Not Getting Gypped
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.
Comments