Gypsy [1993 CBS Television Cast]

by Bette Midler

Overview

Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim's score for Gypsy has had five major recordings: the 1959 original Broadway cast album starring Ethel Merman; the 1962 original motion picture soundtrack starring Rosalind Russell, partially dubbed by Lisa Kirk; the 1973 London cast album starring Angela Lansbury; the 1989 Broadway revival cast album starring Tyne Daly; and here, the 1993 television soundtrack starring Bette Midler. The casting of Midler as Rose, the ultimate stage mother, seemed ideal; she is an accomplished actress with a theatrical background and a well-known singer with a feisty personality. The production made a point of sticking to the original show, and the supporting players, Peter Riegert, Cynthia Gibb, and Jennifer Beck (who actually got a fair amount of singing time, along with some others) were excellent. But any production of Gypsy stands or falls on the actress who plays Rose, and Midler turned out to be able to handle some aspects of the part, but not all. As a pop singer, she was too accustomed to being ingratiating and sympathetic to be as much of a monster as Rose is supposed to be, and she didn't quite have the voice for the more demanding songs. On "Small World," "You'll Never Get Away from Me," and "Together, Wherever We Go," songs in which Rose is being as nice as possible, Midler was fine. But in the more confrontational numbers, such as "Some People" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses," she didn't go far enough. You'd have thought that would make Rose's climactic nervous breakdown, "Rose's Turn," beyond Midler, too, but actually she brought that off well, adapting the performance to the small screen. On the whole, then, Midler did a respectable job, but not the one she was capable of, if she had worked harder. As such, this Gypsy, while a vast improvement over the disastrous movie soundtrack, was on a par with the Tyne Daly revival, but not a patch on Angela Lansbury's well-acted version or Ethel Merman's definitive interpretation. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	11/23/1993
Label:	Atlantic
UPC:	0075678255120

Tracks

1. Overture
2. May We Entertain You
3. Some People
4. Small World
5. Baby June and Her Newsboys
6. Mr. Goldstone
7. Little Lamb
8. You'll Never Get Away from Me
9. Dainty June and Her Farmboys
10. If Momma Was Married
11. All I Need Is the Girl
12. Everything's Coming Up Roses
13. Together (Wherever We Go)
14. You Gotta Get a Gimmick
15. Let Me Entertain You
16. Rose's Turn
17. End Credits

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bette Midler   Primary Artist,Vocals
Joey Cee   Primary Artist,Vocals
Betty Bruce   Primary Artist
Faith Dane   Primary Artist
Elizabeth Moss   Primary Artist,Vocals
Linda Hart   Primary Artist
Lisa Kirk   Primary Artist
Rosalind Russell   Primary Artist
Ann Jillian   Primary Artist
Warner Bros. Orchestra   Primary Artist
Christine Ebersole   Primary Artist,Vocals
Karl Malden   Primary Artist
Lacey Chabert   Primary Artist,Vocals
Natalie Wood   Primary Artist
Anna McNeely   Primary Artist,Vocals
Paul Wallace   Primary Artist
Terry Lindholm   Vocals
Chris Ermacoff   Cello
Laura Kuennen-Poper   Violin
John A. Reynolds   French Horn
Phillip Teele   Trombone
Alex Iles   Trombone
Patrick Boyd   Vocals
David Loeb   Piano
Michael Rafter   Director,Conductor
L. Kuennen-Proper   Violin
Douglas Masek   Woodwind
Rebecca Barr   Violin
Robert Schumitzky   Violin
Janet Lakatos   Viola
Patricia Johnson   Violin
Steve Kujala   Woodwind
Marcia Dickstein   Harp
Chuck Domanico   Bass
Wade Culbreath   Percussion
Jerry Hey   Trumpet
Michael Moore   Vocals
Dan Higgins   Woodwind
Alan Kaplan   Trombone
Roger Lebow   Cello
Gary Grant   Trumpet
Haim Shtrum   Violin
Dan Neufeld   Viola
Gary Foster   Woodwind
Armen Ksadjikian   Cello
Jon Clarke   Woodwind
Ken Wild   Bass
Gayle Levant   Harp
Joe Porcaro   Percussion
Endre Granat   Violin
Barbara Porter   Violin
Rachel Robinson   Violin
Peter Lockyer   Vocals
Barbara Hunter   Cello
Tamara Chang   Violin
Gwen Heller   Violin
Albie Berk   Drums
Ron Jannelli   Woodwind
Ralph Morrison III   Violin
Matthew Funes   Viola

Technical Credits

Marlene Wallace   Photography
Robert Schaper, Jr.   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Curt Sobel   Producer
Greg Gorman   Photography
Greenberg Kingsley   Design
Sally Boldt   Editing,Music Editor
Peggy Names   Engineer
Anna McNeely   Performer
Tony Esparza   Photography
Craig Zadan   Liner Notes,Executive Producer
Neil Meron   Executive Producer
Julian Bratolyubov   Music Preparation
Charlie Paakkari   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Marie Snyder   Music Supervisor
Michael Rafter   Producer,Arranger
Bonnie Bruckheimer   Executive Producer
Elizabeth Moss   Performer
Linda Hart   Performer
John Kander   Arranger
Sid Ramin   Orchestration
Bette Midler   Performer
Doug Sax   Mastering
Leslie Ann Jones   Assistant Engineer
Jule Styne   Composer
Scott Grusin   Editing,Music Editor
Michael Moore   Performer
Arif Mardin   Producer
Stephen Sondheim   Composer
Chris Ledesma   Editing,Music Editor
Christine Ebersole   Performer
Lacey Chabert   Performer
Robert Ginzler   Orchestration
Kevin Watson   Orchestra Contractor
Joey Cee   Performer