatness, Heinlein’s June leads an endearing group of youngsters in the early years of the act, to the exclusion of the insecure and vulnerable Louise, who lacks the confidence of her sister and is earnestly along for the ride.

That is until the girls age out of the act and Rose’s attention, and livelihood, turns to making Louise star of the show. Medina’s transformation from little Dutch to the scintillating Gypsy in the show’s climax is as electrifying as Spina’s skillful and emotional “Rose’s Turn,” a transformation all her own from “a pioneer woman without a frontier” to the self-realization that there is more to life than unkept promises and broken dreams.

The ensemble is layered deep with exceptional talent. J’Kobe Wallace’s Tulsa offers up a smooth and savvy song and dance routine to “All I Need Is the Girl.”  Elin Joy Seiler (Baby June) and Milla Liss (Young Louise) are picture perfect in the opening of “Let Me Entertain You” as are all the youthful performers. Cedric Young, Joseph Primes and Steve O’Connell are among many in the ensemble who stand out in supporting roles.

But things come to an uproarious full stop in the free-wheeling performances of Emily Rohm (Tessie Tura), Leeanna Rubin (Electra) and Sawyer Smith (Mazeppa) who guide the wholesome Louise in the hilarious, tear-inducing dressing room number “You Gotta Have A Gimmick.” Between Rohm’s blooming butterfly in flight replete with spinning tassels, Rubin’s incandescent aura and the sheer magnificence of Smith’s statuesque presence in one of Theresa Ham’s inspired costume designs, it’s sheer bliss!

Collette Pollard’s scenic design is decked out from top to bottom in vaudeville flair that frames the action—and defines the journey incorporating Anthony Churchill’s unique media design—punctuated by Jesse Klug’s stellar lighting design, particularly during Gypsy’s coming of age. Music director Ryan T. Nelson and Marriott’s superb orchestra, conducted by Brad Haak, deliver every note from the fast-paced company numbers to Spina’s dynamic performance of the show’s iconic Act I closer “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” to make “Gypsy” a musical night to remember.      

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

MARRIOTT THEATRE LINCOLNSHIRE
presents
GYPSY: A Musical Fable
through October 15, 2023

WEBSITE

TICKETS

(847) 634-0200

HEALTH PROTOCALS

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

ARCHIVE

PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC

PicksInSix Review: PARADISE SQUARE

View fullsize

JOAQUINA KALUKANGO—A NIGHT TO REMEMBER!

The fiercely defiant performance of Joaquina Kalukango in the role of Nelly O’Brien electrifies the ambitious new Garth H. Drabinsky produced musical “Paradise Square” directed by Moisés Kaufman that opened its pre-Broadway run on Wednesday at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre. Throttling up in the face of adversity through the clash of cultures story during the Civil War, Kalukango stunned the opening night audience with the epic and emotional Act II anthem “Let It Burn” that resonates with such strength as to cross generational lines and echo the issues of our time. It is a powerful coda to a complex musical about social inequality and unrest whose score splendidly weaves together 19th century Irish immigrant and African American dance styles.  

Up front, it is important to note that after nearly three years of civil war, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, however, the Proclamation only applied to specified rebellious states and regions. When it was enacted on January 1, 1863, the Proclamation had already served as much to define the war as a fight for freedom from slavery as it did to further polarize the unsettling and growing hostility between the surging immigrant communities in the North and those freeborn Black Americans and escaped slaves seeking a safe haven.

The Five Points district in New York City was a melting pot for freeborn Black Americans and Irish immigrant populations whose work and intermixed family lives found common ground in the shared desperation of poverty. Fueled by white upper class discrimination that perpetuated their containment to the area, the cultures were actually allowed to coexist and, in many cases, prosper in the midst of the deplorable conditions. However, what could be a new order was not. As casualties from the long and brutal war continued to mount, attitudes sharply eroded. In April 1863, when Congress enacted a draft that exempted those who could pay their way out of service or enlist a substitute in their place, the inequities were laid bare. The draft order also unjustly disqualified the Black population in New York from serving, despite many other regiments already in place, leading to descension, mistrust, and, ultimately, violence in the form of the death and destruction during the July 1863 New York Draft Riots.

It is at this historical tipping point that the show begins with a flashback to Five Points in late 1862, with the escalating war as a dramatic background. Nelly (Kalukango) is the Black owner of Paradise Square, a brothel that welcomes everyone to mix and celebrate. With her white husband, Will O’Brien (Matt Bogart), her brother Reverend Samuel Jacob Lewis (Nathaniel Stampley) and his wife Annie Lewis (Chilina Kennedy), the titular opening number exudes the ethnic stamp of the neighborhood as a welcoming, inclusive and safe place.  We quickly meet Annie’s nephew, Owen Duignan (A.J.Shivley), an Irish immigrant and Washington Henry (Sidney DuPont), an escaped slave who are given shelter by Nelly and her husband while Milton Moore a/k/a Stephen Foster (Jacob Fishel) is offered a job as a piano player.

There are several storylines to unpack along the way within the book written by Christina Anderson, Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas and Larry Kirwan, who is also credited with conceiving the work. Nelly and Annie are under scrutiny by the uptown boss Frederic Tiggins (John Dossett) that results in fines and threats of closure. When “Lucky” Mike Quinlan (Kevon Dennis) returns from the war disabled and bitter about his personal situation and the loss of jobs available for Irish dockworkers, he leads a public protest against the draft decree that will further diminish the rights of Irish immigrants who are at the top of the draft list. Fearing that he will be drafted to fight for a cause he does not believe in, Owen competes for a $300 prize—a years pay at the time—that will buy his exemption from service, while Washington, desperate to be reunited with his wife Angelina Baker (Gabrielle McClinton), walks a tight rope between the flight to freedom and prosecution for past actions.

The company of over fifty actors and musicians perform twenty musical numbers—music by Jason Howland with lyrics by Nathan Tysen and Masi Asare—on a massive, multi-level Allen Moyer designed urban set that evokes a gritty, mid-19th century landscape and incorporates gorgeous Toni-Leslie James costumes. The orchestral arrangements would benefit greatly with the addition of a box accordion for a larger and more varied interpretation in the Irish step-dancing numbers enhancing the strong fusion of all of the dance numbers. Bill T. Jones choreography is exhilarating. The music of Stephen Foster is uniquely interpreted by Kirwan including “Oh Susanna” all superbly performed by the ensemble. Notable highlights include Stampley and DuPont’s “I’d Be A Soldier”, Kalukango and Kennedy’s touching ballad “Someone to Love” and “Ring, Ring the Banjo”—a perfect spot for a banjo solo. The wide-ranging elements of the book tend to minimize Nelly’s compelling story. In the shadow of a devastating war, there is more than enough material to increase the dramatic tension, but that hardly matters to the overall enjoyment of the searing final moments of Kalukango’s exhilarating performance that will make anyone’s visit to “Paradise Square” a night to remember.  

PHOTO|Kevin Berne

BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
presents
PARADISE SQUARE
James M. Nederlander Theatre
24 West Randolph
through December 5, 2021

TICKETS

SHOW WEBSITE

PARADISE SQUARE begins previews February 22, 2022 at Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre, 243 West 47th Street, where it opens March 20, 2022. TICKETS

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

ARCHIVE

PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC