GYPSY to Take the Stage at The Contemporary Theater Company

Everything's coming up roses this spring at The Contemporary Theater Company! The company will perform the classic musical Gypsy April 12 - May 11.

With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Arthur Laurents, Gypsy is considered one of the great American musicals.

Gypsy follows a mother, Rose, and her two daughters, Louise and June, as they perform on the vaudeville circuit. As the children grow and vaudeville theaters are shutting down, Rose pushes the girls harder and harder. When they reach the breaking point, they all find new, and very different, paths.

"Mama Rose is one of the great characters in musical theater - the ultimate stage mother," says Eden Casteel who will be playing the role. "Learning more about her makes me grateful for my own mother, who encouraged my performing as a child, but never smothered me."

Casteel will be accompanying some of the songs in the show on the piano herself, adding a new dimension to the character of Rose as she pushes her children harder and harder.

"Eden is an incredible artist; I think she would be equally at home starring, directing, music directing, or accompanying a show like this," says director Chris Simpson. "As a result, we have enormous freedom to play with the possibilities of this show. She can slide over and accompany songs from the piano when Rose wants more control of the people around her."

The cast includes many Contemporary Theater Company frequent collaborators including Maggie Papa as Louise and Ari Kassabian as June alongside Susan Chakmakian, Alexcia Christy, Alijah Dickinson, Omar Laguerre-Lewis, Jess Ring, Charlie Santos, Carter Santos, Robert Solomon, Valerie Tarantino, and local burlesque performer Gilted Lilly.

Simpson is very excited about the team he has assembled and is particularly excited to work with Casteel again who played Mrs. Lovett in the theater's production of Sweeney Todd.

"She truly is a star," says Simpson.

Tickets for performances and more information about the company are available online at www.contemporarytheatercompany.com or by calling 401-218-0282.

Photo credit: Seth Jacobson Photography

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