Everything's Coming Up Phlegm

"Ladies and Gentlemen, We regret to inform you that Patti LuPone is not feeling well today. However, in the true spirit of Broadway, the show must go on, and Ms. LuPone will appear at today's performance."

Thus began one of the stranger theatrical experiences I've had. Not only was Ms. LuPone ill, but Laura Benanti was coughing up a storm. Boyd Gaines hacked a bit here and there, and you'd swear that half the cast was struggling with a cold. Mama Rose always carried a hankie.

My first thought was back to the late 70s and early 1980s when I saw Yul Brenner in the touring revival of King and I. At the three different performances I saw over several months, Mr. Brenner was not feeling well. It was a gimmick then. Not yesterday, but just as effective.

I've rarely witnessed the kind of applause that Laura Benanti received at the curtain call, and I've never seen the Kind of Applause LuPone received at the end of "Rose's Turn" or during the curtain call. A rare standing ovation during the performance.

OK, so what about the show. All you've heard about Gypsy is true. This is the role that LuPone was born to play, and she knows it. Her performance was extraordinary, but she's given a huge boost by Benanti. I've appreciated Benanti's work in the past, but I found her Louise to be truly masterful. Gaines is also wonderful as Herbie.

The production lacks the big sets of the recent Bernadette Peters revival, but what it lacks in technical stagecraft it more than makes up for with a huge orchestra that produces a gorgeous sound not heard recently on Broadway. The supporting cast is uniformly stellar.

This is not your mama's Mama Rose. If Peters introduced a new level of sensuality into Mama, LuPone turns up the heat even more. When Herbie and Rose meet for the first time, you can almost see the tent forming in his pants. He's hooked, and we're hooked, even though we know where this is headed.

I have always appreciated Gypsy, but more often than not on an intellectual level. This Gypsy punched me in the gut and carried me along on an emotional level. It's nothing short of great theater.