Submitted
Gypsy, the fall production of Rainbow Youth Theatre, is a timeless classic, originally opening at the Broadway Theatre in 1959.
Since then, it has been revived on stage and in the movies with leading actresses Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters.
Gypsy opens on Oct. 17 at the Sid Williams Theatre.
It tells the story of Rose, (Susan Bradshaw, Chelsea Keene), a domineering mother who is determined that her daughter, Baby June, become a vaudeville headliner. She drags June and her older, awkward and less-talented sister, Louise, around the United States in order to break them into the big time.
Gypsy is based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, and provides audience members with an inside look at the hardships of show business at a time when vaudeville and stage acts were dying and motion pictures were taking over the entertainment world.
It is also a study of the complex character of Rose and her relationships with her two daughters as they outgrow the childlike persona their mother demands they continue to project.
The audience will be pleasantly surprised with the musical numbers in Gypsy. Co-directors Bradshaw and Danette Bell have prepared entertaining choreography and heartbreaking moments to accompany songs such as Everything’s Coming Up Roses, Let Me Entertain You, Some People, and Together (Wherever You Go), all accompanied by live orchestra.
Tickets for Gypsy are on sale at the Sid Williams Theatre box office, by phone at 250-338-2430, and online at www.sidwilliamstheatre.com.
Performance dates are Oct. 17, 18, 23, 24, and 25 at 7 p.m.
There is also a matinee, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m.