Review: GYPSY, The Mill At Sonning

One thing is certain in the world of theatre: there will always be revivals of Gypsy. The combination of Arthur Laurents' layered book, Jule Styne's razzmatazz-filled score and the incisive, character-driven lyrics by Stephen Sondheim has made the show an enduring hit.

In fact, the last month has seen two different regional revivals of the show opening days apart. Gypsy's enduring popularity is a blessing to prospective producers, but presents a challenge to its directors - how to find anything new in this iconic material and present a production that stands apart from the glittering masses.

For the unique and charming Mill at Sonning, who provide their audience with a hearty buffet dinner prior to their entertainment - Gypsy is another delicious offering. This is as classic a revival of the show as there's been in recent years, one that asks its audience: 'May We Entertain You?' and then proceeds to do so thoroughly.

As might be expected for the venue (which has a little over 200 seats), this production is more intimate than most with a slightly thinner orchestration and a marginally smaller cast. All those onstage however, including some who double as both performer and musician, are used to full effect, and if the overture is lacking a little oomph, the bustling staging makes up for it.

As for finding something new, Director/Choreographer Joseph Pitcher is smart to let the show retain its classic character and aesthetic familiarity (Natalie Titchener's stylish costume design) while exposing its beating heart. His most ingenious choices include bringing Young Louise back to watch her older self dissociatively from the shadows and putting Gypsy Rose Lee's name up in lights at the show's conclusion, with two of the three words faltering to leave simply 'Rose'. This is a smart alternative to the traditional, towering array of lightbulbs for a smaller scale staging, and who among us could begrudge it in an energy crisis? 

As Louise, the titular character who plays a supporting role in her own biography, Evelyn Hoskins is revelatory. Hoskins' recent career exploits have seen her move beyond playing anxious young girls to portraying women and this show allows her to make that journey nightly. Her early naïveté and optimism spectacularly foreshadow a growing resentment towards her manipulative mother and her belieavable youthfulness colours her entire arc with a note of heratbreak. However, not every performance is a meaty one. 

As the ultimate stage mother, Rebecca Thornhill's Rose is recognisably brassy, bullish and amorous, if a little manufactured. With stellar vocal performances of "Some People" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses", we witness a portrayal that is evident in its determination, but with neither regret nor mania behind the eyes. This is a Rose taken at face value as Thornhill executes the part with everything but a concealed vulnerability. Daniel Crowder's Herbie, meanwhile is convincingly infatuated but more than a little ineffectual and all too quickly forgotten. 

The buoyancy of the show's early scenes rely on the talents of young performers. Mia Burton plays Baby June like Shirley Temple with an extra tablespoon of sugar and has bucketfuls of star quality while Aimee Brain's is a thoughtful and delicate portrayal of the sidelined Louise. Mariana Tavoilieri's brief turn as an older June is a reminder of her considerable talent, and after Laura Tyrer and Susannah Van Den Berg have finished competitively chewing the scenery (incidentally, exactly what their roles as eccentric, mature strippers call for) it's a miracle any remains. The efforts of Rosie the dog as Chowsie ought not to go unmentioned.

The show's second act equips a remarkable Louise, as Hoskins is, to steal the thrust as she undergoes a transfixing transformation. The only remaining tool with which Rose can claw back the spotlight is the showstopping musicalised meltdown 'Rose's Turn'. With Thornhill's high kicks and classic vibrato she delivers the sung monologue effortlessly, the picture of a Vaudeville star born at the wrong time. Louise's assurance 'you really could have been something' has scarcely felt more truthful.

Pitcher sidesteps the true despair present in Laurents' script as he opts for an ending that is not quite a happy one but ultimately pulls its last punch. This is the venue's forté, however - staging a classic show not to boldly reconceive it but simply for it to glisten upon their stage. And this Gypsy surely glistens.

Gypsy runs at The Mill at Sonning until 15 July

Photo Credit: Andreas Lambis

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