Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,
at Broadway's Belasco Theatre
Gratuitous Violins rating: **1/2 out of ****

Before Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown recedes to a distant memory, here's my bottom line: it wasn't a great musical but I had a good time. Seeing Patti LuPone, Laura Benanti and Brian Stokes Mitchell in the same show was a treat, even if I didn't feel totally swept up in the story.

The book, by Jeffrey Lane, is based on the Pedro Almodovar movie about a group of women in Madrid in 1987 who are driven to the breaking point by the men in their lives. While I've never seen the film I knew the musical, with a score by David Yazbek, was supposed to be a dark comedy, with over-the-top characters and a convoluted plot in the style of a telenovela.

Gazpacho also plays a big role in the musical - there's a recipe for it on the show's curtain. Since I don't speak Spanish I didn't understand all of the ingredients and the key word: frio. (It means cold, which is how the soup is served.) So the symbolism kind of escaped me.

The main character in Women on the Verge, played by Sherie Rene Scott, is Pepa, an actress who makes a living dubbing foreign films. She's distraught after her longtime boyfriend, Ivan (a very suave Mitchell), abruptly breaks up with her, via a message on her answering machine.

At the same time her good friend Candela, a frantic, not-too-bright model played by Benanti, is in a troubled relationship of her own: she fears that her boyfriend may be a terrorist, and she comes to Pepa for help.

Also in the mix are LuPone as Ivan's mentally unstable wife, Lucia; a charming Justin Guarini as Carlos, Ivan and Lucia's son; Nikka Graff Lanzarone as Marisa, Carlos' domineering fiancee; De'Adre Aziza as Paulina, a take-charge lawyer; and Mary Beth Peil as the sweet concierge in Pepa's apartment building. There's also Danny Burstein as the helpful taxi driver who chauffeurs Pepa around town.

Unfortunately as Pepa, Scott doesn't really stand out in this ensemble and I felt she was miscast. Her performance seemed a little flat, while everyone else was operating at a faster speed, more zany and memorable. Although she does have a nice solo number, "Mother's Day," that I thought was poignant.

In contrast, Benanti was an absolute delight as Candela. She was hilarious and truly seemed to capture the outrageous style that I was expecting from the musical. She made the story interesting and exciting to watch in a way that Pepa never did for me.

I also liked LuPone, whose Lucia lurked in the background, disguised in a series of large hats as she searched for Ivan. It was funny and at the same time, a sad story about an abandoned wife. Of course she has a big solo, "Invisible," which the audience ate up, myself included.

As the smooth-talking Ivan, Mitchell doesn't have a lot to do but he also gets a song, "Yesterday, Tomorrow and Today." This was my first time hearing him perform live - and I have to say it was pretty incredible. What a deep, powerful voice. I can't believe he's the same actor I used to watch as Dr. "Jackpot" Jackson on Trapper John M.D.

Despite a terrific performance from Benanti and the thrill of hearing Mitchell and LuPone, Women on the Verge seemed to be lacking something. I was entertained but I wasn't captivated. I don't know, maybe Bartlett Sher wasn't the right director for this musical. Maybe it just wasn't wacky enough.

Yazbek's score didn't leave a lasting impression and despite Burstein's opening number, "Madrid," I didn't feel transported to the Spanish capital or like I was in some kind of English-language version of a Spanish soap opera. (The song is a lively ensemble number that's supposed to set the tone but it contains some cringe-worthy lyrics involving mother's milk.)

In the Playbill, Almodovar says his films from the 1980s, coming a decade after the establishment of democracy in Spain, "reflect that explosion of freedom which illuminated everything. You could say that even grief was joyful."

Grief and joy sprinkled with a touch of craziness against the backdrop of Spain emerging from dictatorship. I get it. Unfortunately, I don't think the musical version of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown truly got it.

On the verge of a trip to Broadway

I got a sinking feeling reading the reviews last night for Women on the Verge of A Nervous Breakdown knowing that I have a ticket to see a Broadway musical widely considered a mess.

It's one of 11 shows - 10 on Broadway and 1 off-Broadway - that I'll be taking in during my two trips to New York City this month.

For an out-of-towner, especially one who can't get to the city that often, the selection process can be a gamble. Sometimes I have friends who've seen a show and rave about it. Sometimes I'm making my decisions before opening night or even before previews begin.

