‘Gypsy’ Entertains While Evoking Empathy

“May we entertain you?” the stardom-bound Baby June sings innocently at the beginning of Arthur Laurents’ 1959 Broadway hit “Gypsy.” At first, the musical seems just as innocent, promising a heartwarming rags-to-riches story centering on June’s vaudeville act. But as her family descends into the seedy world of burlesque and her overly supportive mother Rose’s psyche begins to deteriorate, the musical reveals itself to be much darker than it first appears. With its examination of Rose’s destructive ambition and complex character, the show has been hailed as one of the greatest musicals of all time, leaving Harvard College Musical Theater with large shoes to fill. Yet the production on the Loeb Mainstage successfully captured Laurents’ vision, illustrating the grand scope of vaudeville’s decline while never losing sight of the musical’s emotional core.

“Gypsy” focuses on the unyielding ambition of Rose (Sumner N. Perera ’19), who tries to mold her daughter June (Brooke E. Sweeney ’17) into a vaudeville star. In the process, she relegates June’s meek sister Louise (Sarah B. Rossman ’19) to the role of a backup singer and secures a talent agent, Herbie (Jacob C. Scherba ’18), by promising to marry him. When June escapes her mother’s tyranny and elopes with Tulsa (Ben D. Grimm ’18), a backup dancer, Rose decides to turn Louise into the star of her next act. Yet Louise’s self-admitted lack of talent and the public’s waning interest in vaudeville acts force Louise and Rose into the world of striptease. Louise, under the name Gypsy Rose Lee, becomes a star of sorts, just not the vaudeville entertainer that Rose had envisioned.

Based on the memoirs of real-life burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, “Gypsy” charts the course of Louise’s life, from childhood to adulthood. Despite the confusion of the musical’s constantly changing settings, necessary to cover this long timeframe, the inspired direction of Caro P. Ribeiro ’18 kept the production engaging. Her staging of transitions between large gaps in time was inventive: In “Baby June and Her Newsboys” and “Let Me Entertain You,” major flash forwards were integrated into the choreography and the musical structure of each song. In particular, “Let Me Entertain You” perfectly illustrated Louise’s transformation from an innocent, shy performer to a confident striptease artist. The conductor of the pit orchestra and music director of the show, Christopher S. Lee ’18, played the role of announcer for Louise’s increasingly lewd performances as she grew into the persona of Gypsy Rose Lee, performing her act for the audience with increasing confidence in each verse. This gradual transformation was especially effective in depicting Louise’s developing freedom and self-confidence.

Other aspects of the production were similarly effective. The costume design, by Anisa O. Ahmed ’20 and Camille N’diaye-Muller ’18, emphasized the comedy of June’s show, with Baby June becoming a young adult while maintaining the same childish costume. At the same time, it provided dramatic contrast between the innocent vaudeville scenes and the racier, disempowering world of burlesque. The set design (Kat T. Nakaji) was similarly effective, with a stage within the stage, at first used when June or Louise performed directly for the audience, then used as a potent visualization of Rose’s desire for fame in the showstopper finale, “Rose’s Turn.” There was even an ingenious rose pattern painted above the curtains to complement Rose’s line, “Everything’s coming up roses!” The harsh spotlights and darker lighting during these scenes helped highlight Louise and Rose’s vulnerability in the second act.

A character-centered musical like “Gypsy” relies heavily on the strength of its actors, and Harvard’s production did not disappoint. Sweeney warbled in June’s high register with glee, and Scherba grounded Rose’s antics with his affable, levelheaded portrayal of Herbie. Rossman made Louise the emotional center of the musical, with her palpable vulnerability and fear finally giving way to a rousing assertiveness and self-reliance at the musical’s end. The technical prowess of Grimm’s tap-dancing as Tulsa in “All I Need is the Girl” as well as the powerful vocals of striptease star Mazeppa (Stephanie M. Johnson ’18) during “You Gotta Have a Gimmick” also added to the immense talent of the actors.

Still, Perera stood out from the rest of the cast as Rose. From the first minutes of “Gypsy” to Rose’s final psychological deterioration, Perera commanded the stage, manipulating and snapping at other characters with gusto. Her singing was particularly striking, with a rich vibrato and an extraordinarily deep tone. Her interpretation of “Rose’s Turn,” performed with gripping drama and bitterness, provided a fitting end to the musical.

In the end, thanks to Perera’s and the rest of the cast and crew’s efforts, the production found the very success that Rose continuously sought for her children and herself. For Harvard College Musical Theater’s first ever production, everything came up roses, indeed.