3.2 Gypsy!

The Gospel of Musical Theatre

We're starting 2022 right and continuing our discussion of the musicals of the great Stephen Sondheim! Today, we're talking about the iconic Gypsy (1959), Sondheim’s early collaboration with Jule Styne.

*We apologize for the audio quality in today's episode - we had some technical difficulties with Nathan's mic!

We talk about:

• The diva phenomenon, domineering mothers, and queer men’s mommy issues.
• Cultural & religious shifts in sexual norms in the 20th century.
• The agency of women, the use of women’s bodies for entertainment, and questions of morality & ethics around characters like Mama Rose and Gypsy Rose Lee.
• The "death of vaudeville" as a way of thinking about any institution balancing old traditions with a changing world (can you say 21st century Christianity?)
• The power of bodies and how sex work is an image of the Kingdom of God.

You’ll hear:

• The Overture and "Rose’s Turn" from the 2003 Broadway Revival Cast with Bernadette Peters.
• "Some People," "Small World," "Everything’s Coming Up Roses" and "Rose’s Turn" as sung by Ethel Merman & Jack Klugman on the Original Broadway Cast Album from 1959.
• Bernadette Peters, Julia McKenzie, Ruthie Henshall as well as (!) Judi Dench, David Kernan, Lea Salonga, Maria Friedman, Michael Ball & Millicent Martin singing "You Gotta Get A Gimmick" from the 1998 Concert Album, Hey Mr. Producer!

Continue the conversation with Peter (@pgeinvan) and Nathan (@nathan_lerud) on Twitter, and follow the Gospel of Musical Theatre on Instagram or Twitter @gospelofmt.