‘Gypsy’ at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre

“Gypsy” is a show that has an extraordinary number of familiar songs (“Everything’s Coming up Roses,” “All I Need is the Girl,” “Together Wherever We Go”) and even a time-honored punch-line (“How do you like them egg rolls, Mr. Goldstone?”).  It’s about the childhood of burlesque dancer/actress/writer Gypsy Rose Lee (Christine Dulong), known to her family as Louise, and her overbearing mother Rose (Shannon Lee Jones).

Rose is anyone’s worst nightmare of a stage mother. She takes advice from talking cows that appear to her in dreams and guide her to one hideous act after another. Her efforts are initially fixated on Baby June (Elle Shaheen), who has a singing, dancing vaudeville act with Baby Louise (Ally Foy). Things start looking up when candy salesman Herbie (Ed Batchelder, adorably well suited for this role) agrees to return to his former profession and represent the girls in their act. When Teen June (Marissa Sheltra), age 13, elopes with a boy from the act (largely to escape Rose’s smothering grip and start a legitimate acting career on her own), Rose turns her attention to Louise.

Louise doesn’t have the singing and dancing skills her baby sister did, but that doesn’t stop Mama Rose. But when the troupe accidentally gets booked at a burlesque house, Rose is forced to admit that vaudeville is dead. She finally agrees to Herbie and Louise’s biggest dream: to go home and build a quiet life for themselves where Louise can go to college.

However, when the leading stripper drops out of the show, Rose shoves Louise into her place—under the name Gypsy Rose Lee. Completely disgusted, Herbie leaves for good, and a reluctant Louise drags herself onstage. Under the spotlight as an adult for the first time, Louise truly finds herself and transforms into a high class strip dancer—a life with no room for her mother’s suffocating clutches.

Christine Dulong gives a heart wrenching performance as the insecure, nervous young lady who finally blossoms under the most unlikely circumstances. Baby June and Baby Louise are both charming and talented; Marissa Sheltra has the face of an angel and a voice to match. Ed Batchelder also breaks hearts as the man who puts up with Rose’s insane behavior until it breaks him. Tessie (Amanda Smith), who plays one of the strippers, is so outrageously gifted that we believe every syllable she utters in her high-pitched voice. Each moment she’s onstage, audience members look at nothing else.

Megan Quinn brings the show to a screeching halt with her part of “You Gotta Get a Gimmick,” as she explains to Louise what makes a successful stripper. Quinn is another actress with a voice of gold and a body to match, and she puts it all into a tough, deep-voiced trucker of a character. And Tulsa (Liam Forde, also serving as musical director) leaves us breathless with his tap dancing act.

The one character who leaves a little lacking is Mama Rose, played by Shannon Lee Jones. She’s got an Ethel Merman-esque voice and shows us the pushy side of Mama, but we never see the desperate side of a woman obstinately driven to leave her mark on the world. At the end, when she breaks down with “Gypsy Strip,” we feel little sympathy for this woman who’s spent her whole life pushing her children in a frantic attempt to have a life of her own.

Costume designer Jessica Moryl goes deliciously overboard with this one (some of the stripper costumes are to die for) and, as usual, Rob Scullin brings a simple set that’s easily shifted into other sets, keeping scene changes short.

Director TJ Sokso does an excellent job of fleshing out the characters and telling the story in a timely fashion. He also brings the cast together wonderfully, leaving no doubt that the members of this family genuinely love each other. Even the strippers seem to have their own family, into which they openly welcome “Louise and the Hollywood Blondes.”

“Gypsy” is a familiar musical, but it’s done here with heart and gusto. The cast and crew have breathed new life into an old show.
  
“Gypsy” is running alternately with “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” through Aug. 9 at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre, 125 Bow St., Portsmouth, 603-433-4472. Show times are Wednesdays at 7 p.m.; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m.