Gypsy Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Gypsy Blu-ray Movie Review

A couple of thorns with all those roses.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 29, 2016

For all of the incredible wonders the Blu-ray era has brought to lovers of the potential of home video, live stage performances of iconic musicals haven’t been particularly well represented. While there have been occasional releases like Victor/Victoria: The Broadway Musical, for the most part lovers of musicals have had to “make do” with the film versions of theatrical properties. Often film adaptations of Broadway (or West End) musicals are legendary in their own right (West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Cabaret), even if those film versions often seriously tweaked elements of the original stage versions. But perhaps just as frequently (and arguably even more frequently), film adaptations can somehow miss the mark and/or magic of the original stage presentations, due either to casting, ham fisted cutting of songs, or uninspired and uncinematic direction. Shout! Factory is now offering a new imprint called Shout Broadway that attempts to overcome this deficit in high definition presentations of iconic stage musicals—in their original stage formulations (more or less, anyway). The first three titles in this series are kind of interesting in a number of different ways, not the least of which is that one of them is not in fact a Broadway production, but a West End one ( Gypsy ), while the other two (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert, Candide) aren’t fully staged productions, but rather concert readings.

Gypsy is often cited as one of the finest musicals of all time, and so I’m probably going to invite a slew of brickbats (what else is new?) by suggesting that, yes, it’s an undeniable classic but it maybe, just maybe, has a few issues. The show’s score by composer Jule Styne and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is a model of musical construction, with an elegance and sophistication that continues to amaze theater music lovers to this day, even if (as Sondheim has actually discussed with regard to his lyrics for West Side Story) the convoluted rhymes spilling out of various characters' mouths aren't exactly the sort of thing you'd expect a working class person to spout. But (here’s where you get the brickbats ready) I’ve always felt Arthur Laurents’ book left too much subtext to be delivered by the performers. When you have stellar performers, like the original Broadway version’s Ethel Merman, Sandra Church and Jack Klugman, that subtext gets delivered, no problem. But when the leads (especially) aren’t quite up to the text, some of the dysfunctions between Mama Rose and Louise can seem surface level at best. One way or the other, the musical provides a showcase for whomever is privileged to play Mama Rose, and the score delivers one knockout number after another, including such evergreens as “Let Me Entertain You,” “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” “Small World” and “Together (Wherever We Go).”

I must confess I passed up the chance to see the inimitable Angela Lansbury essay the role of Mama Rose (generally thought to be one of the best post-Merman Roses) when I was in London as a boy, preferring to catch the equally inimitable Anthony Newley in a little remembered Bricusse-Newley piece called The Good Old Bad Old Days instead. Another noted British actress is the lead in this West End production from 2015, with Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) taking on the role of the imperious woman who fairly embodies the notion of an overbearing stage mother. Staunton may be best known for her film and television work on this side of the pond, but in her native England she’s also a theatrical legend and prior to winning an Olivier Award for Gypsy, she had previously triumphed in two other Sondheim musicals, Into the Woods and (ironically, given one of the other initial releases in this new Shout Broadway series) Sweeney Todd.

For anyone who has seen Gypsy in its original stage form, there's nothing here that will raise any "revisionist" hackles (with one notable exception, addressed in a moment), and indeed some of the musical's most iconic moments, like the Jerome Robbins designed strobe effects to segue from the childhood to adult June and Gypsy are replicated here pretty much pro forma (as is Robbins' conception of "You Gotta Have a Gimmick", arguably the comic highlight of any Gypsy production). Staunton's Rose is a force of nature, perhaps a bit more of a harridan than some other actresses have made her, something which only makes her quasi-nervous breakdown during "Rose's Turn" all the more dramatic. Lara Pulver's Louise is a bit steely, making some of her showdowns with Rose something like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.

The one place where those who grew up with the Original Broadway Cast album of Gypsy may have a few qualms is with regard to the new orchestrations this version offers. The original Gypsy orchestrations by Sid Ramin and Robert Ginzler (which are at least credited in this production) were state of the art affairs and helped established the show's brassy, sassy mood. As someone who has played in many a pit band and has conducted his fair share of musicals (which in the world of regional theater often means contracting for players), I'm only too aware of the financial exigencies of mounting a show like this and the tendency to want to use keyboard patches to overcome deficits in funding a full assortment of players. That's all well and good (at least relatively speaking), but why for heaven's sake recast both "Small World" (in the Overture at least) and even more mind bogglingly "All I Need is the Girl" as Fox Trots, replete with overly sentimental sounding saxes? The somewhat cheap sounding orchestra perhaps only ironically helps to point out the less than glamorous "showbiz" life that Louise undertakes.

Gypsy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Gypsy is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. This is a nicely bright and vivid looking presentation, one which renders details in the musical's often whimsical costumes with precision and nice levels of fine detail. Colors are natural looking and very nicely saturated throughout the show. Camera coverage is excellent, moving in for close-ups at several key moments, something that only tends to further support fine detail levels. Clarity and sharpness are also excellent, and while there are occasional deficits in shadow detail, and some blue bathed sequences (notably "All I Need is the Girl") have a kind of quasi-ghosting effect (due wholly to the lighting choices), overall this is a great looking transfer which should please fans of live musical theater.

Gypsy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Gypsy's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track is well balanced for the most part, providing good support for the sometimes cheesy sounding orchestra (sorry, players, I calls 'em as I sees and/or hears 'em) and the actors and singers on stage. I didn't notice lavaliers being used and no mics dangled from the flies (that I could spot), so whoever did the sound design here did admirable work. There are some very brief moments where the orchestra slightly overwhelms a soloist, but they're rare. All in all, fidelity is excellent and there are no problems of any kind to report.

Gypsy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements offered on the Blu-ray disc.

Gypsy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's an irony built right into the very title of Gypsy. That title would lead you to believe the focus of the show is going to be on the woman who became famous as stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, but of course the show is largely about her overbearing mother Rose. The dialectic between mother and daughter provides most of the drama in the musical, and Staunton and Pulver do well in these by now well known roles. The staging here is pretty by the book, which is actually a good thing. Technical merits are strong, and Gypsy comes Recommended.