Amanda Flahive Leads Williams Street Rep's GYPSY, Beginning Tonight

In 1959 Ethel Merman, the prominent musical theatre actress of her time, and David Merrick were searching for their next project. After reading an excerpt from the memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee, Merrick felt they had said project and GYPSY was born. GYPSY has been heralded by many as "one of the greatest musicals of all time" and critic Frank Rich wrote, "Gypsy is nothing if not Broadway's own brassy, unlikely answer to King Lear."

A stage mother in the truest definition, Mama Rose is a tour Du force. A role actresses have yearned to play their entire careers. At it's core GYPSY is a true test of a mother's love, her devotion to her daughters, and her sacrifice to thrust them into stardom at any and all costs. As vaudeville gives way to burlesque, Rose thrusts her daughter Louise into a situation that gives her daughter the stardom Rose so desperately craved, and Louise reluctantly comes to embrace. It is as relevant today in our world of Reality TV as it was in 1959.

Dreams come with a cost, but few come with a score this nuanced and a book for a musical that Merman herself felt could stand on it's own as a dramatic piece. A score (with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) that has endowed Broadway Musical Theatre with some of it's most beloved selections including Everything's Coming Up Roses, Some People, and Let Me Entertain You, leaves theater goers humming the tunes long after the curtain falls. Funny, poignant, dramatic; bold and brassy, who would have guessed the story of a vaudevillian child who became America's most famous Ecdysiast (a dictionary helps) would delight audiences for over 50 years.

GYPSY features:

Amanda Flahive as Mama Rose,

Joe Lehman as Herbie,

Willow Schneider as Louise/Gypsy Rose Lee,

Shaina Summerville as June,

Ryan Naimy as Tulsa,

Sarah Weinstein as Mezeppa,

Teresa Arnold as Tessie,

Bree Beelow as Electra,

Mya Berg as Baby June

Delaney Wittlich as Baby Louise

Tyler Callahan as Yonkers

Roy Brown as LA

Jake Stempel as Angie

Kate Wilford, Anastasia Arnold,

& Noreen Patel as The Hollywood Blondes;

Don J. Orlando, Frank Gaughan,

& Sean Quinn in Multiple Character Roles;

Daniel Marable, Garrett Hershey, Aaron Stone,

& Savannah Lyon as Newsboys

Emerson Tait as the Balloon Girl/Baby June understudy.

CREATIVE TEAM:

Director: Mark Mahallak

Stage Manager: Caitlin I. Quinn

Scenic Designer: Adam Liston

Costume Designer: Lisa Hale

Lighting Designer: Eric Watkins

Sound Designer: Megan Henninger

Props Master / ASM: Victoria Ross

Scenic Artist: William Schmiel

Technical Director: Adam Liston

Founding Artistic Director: Richard Kuranda

Director of Production: Mike Vandercook

General Manager: Kate Wilford

Associate Producer: Pat Henderson

Lighting Supervisor: Carolyn Voss

Sound Supervisor: Lindsay Wolf

Production Assistant: Morgan Reidy

Run Crew: Erik Jacobsen

Sound Assistant: Michael Guerra

Tickets for GYPSY are $38.50 & $32.50 depending on zone. Reserved seating only. Show runs Friday through Sunday. Raue Center offers special seating arrangements and hearing devices for patrons with disabilities. Please call the box office at 815.356.9212 to make arrangements prior to the performance.

Raue Center Box Office | 815.356.9212 | 12 to 4pm | Mon-Sat | Closed Sundays (open 1 hour prior to performance) www.rauecenter.org

Dates: Oct 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, 31 @ 8p

Oct 11, 25 | Nov 1 @ 3p

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