Broadway 2 A Day: 1958 - 1959 (I love Gypsy and I'm not ashamed)

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Almost two months down! This challenge has had quite a few duds, but it has given me something to do each week and I'm still enjoying the process.

This week I also decided to re-listen to every Taylor Swift album in chronological order to prepare for the re-recorded version of Fearless that's coming in April. So my Spotify Wrapped this year is going to be a whole mess, I've accepted it. Let's dive in.

  • Juno 
    • Have I heard of it before? No, I think I much prefer the unrelated movie starring Elliot Page 
    • Did I enjoy it? This was in one ear and out the other, someone might as well have been giving me driving directions because I do not remember a word of this.
    • Synopsis: This story chronicles the disintegration of an Irish family in Dublin in the early 1920s, during the Troubles between the Irish Republican Army and the British. Juno is the hardworking matriarch who struggles to hold the family together in the face of war, betrayal, and her worthless husband's drinking. (Stage Agent) It was cool to hear Shirley Booth in something besides Year Without A Santa Claus though. 
    • Favorite song: Favorite is a strong word but "Hymn" was okay
  • First Impressions 
    • Have I heard of it before? No, if someone told me there was a Pride & Prejudice musical I would have been all over this years ago!
    • Did I enjoy it? Absolutely not. Elizabeth Bennett sounded like she was 60 years old. They made Darcy completely unlikable. And not one song was catchy! Disgraceful. 
    • Synopsis: It's Pride and Prejudice. Same characters, same places, same plot. 
    • Favorite song: This Really Isn't Me
  • The Nervous Set
    • Have I heard of it before? No, but it sounds like a great title for my memoir!
    • Did I enjoy it? This one had my finger on the skip button so fast
    • Synopsis: The Nervous Set takes place in New York City in 1950 and focuses on the personal life of the editor of an off-beat literary magazine, Brad, and his wife, Jan. The show follows their attempts to find meaning and love in a society they find discontented -- or overly contented to the point of dullness -- as the action moves from Greenwich Village to Connecticut to New York's swanky Upper West Side. (Stage Agent)
    • Favorite song: Laugh, I Thought I'd Die (again, just the least bad option)
  • Redhead
    • Have I heard of it before? Nope
    • Did I enjoy it? Like everything that Gwen Verdon has starred in so far, I enjoyed her in it and I do think this one has some potential cause people love a murder mystery 
    • Synopsis: "Redhead" is a murder mystery musical taking place in London in the early 1900s. After a young actress has been murdered, the Simpson Sisters' Waxworks puts on an exhibit showing the known events of the murder. The exhibit angers actor Tom Baxter, who greatly liked the deceased young actress. The Simpsons' niece, Essie, quickly falls in love with Tom. In order to gain his attention, she falsely states that she has been attacked by the murderer. In the end, the murderer is found and Essie and Tom are married. (Stage Agent)
    • Favorite song: I Feel Merely Marvelous 
  • Flower Drum Song
    • Have I heard of it before? Only because of the song I Enjoy Being A Girl 
    • Did I enjoy it? Yes, I thought there were some sweet moments and some good humor that wasn't painfully racist 
    • Synopsis: Set in the late 1950s, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song centers on naive immigrant, Mei-Li, who arrives in San Francisco's Chinatown, after fleeing communist China. The young refugee is befriended by Wang, who is struggling to keep the Chinese Opera theatrical tradition alive, despite his son's determination to turn the family theatre into a rowdy nightclub. Over the course of the piece, we see generations of Asian-Americans grappling with their identity, pulled between a desire to uphold the traditions of their Asian past and a need to feel vitally part of the American present. (Stage Agent)
    • Favorite song: I Enjoy Being A Girl 
  • Gypsy 
    • Have I heard of it before? Have I heard of it? It's a masterpiece! I've seen the movie from the 60s and have definitely not watched illegal recordings of the 2008 version on Broadway...I would never do that. 
    • Did I enjoy it? See above. 
    • Synopsis: Speculated by many to be the greatest of all American musicals, Gypsy tells the story of the dreams and efforts of one hungry, powerhouse of a woman to get her two daughters into show business. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoir of famous striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee. The memoir and the musical focus on the story of Gypsy Rose Lee’s mother, Rose, and earned Rose a place in the theatrical and literary canon as the quintessential, archetypal “Stage Mother.” The musical features songs that have become standards of the musical theatre canon, including “Some People,” “Let Me Entertain You,” “Rose’s Turn,” and the show-stopping “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”. Gypsy is famous for helping launch lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s career, and features a book by Arthur Laurents that is widely considered to be one of the classic examples of a traditional “book musical.” At the heart of the musical is the gregarious Rose, whose journey made critic Frank Rich call Gypsy, “Broadway’s own brassy, unlikely answer to King Lear.” (Stage Agent)
    • Favorite song: Rose's Turn (obviously, I love watching a character completely break down)
  • Destry Rides Again 
    • Have I heard of it before? No
    • Did I enjoy it? No, this wanted to be Oklahoma so badly but failed 
    • Synopsis: Taking place in the Wild West, the story concerns a murdered sheriff and the quest to find his killer. The new sheriff, Wash, brings in the famous gunfighter, Destry, to track down and bring justice to the murderers. He discovers that the town gambler, Kent, and his gal, Frenchy are the guilty parties. However, they won't go out without a fight! (Stage Agent)
    • Favorite song: Once Knew A Fella (just so you can hear Andy Griffith sing) 

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