Honestly, I'm not sure how I'll feel about my choices by the end of November or whether the results will affect my next round of theatergoing.

While I use discounts, I'll pay full price if I think a better seat is worth it. And my aging knees require the extra leg room in the orchestra section. So we're not talking about an inconsequential amount of money.

Fortunately, I'm in a situation where I could just eat the ticket and go see something else that got a better reception from the critics. It's not going to break the bank.

Maybe it's me putting on a brave face but despite the pans, I'm still curious about Women on the Verge - if only to see for myself what everyone's talking about. I'm still looking forward to seeing Patti LuPone and Laura Benanti onstage again. I will do my best to sit back and enjoy myself. I will NOT have a nervous breakdown over it.

Picking a show is a tough decision for a tourist. Do you go with the safe choice or do you take a chance? I hope I'm always willing and able to take a chance. That's part of the excitement of being a theatre fan - and sometimes the disappointment.

And I'm pretty easy to please. Being in New York City, on vacation and away from the responsibilities of daily life, is always a treat for me. A show has to try really hard for me not to be entertained.

I love being in New York and I love going to Broadway. If Women on the Verge doesn't work for me well, it's an opportunity to hone my critical skills and see why - and to be part of the conversation.

Patti LuPone: A Memoir

People write memoirs to talk about their difficult childhoods, tout their accomplishments, describe the obstacles they've overcome in life. I think Patti LuPone wrote Patti LuPone: A Memoir to settle some scores.

The book was penned "with" Digby Diehl, who's worked on several celebrity autobiographies. But I've listened to a few lengthy interviews with LuPone and the tone is all hers. If you're interested in theatre, it's a brisk and entertaining read.

LuPone makes it clear that she hasn't had it easy - from the time she put on tap shoes to make her stage debut at age 4 in Northport, Long Island, in 1953 to winning her second Tony, for Best Actress in a Musical for Gypsy, in 2008.

It's all interesting, from being part of the first class in the Juilliard School's Drama Division, run by the imperious John Houseman, crisscrossing the country with The Acting Company, her long relationship with Kevin Kline, her triumph in Evita, the epic battle with Andrew Lloyd Webber during Sunset Boulevard, and her most recent Broadway runs.

Frankly, I was kind of shocked that she even got cast in Evita. LuPone admits that she was vocally unprepared for the role. Luckily, a member of the chorus helped her with her technique so she could actually sing it. Yikes!

You get a sense from the memoir of the vagabond life of a performer, especially one who's focused her career on the stage. But I have to say, despite having spent her entire adult life as an actress, she hasn't seemed to enjoy it very much.

With the exception of Sweeney Todd and Gypsy, it appears that LuPone has had to put up with incompetent directors, boorish costars or devious producers just about every time she's been on stage, on TV or in a movie.

Now, I love LuPone as a performer - I was a big fan of the TV series Life Goes On, which is where I became aware of her. And seeing her in Gypsy - first at Encores and then on Broadway - was unforgettable. I also got her autograph at the stage door at City Center, so she gets high marks for that.

But I wouldn't want to get on her bad side. She comes across as loyal to her friends and brutal toward anyone who rubs her the wrong way, anyone she feels has slighted her. Sometimes, it's probably justified. But other times, I don't know.

For example, John Berry, director of The Baker's Wife: "was an obnoxious human being with absolutely revolting personal hygiene." As for Bill Smitrovich, who played her husband in Life Goes On: "I faced a seven-year sentence with a thoroughly distasteful man."

Still, there are plenty of people she adores, including Marian Seldes, her Juilliard teacher, who "had an unfailing confidence in my ability. She was also my biggest defender." And Evita costar Mandy Patinkin "is an angel for me; he was heaven-sent. I will love him forever." She also has nice things to say about her husband and son.

Amid all the kvetching (and there's a lot of it) LuPone's love for the theatre, for Broadway, does come through. She's very much taken with the traditions, the rituals of the stage. I like this quote: "What is theatre if it doesn't incite, doesn't move, doesn't change us in some way?"

But here's the most interesting thing I learned from reading her memoir:

When I saw Gypsy at Encores in 2007, Marian Seldes was sitting across the aisle from me. At intermission, I told her how much I'd enjoyed seeing her on Broadway in Deuce.

