Gypsy
Until July 15
The Mill at Sonning
0118 969 8000
Everything’s Coming up Roses for The Mill at Sonning as they present their latest offering, the 1959 musical Gypsy.
Based on the true story of Burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, the show charts her rise to fame, from first appearing on stage as a child to the height of her fame.
The all-singing, all-dancing musical extravaganza opens with the chaos and hubbub of a children’s audition day at a Seattle Vaudeville theatre – most of the noise coming from pushy mothers convinced of their child’s prodigious talent.
The most vocal of these is Rose, the mother of June and Louise, who by sheer persistence manages to persuade the theatre owner to accept her children’s act.
A startling amount of talent is then presented, from musical instruments played live on stage, to fantastic dances by the child actors, to the star turn by little June, who leaves her sister, later to be known as Gypsy Rose Lee, in the shadows.
Years later and unable to take any more of her mother’s constant demands on her, June elopes with a fellow dancer, leaving Rose to focus her attention on her apparently less talented daughter.
Desperate for money, Louise accepts a role in a Burlesque house and discovers a hidden talent for ecdysia, much to her mother’s disapproval.
The elaborate set and extended stage allowed for an usually large cast to tap, pirouette, leap and twirl their way through some spectacular musical numbers.
Evelyn Hoskins as Louise perfectly portrayed the transformation from nervous child to confident woman, Daniel Crowder gives a very convincing performance of Rose’s long-suffering agent and partner, Herbie, as his patience with her steadily dwindles.
Rebecca Thornhill as Rose undoubtedly stole the show with her limitless energy and vicarious obsession with making her daughters stars, against almost insurmountable opposition. Food for thought for all those parents in the audience – how much to push our children and how much to let them make their own way in the world.
Gypsy is a real triumph for The Mill and well worth seeing.
JUDITH CREIGHTON
