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Not Getting Gypped

3/4/2016

4 Comments

 
I keep reading about how amazing the great British stage and film actress Imelda Staunton (who got an Oscar nomination as Best Actress for Vera Drake) was in last year’s London production of Gypsy – and how they’re supposed to videotape the production and released it on DVD.  No word yet on the DVD, though I did read that they did indeed film it for broadcast last Christmas in England, so it seems that there should be a DVD.
 
It's no replacement, but I found a long trailer for the show.  And happily, unlike most trailers, this has extensive selections from three songs in the show.  It looks very good.  (A few moments come across as a touch over-the-top, but that's always the challenge in filming a stage production, where everything has to be seen in the first row and last row of the balcony, as opposed to the intimacy of a camera.)

Watching the trailer, I made a fun (though limited) personal discovery.  The article mentioned who would be appearing in the show, after it transferred to the West End from the Chichester Festival.  I scanned the list and didn’t see any names I recognized.  But when I ran the video, it turned out to be from the Chichester production – and the actor playing Herbie was a fellow name Kevin Whately.  This will likely mean nothing to many people, unless you watch PBS.  But he’s an actor I love, from a couple of great British TV series, Inspector Morse and the spin-off Inspector Lewis, where he re-created his role with a promotion.  Also, my folks saw him in a stage adaptation of the great movie, 12 Angry Men,” starring in the Henry Fonda role.  Unfortunately, since he didn’t go with the show to London, he won’t be on the DVD.  But it’s fun to see him here – he even gets to sing a bit on it.  Regardless, I look forward to the DVD, whatever is on it!
 
By the way, in a real oddity, given the movie version of Gypsy:  the article lists even the most minor cast members.  And playing “Agnes” (who is listed last, so I assume she might be one of the strippers) is an actress named…Natalie Woods.
 
And as a bonus, as long as we're on the subject of Gypsy -- after watching that video, I clicked on a few things and came across this gem.
 
It’s Ethel Merman on the Hollywood Palace TV show in 1966.  Almost always when she sang something from Gypsy on TV it was the big hit song, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” but this is the only video I’ve myself ever seen of her singing another number from the show, in this case, “Some People.”  She does it in a much sweeter, pop song way, though as the song develops she really can’t hold back, and it sort of has some of the power I suspect that she did it on stage.
 
And then when it’s over, she’s joined by that week's host Fred Astaire to sing a quite-wonderful and even amusing medley.
4 Comments
Douglass Abramson
3/4/2016 07:34:29 pm

The Porter estate made some good ASCAP money that week. The insert of People from Funny Girl into Some People seemed a little random though. Since Staunton and the London production are moving to Broadway, maybe Whately will do Herbie again. Between her Harry Potter role and his Lewis, that's a lot of potential presales.

Reply
Robert Elisberg
3/5/2016 08:49:43 am

Not especially random, I don't think. Though, yes, definitely odd. Albeit actually a bit clever. First, the lyrics did fit together, tied as "people" songs with "Some People" sliding into "People." Second, it wasn't part of the later medley. But mainly, the appropriate connection was that "Some People" and "People" both had music by Jule Styne.

I'd be a little surprised if Kevin Whately comes to the U.S., though I certainly hope so. Not staying with the show into London makes me think it less likely he'll make the trip across the ocean. But perhaps he had a scheduling problem before. One can hope... That said, I doubt that he'd add much pre-sale value. People generally go to "Gypsy" for one reason, and if The Star doesn't drag them in, nothing else will. (I don't suspect even a Harry Potter connection will top the value and anticipation of her West End acclaim.) Where I think "Lewis" and Potter could make a difference is, for lack of a better word, post-sale, where having reasons to keep sales going and being able to get follow-up news stories at least helps somewhat. Though if she gets the acclaim they anticipate, that's all they need. And if she doesn't, nothing else will matter too much.

Reply
Jean
3/5/2016 12:54:19 pm

Wow!! Just, WOW! Except for a few photos and one or two truly awful vids on YouTube, trying to find anything from the Chichester production with Kevin Whately has been like...I dunno, hunting for some exceedingly rare thing. ;-) And even if I'd found this on YouTube, it wouldn't let me play it bc I'm in the States. So, y'know, SQUEE! I was actually able to view it in your blog post. A friend of mine flew across the pond to see the play in Chichester; she said it was outstanding.

Reply
Robert Elisberg
3/5/2016 01:21:17 pm

Dear Jean, we aims to please. Thanks for your note. Hunting down obscurities is one of the reasons a friend refers to me as ISB. (Internet Search Boy...)

Reply



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    Robert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 

    Elisberg is a two-time recipient of the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. He's written for film, TV, the stage, and two best-selling novels, is a regular columnist for the Writers Guild of America and was for
    the Huffington Post.  Among his other writing, he has a long-time column on technology (which he sometimes understands), and co-wrote a book on world travel.  As a lyricist, he is a member of ASCAP, and has contributed to numerous publications.



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