We talked for a moment about LuPone. Like me, Miss Seldes was enthralled with her performance. At the time, I thought it was simply one actress admiring the work of another. I didn't realize that it was a beloved teacher watching her former student in the role of a lifetime.

Now, I know the rest of the story.

Jerry Zaks on theatre and religion

I'm catching up with the American Theatre Wing's Downstage Center interviews and I love this quote from director Jerry Zaks as he talked about the 1992 Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls:

"The most important thing to me in any of these productions is the transmission of joy of some sort, or some sort of ecstatic experience.

"In temple when I was a kid, the happiest moment was at the end of service - a) because it was the end of the service but b) because everyone stood up and sang and it was ecstatic. We sang, and it was joyous.

"I've always wanted my productions to perform the same function as going to a good service would. Now, I'm not comparing faith in God with the theatre but you know what, sometimes I think it's more powerful."

While it's been a long time since I've attended synagogue regularly, I know what Zaks is talking about - I remember the melodies from childhood. There's something about singing in unison that's joyous and truly gives you a sense of community.

Of course theatre usually isn't participatory in the same way as a religious service - although going up on stage at the Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway at the end of Hair certainly was an ecstatic experience for me.

I've had other powerful moments at the theatre that I'd compare to a religious experience.

I was in tears hearing "For Good" the first time I saw Wicked, on tour. And Patti LuPone's "Everything's Coming Up Roses" in Gypsy at City Center was rapturous - the only time I've been part of a mid-show standing ovation.

There's something about being at a live performance that you can't replicate watching a movie at the multiplex or sitting at home on the couch with the remote.

In defense of applause

I've watched New York Times film critic A.O. "Tony" Scott on At the Movies and he seems like a pleasant fellow. But part of his essay comparing theatre and movies hit a nerve. (Thanks to Jonathan Mandell, who writes about New York theatre at The Faster Times, for the link.)

Here's what Scott had to say about the current Broadway revival of A Little Night Music and the Ingmar Bergman film on which it's based, Smiles of A Summer Night:

"You watch Bergman, whether at home or in a revival house, in a state of solitude, but you go see “A Little Night Music” in a crowd and partake of its rituals. Many of these strike me, after 10 years of moviegoing with little time for theater, as bizarre, from the apparently obligatory ovations — is there nothing New York audiences won’t stand for? — to the practice of applauding after every number."

He describes seeing A Little Music as "an encounter with celebrity" and the applause as "an act of communal congratulation for having done so."

Okay, maybe audiences are a little too quick to jump to their feet at the end of the show. In a perfect world, we'd only stand for the most incredible, memorable, take-your-breath-away performances and applaud for the most emotionally gripping songs.

But do the applause and the standing ovations really hurt anyone? Do they detract from anyone's theatergoing experience compared with, say, talking during the show or being seated late or unwrapping a piece of candy? I don't think so.

Scott has some good points - seeing a movie and going to the theatre are different experiences. But his allusion to theatre and its bizarre rituals strikes me as needlessly snooty and dismissive of an art form he admits he's barely made time for in the past decade.

Unlike movies, the people up on stage are right there in front of you. They're human beings, not larger-than-life images on celluloid. When they come out at the curtain call after having made you laugh or cry for the past 2 1/2 hours, it's natural to want to give them an ovation. It's kind of a catharsis.

Besides, I don't think people are applauding to congratulate themselves. They're doing it to acknowledge performances that they've enjoyed. (And since most of the tickets are bought by tourists for whom a Broadway show is a treat, I think part of it is the excitement of simply being in the audience.)

If people want to stand and applaud Catherine Zeta-Jones or Angela Lansbury as they take their bows at the conclusion of A Little Night Music, I don't think it's bizarre. Seeing an actor onstage whom you've loved from movies or TV is thrilling. (And is it so difficult to imagine that the audience may simply have enjoyed their performances?)

While I enjoy a good movie, it's too easy to do in solitude. Going to the theatre forces me to be part of a crowd. The fact that it's a communal experience is a good thing. Too much solitude is not a good thing.

Patti LuPone - definitely not a diva

At the risk of shocking my tens of readers, I'll admit that up until a couple of years ago I was only vaguely aware of Patti LuPone's immense talents as a singer and stage actress.

