1959: Gypsy at the Broadway Theatre

To many theatre lovers, "Gypsy" is the quintessential Broadway musical. The show opened at New York's Broadway Theatre on May 21, 1959 and played over 700 performances. Ethel Merman (left) originated the role of Rose that, to this day, is considered one of the greatest performances ever to be played out on a Broadway stage. Stephen Sondheim wrote the show's lyrics. Future Streisand collaborators Jule Styne ("Funny Girl") and Arthur Laurents ("Wholesale" and "The Way We Were") wrote the music and the show's book, respectively. Jerome Robbins directed the original production. Ethel Merman, a well established star of the Broadway stage received a Tony nomination for her performance. Amazingly, for all of its eight nominations, the original production of "Gypsy" came up empty handed at the Tony awards.

Despite being snubbed at the 1960 Tonys, "Gypsy" has gone on to become one of the most successful musical franchises in theatre history, and four very successful revivals have since graced the New York boards. Angela Lansbury won a Tony as Best Actress in a Musical for her 1974 portrayal of Rose that played at the venerable Winter Garden Theatre. Tyne Daly won the same award for her performance in 1989. In the 2003 production, Bernadette Peters had to settle for a mere Tony nomination for a performance that was widely hailed. But in 2008,"Gypsy" gold struck once again. The newest Broadway revival captured Tony awards for Patti LuPone (as Rose), Laura Benanti (as Louise) and Boyd Gaines (as Herbie).
 

We have so much in common . . .

Barbra Streisand has never really embraced the music from "Gypsy" as so many of her contemporaries have. In all her years of recording Broadway standards, Barbra has only performed one number from "Gypsy" - and that performance lasted all of twenty-four seconds on the small screen! She sang a brief interlude of "Small World" during her 1966 television special, "Color Me Barbra." The number was featured in the show's circus comedy sequence with Barbra singing the profound lyrics to a four footed friend: "We have so much in common, it's a phenomenon."

Stephen Sondheim collaborated with Jule Styne in writing the masterful score for "Gypsy." Styne, of course, would go on to write the music Barbra would later perform in both the stage and film versions of "Funny Girl."

Arthur Laurents wrote the book for "Gypsy" based on Gypsy Rose Lee's memoirs. He also directed the Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly and Patti LuPone versions of the show. For directing Lansbury and LuPone, Arthur Laurents received Tony nominations as Best Director. To date, however, Arthur Laurents has yet to personally receive a Tony award for any of his productions of "Gypsy."

Laurents, of course, was the first to hire Barbra Streisand to her first Broadway musical, "I Can Get It For You Wholesale." He directed the show that would award Barbra with her first Tony nomination, the only recognition the Tony Awards bestowed on the production. Laurents also wrote the book and screenplay for Barbra's most famous dramatic film, "The Way We Were."