I knew that she had starred in Evita on Broadway. But I knew and loved her mainly as Libby Thatcher in ABC's Life Goes On, where she coped with the trials and tribulations of being a wife and mother, including raising a child with Down syndrome.

So I've really only started to play catch-up on her career and luckily, I have Ms. LuPone herself to fill me in. Yesterday, in an effort to make a dent in my immense and ever-growing backlog of unlistened-to podcasts, I clicked on her 2008 appearance at Times Talks.

Wow, can she talk! It's a great interview.

She covers her tuba-playing childhood on Long Island and putting that skill to good use in Sweeney Todd, (I wish I could have seen it!) being in the first group of Juilliard drama students, how it felt when Mandy Patinkin got a bigger round of applause at the Evita curtain call. Plus, the sound effects - especially when the conversation turns to Sunset Boulevard - are priceless.

I'm learning all sorts of valuable information that will stand me in good stead should I ever be fortunate enough to meet her. (I did get her autograph after seeing her in Gypsy as part of City Center's Encores but there were so many people we didn't get a chance for quality time.)

This is the kind of thing I'm talking about, her reaction to the word "diva:"

"I think that word should be reserved for the operatic female singer. That's where it originated and that's where it belongs. It should not be relegated to a newscaster or anybody on Broadway or somebody behaving diva-ish. I just think it should stay where it is. I don't like the word diva applied to me, I do not think I am a diva."

I did not know that! And I do not want to incur Ms. LuPone's wrath, as my fellow blogger Robertianish found out with his unfortunate face-to-face encounter.

So Patti, I love your singing and acting and I can't wait to see you on stage again. But you are not now nor have you ever been a diva. Or at least, you didn't hear it from me.

You mess with Patti at your peril

There's been quite a bit of talk on the Broadway message boards about an unscripted show-stopping moment at Gypsy last night involving Patti LuPone and an audience member who brazenly took her picture - at least three times! Steve and Sarah were there and provide firsthand accounts.

Personally, as someone who's sat in the audience with people taking pictures all around me during a performance, I can attest to the fact that not only is it rude and distracting to the actors, it's also rude and distracting to everyone who's just trying to enjoy the show.

Let me run down some appalling examples of my own over the past couple of years involving illicit photography:

The people who got up out of their seats and walked down the aisle to the front of the stage, then stood there for a couple of minutes snapping pictures during Mamma Mia!

The women a few rows in front of me taking pictures of Chita Rivera with their cell-phone cameras during Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, in Providence. (This isn't only a problem in New York.)

The practically nonstop picture-taking going on all around me at a performance of The Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

And while this wasn't live, the guy at the movies when I was watching the final performance of Rent, who I swear recorded the entire second act, and probably the first act as well.

It's about time someone stood up to this behavior, which in addition to being rude and distracting can also be dangerous to the actors. Performers - and audience members - shouldn't have to put up with it. Forbidden doesn't mean forbidden unless you can get away with it!

This afternoon marks Gypsy's closing performance on Broadway. I saw it last spring and prior to that, as part of the Encores series at City Center, and I loved it. Tony-winners Patti LuPone, Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti were wonderful, as was the rest of the cast.

So brava, Ms. LuPone, brava, for speaking out and for being an unforgettable Mamma Rose!

Update, Jan. 12. Apparently it was all a misunderstanding. Broadway & Me has the scoop.

An early closing for Gypsy

I just read, via a Twitter from Broadway & Me, that Gypsy is closing Jan. 11. The last performance had been scheduled for March 1, but producer Roger Berlind told Broadway World that "due to these uncertain financial times" he and his partners made the difficult decision to shutter the musical early.

Last week, Gypsy was playing to 64 percent capacity at the St. James Theatre and with winter being a traditionally slow time on Broadway, the decision to close a couple months earlier than planned is understandable. Still, it's so sad.

I had the pleasure of seeing Patti LuPone, Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines twice - in July 2007 at City Center as part of Encores and in the spring on Broadway. I loved this production of Gypsy the first time I saw it, and I think it got even better the second time, with the three leads accompanied by a wonderful supporting cast and 25-piece orchestra on stage.

This was the first Gypsy I've ever seen on stage and it was a thrilling experience. I'll always remember the standing ovation we gave Patti at City Center after she finished "Everything's Coming Up Roses." I'd never been part of a standing ovation for a song before. I turned to the person next to me and said, "that was incredible." He responded, "Just wait."

LuPone was so fierce as Mamma Rose, watching Benanti's Louise transform from gawky teenager to elegant stripper was amazing and Gaines made a truly sympathetic and heartbreaking Herbie. Their Tony-winning performances are three of the best I've seen in my brief theatergoing career. Most likely, they'll be three of the best performances I'll ever see.

Don't keep Patti waiting

This came today via a Broadway Box e-mail:

Now I'm even more glad I saw Gypsy on Broadway! For once, I'll be on the right side of history. For the rest of you - there's still time. If you're going to be in New York City for the holidays and you want to see a musical, put this at the top of your list.

More Tony talk, Part I

I was catching up on the Playbill Radio podcasts while I was working out this morning and I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes from the Tony winners. I know I've said this before, but I'm incredibly happy for Deanna Dunagan and Rondi Reed. I have to admire Patti LuPone, and agree with Lin-Manuel Miranda. And hasn't Anna D. Shapiro just given the definition of a trouper?

"I'm the quintessential late bloomer in my career, I think, and that's been just a ball to experience and hopefully it's not over yet. ... New York has just given me a huge valentine in my career and in my life."
Rondi Reed
Best Featured Actress in a Play
August: Osage County

"The thing that happens on Broadway that you just don't get anywhere else is the enthusiastic reception. Theatergoers leap to their feet after our play, every single performance. They raise their hands over their heads, clapping and cheering. I've never had that happen. Thirty-four years in regional theatre - never."
Deanna Dunagan
Best Actress in a Play
August: Osage County

"Amy Morton is a machine. If she misses a show it's because someone amputated her leg and she's looking for it."
Anna D. Shapiro
Best Director of a Play
August: Osage County

As far as being on stage again, I said to my agent, I don't want to leave the season without knowing when I'm coming back. Because honestly, I'm older and I don't know how long my voice is going to last and I don't want to waste time. I'd rather be on stage and take advantage of theses vocal chords while they're still supple and alive."
Patti LuPone
Best Actress in a Musical
Gypsy

"My job is to write the best possible musical I can and tell the story as well as I know how. On the side, I would like to reintroduce popular music and theater music, which used to be friends a long time ago and I'd like them to be friends again."
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Best Score
In the Heights

My Tony thoughts

Whew, the Tony awards are over! Lots of observations:

Whoppi Goldberg is funny! I'm so happy for Rondi Reed! I love In the Heights! Lin-Manuel Miranda is one classy, talented guy! Patti LuPone is one fierce Mama Rose! Tracy Letts should have been given more time to talk! Paulo Szot is tall! During the musical number for Sunday in the Park with George, I think I saw Daniel Evans' tonsils! Stew has a weird sense of humor!

And a few questions:

What was Boeing Boeing's Mark Rylance talking about in his acceptance speech for Best Actor in a Play? What does Anna Shapiro, who won for best director of a play for August: Osage County, have tattooed on her arm? Why didn't Stephen Sondheim show up to accept his lifetime achievement award? I understand why there's lots of love for musicals, and that was terrific, but couldn't there be a little more love for the plays?

In the Heights was my pick for Best Musical, so I'm ecstatic that it won, and I thought its musical number, "96,000,'' sounded great. I admired and respected Passing Strange but I loved In the Heights. It won my heart and made me want to dance, despite the sad fact that I was apparently born without a sense of rhythm. This is a musical that has a great message in its celebration of a Latino neighborhood at the top of Manhattan: we're a nation of immigrants, and we're better for it.

Plus, Lin-Manuel Miranda's acceptance speech in the form of a rap, when he won the Tony for Best Score for In the Heights, was terrific. And his reference to Stephen Sondheim was so sweet: “Look, Mr. Sondheim, I made a hat where there never was a hat and it’s a Latin hat at that.” Very nice. I hope Miranda stays in musical theatre. The funny thing is, I heard him during the red carpet interviews. He really doesn't talk like a rapper all the time.

Other highlights for me:

I'm thrilled that as expected, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of August: Osage County won for Best Play, Best Director, Best Actress in a Play and Best Featured Actress in a Play. And Todd Rosenthal, winning for Best Scenic Design of a Play, on the Tony preshow, started it all off. Seeing that big old three-story house was the first time I ever had an immediate, visceral reaction to a set on a stage. I was just fascinated by it, by the size and the clutter and the shabbiness, and I'm so happy Rosenthal won.

Rondi Reed winning for Best Featured Actress in a Play was the one I was really, really rooting for, because she's such a wonderful person as well as a great performer. Steve, Doug and I talked to her for at least half an hour after August: Osage County ended one night. She is a warm, funny, gracious, down-to-earth woman. And she is an absolute hoot in this play. (Unfortunately, Sunday was her last performance. She's headed back to Chicago).

The success of August: Osage County, a transplant from Chicago, is truly a testament to the great work being done on stages all over this country. Being on Broadway and winning a Tony must seem like a pipe dream to these actors who toil far from New York. August's Deanna Dunagan, who won for Best Actress in a Play, summed it up perfectly: "After 34 years in regional theater I never even thought about it. I watched it on tv like everyone else."

Hearing from the original cast from Rent was so moving, especially when they were talking about Jonathan Larson and how he came to write the musical at a time when so many people he knew were dying of AIDS, and then his own untimely death. It was cute to see Idina Menzel and her husband, Taye Diggs, who met while they were in Rent, right next to each other. And even though I saw The Lion King, with its incredible parade of animals, on Broadway a month ago, the giraffes are just as thrilling the second time around.

I loved Patti LuPone singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from Gypsy. Her standing ovation was well deserved. She is fierce. Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines looked terrified! They also really deserved their Tonys for Best Featured Actress and Actor in a Musical. I've said before that Benanti gave one of the best performances I've ever seen as she transformed from a shy, awkward teenager into a glamorous, confident stripper.

And LuPone, the Best Actress in a Musical, did have a great acceptance speech: "It's been 29 years!" Let the woman talk! I also liked the way she thanked her husband and son right off the bat, instead of going through her list of agents, producers, etc. So many winners at these awards shows end up having to shout out the names of their loved ones just as the music starts up.

Also, I was glad to see The 39 Steps pick up a couple of Tonys: Mic Pool won for Best Sound Design of a Play, and Kevin Adams won for Best Lighting Design of a Play. It is such a fun, inspired 90 minutes of theatre, and I hope the awards give it a little bounce.

There were a few spots where I thought the Tony producers slipped up.

When Lincoln Center's Andre Bishop accepted the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical for South Pacific, the camera should have been ready to turn immediately to Rodgers & Hammerstein's daughters, who were sitting together in the audience, not 20 seconds after Bishop mentioned their names.

Playwright Tracy Letts should have been given a little more time to accept his Tony for writing August: Osage County. I mean, how often do we get a major new American play on the scale of this one? (Perhaps he should have gotten a little assertiveness training from Patti!)

And the segment where they had Daniel Breaker, James Snyder and Kerry Butler do the little spiel about all of the American Theater Wing's educational programs mentioned the Wing's radio shows but failed to mention that they're available as free downloads from its web site, or as podcasts from iTunes. In fact, why not flash the Web site on the screen? Duh! Missed opportunity!

And what's up with taking the Tony for best choreography out of the televised portion of the ceremony? How can the Tonys not recognize the winner of that category on national television? I mean, so much of Broadway is musicals and choreography is such an important part of why we love them. Anyway, I'm glad that Andy Blankenbuehler won for In the Heights.

Apparently, some of the nominees were surprised that their categories were in the preshow, too. Passing Strange's Stew, who won the Tony for Best Book of a Musical, said he was looking in his pocket for some M&Ms when his name was announced. His speech was lame, so maybe he's serious when he says he was unprepared. And Stew turned me off with the funny nose and glasses he wore when they showed the nominees for Best Actor in a Musical. Ugh.

Ok, I may have more to say later, but that's enough for now. Except that I'm glad some of my favorites: In the Heights, South Pacific, Gypsy and August: Osage County did so well and I'm thrilled I was able to see so many amazing Tony-winning performances. I hope I get to see as many next season.

Gypsy

The first time I ever saw Gypsy on stage was last summer in New York, as part of the City Center Encores series. Even a musical theater novice like myself could see that the transformation of Laura Benanti from plain-Jane Louise to glamorous burlesque performer and stripper Gypsy Rose Lee was stunning. Last Sunday, I saw Gypsy again, at Broadway's St. James Theatre, and it was even better.

When you're writing about Gypsy, it seems more traditional to talk first about Mamma Rose rather than June and Louise - the daughters she tries, with singleminded devotion and all the subtlety of a bulldozer, to mold into stars. In fact, people seem to refer to the various incarnations over the years by who played Rose: the 1959 orginal, with Ethel Merman, followed by revivals in 1974 with Angela Lansbury, 1989 with Tyne Daly and 2003 with Bernadette Peters. I looked up the credits for those productions and I've never even heard of any of the actresses who played Louise.

Mamma Rose is such a strong, overwhelming presence from the moment she comes marching down the aisle and onto the stage. Even though the musical is called Gypsy, and based on her daughter's memoir, in many ways it's Rose's story. And Patti LuPone is a powerhouse in the role. But while I'd never seen LuPone on stage, I certainly knew of her. Even though I wasn't really familiar with her as a singer, I knew and loved her from the television series Life Goes On in the early '90s.

Benanti, on the other hand, was pretty much an unknown quantity. I knew her from the Broadway cast recording of The Wedding Singer, but I'd never seen her perform. Over the past year, I've watched more than a few shows in which a character goes on a life-transforming journey. But I can't think of another one quite as terrific as Louise's in Gypsy. Yes, there's something thrilling and chilling hearing LuPone belt out Gypsy's classic numbers. But there's something about Benanti's portrayal that just totally blew me away.

At the start of the show, Louise, her hair in pigtails, wearing slightly baggy, boyish clothes, looks kind of like a tomboy. She knows she's not the daughter that Mamma Rose is preparing for stardom, that's reserved for Leigh Ann Larkin's June, the supposedly prettier, more talented sister. But when June, having had enough of her domineering mother, heads off to make her own way in the world, Mamma turns to Louise. Now, she'll be the daughter who becomes a star. Louise's first attempts at that role are kind of awkward. The way Benanti moves and speaks conveys a sense of tentativeness and insecurity.

By the end, with her hair up, wearing makeup and dressed in evening clothes, Benanti's Louise has become a different person to go with her new name. Major credit belongs to the great costumes by Martin Pakledinaz, wig and hair design by Paul Huntley and makeup by Angelina Avallone. I almost felt like I was seeing a completely different person on stage, the transformation was so dramatic and complete.

But it's more than just nicer clothes, hair and makeup. By the end of the musical, even Louise's personality has changed. And this inner transformation is Benanti's alone. Seeing her on stage as a stripper, she's funny, teasing, sexy and radiant. In her dressing room, with Mamma Rose, she's confident and assertive. It's truly a remarkable performance, and I could watch it again and again.

One of the things I appreciate most about Gypsy is that while it may be nearly 50 years old, the plot, about the ultimate stage mother, still seems so relevant. It's as current as preschool beauty pageant contestants, preteen athletic phenoms, starlets and singers, or even the latest spelling prodigy. It's about the expectations parents have for their children, how they sometimes measure their own success by their children's achievement, and the resentment that is often created as a result.

As Mamma Rose, LuPone embodies every parent who ever tried to live their life through their children out of a misguided sense that they're doing the right thing, out of a desire to give their children the advantages and career that they were denied. I think it's a role that could easily fall into an over-the-top performance, a Joan Crawford Mommie Dearest "no more wire hangers" caricature.

But LuPone is so skillful that she makes Rose a tragic, yet sympathetic character. She wants so much for her daughters to have what she didn't have that she loses sight of what they want. She pushes a man who truly loves her out of her life, and in the end, when Louise doesn't need her anymore, she's left only with her own sadly unfulfilled dreams.

I loved LuPone's performance from the Encores production. But I think she's even kicked it up a notch for Broadway. She seemed even more determined this time to make her daughters stars no matter what. She seemed more obsessive, more everything, and it makes the ending even sadder.

Watching LuPone "act" a song is amazing. She's brilliant singing the optimism of "Everything's Coming Up Roses" that ends Act I. When the song got a standing ovation over the summer, I turned to the person next to me and said, "That was incredible." "Just wait," he advised me, "Just wait." He was right. With the finale of "Rose's Turn," when Mamma Rose asks why she couldn't have been a star, the anguish on her face is so real and so devastating and so unforgettable. LuPone's rendition was even more powerful than I remembered from the first time.

In fact, everything is as good or better on Broadway as it was over the summer. The funny songs, like "Have an eggroll, Mr. Goldstone," seemed funnier. The advice that Louise gets in "You Gotta Get a Gimmick," performed by strippers Tessie Tura (Alison Fraser), Mazeppa (Lenora Nemetz) and Electra (Marilyn Caskey), seemed even more hilarious.

And Boyd Gaines, as Rose's long-suffering companion, Herbie, is wonderful. This time, he seemed even more enchanted and exasperated by her, and in the end, even more hurt when she couldn't stop being the stage mother long enough to marry him. I felt so sorry for this dignified, decent man who wanted nothing more than to make a home for Rose and her daughters, and who didn't deserve to be treated with such disdain.

I can certainly see why Gypsy is considered a classic. The book by Arthur Laurents has so many strong, interesting characters. When I think about shows I didn't enjoy as much, it's because the characters haven't drawn me in, haven't engaged me. I simply didn't care about them as much. There's no chance of that with Gypsy. The words and music, by Stephen Sondheim and the late Jule Styne are sweet and funny and tender and rich. When you hear songs like "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "Rose's Turn" played by a 25-piece orchestra on stage, it's pretty powerful.

While Gypsy isn't my favorite musical - there are simply too many others that I love equally - it certainly has become one of my favorites, and one of my most unforgettable experiences at the theatre.

Times three

Ok, I've been a little neglectful of my blogging over the weekend. But even when I'm not writing about the theater, I am reading and thinking about it. And I did read some great theater stories in the New York Times that I want to mention.

A profile of Laura Benanti. I'm the first to admit that I can be more than a little bit starstruck. I was really looking forward to Patti LuPone in last summer's Encores production of Gypsy, and I knew she wouldn't disappoint. But I didn't know what to expect from Laura Benanti as Louise. The way Benanti transformed herself from a gawky, insecure adolescent into a stunning, confident stripper has really stayed with me. I'm looking forward to seeing her in the role again on Sunday.

Until I read Celia McGee's profile, I didn't know anything about Ms. Benanti. It was interesting to read that to portray Louise, she taps into the loneliness she felt as a child growing up in New Jersey. And I didn't realize that she fractured her neck playing Cinderella in the 2002 production of Into the Woods. Obviously, it was an incredibly scary experience. She was partially paralyzed at times and had to undergo an operation that could have damaged her voice. But fortunately, Benanti is doing fine now. “I can walk, and I can sing, and I am healthy for the first time in a long time,” she told McGee.

Broadway shows for kids. Robin Pogrebin writes about taking her 11-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter to see musicals beyond the usual Disney fare, ones that weren't especially written for children their age but which they might like. I was happy to read that her son enjoyed Curtains: "I loved the mystery of it." And I'm especially excited about seeing In the Heights, which he called "almost flawless."

But there's one pretty child-friendly play I'd like to recommend: The 39 Steps, the British import now in an open-ended run at the Cort Theatre. Yes, it does help immensely if you've seen the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock movie beforehand. But it's so funny, with so much inspired, physical humor, that I think anyone from a preteen on up would enjoy it. And it's good to let the kids know that they can enjoy an action-adventure story without anything getting blown up.

And if I could just recommend one non-Disney musical, it would probably be Hairspray. I haven't seen it on Broadway, only on tour. I'm a big fan of its catchy pop score and I love the story. It's about teenagers and fitting in and standing up for what you believe in. Plus, it's a truly integrated musical. As the decades go by, the civil-rights movement is a period that we're dangerously close to forgetting. Hairspray tells that story in such an engaging, fun way that never sounds preachy.

South Pacific and Gypsy: Both of these are on my weekend schedule, so it was interesting to read Charles Isherwood's take on what he calls the two "theatrical bookends of the 1950s." Isherwood believes that they have quite a bit to say about the distance American musical theatre traveled in that 10-year span.

I'd never thought of the two shows that way - contrasting South Pacific and its more optimistic message with Gypsy as a harbinger of darker themes to come in American society. Isherwood concludes that while he loves Momma Rose, American audiences today may be more in the mood for what South Pacific dishes up.