‘Gypsy’ opens at Drury Lane

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Klea Blackhurst is Mama Rose in "Gypsy," at Drury Lane Theatre. | BRETT BEINER PHOTOGRAPHY

‘Gypsy’

Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace

1:30 p.m. Wednesdays; 1:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursdays; 8:30 p.m. Fridays; 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays; and 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sundays, through April 1

$35-$46, with discounts available for students and senior citizens. Dinner packages available for $49.75-$68

(630) 530-0111 or visit www.drurylaneoakbrook.com

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Updated: January 24, 2012 9:25PM

The term “triple threat” typically is reserved for that rare performer whose voice, acting and dancing skills are equally exceptional. But Bill Osetek, artistic director at Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, said the term also applies to the theater’s current production, “Gypsy.”

“Some would say it’s the greatest musical that’s ever been written,” said Osetek, director of the show starring Klea Blackhurst as Rose, the overbearing stage mother of Louise, played by Jeff Award-winner Andrea Prestinario, and June, played by Andrea Collier.

“Gypsy” is based on the memoirs of burlesque legend Gypsy Rose Lee, whose mother wanted desperately to turn her daughters into vaudeville stars. It’s a story about the complex relationship between a mother and daughter, and about a daughter’s ability to make the best of the gifts
she’s been given.

“She made it into something special,” Osetek said of Louise, who finds her own path to stardom.

Mama’s girl

The story follows Louise and June as they grow up. Fresh from her run as Marta in “Sound of Music,” 11-year-old Hannah Whitlock of Northbrook returns to Drury Lane as Baby Louise, the child star who’s the center of Rose’s ambitions.

“All she wants is to be loved by her mother,” said the sixth-grader at Northbrook Junior High School.

As the younger version of Louise, Hannah has to be a bit of a triple threat herself.

“I do a couple of numbers where I dance and sing,” she said.

John Babbo of River Forest is another young talent returning to the Drury Lane stage. Babbo appeared in Drury Lane’s production of “Sweeney Todd” last year. He also recently appeared in the national tour of “A Christmas Story,”

In “Gypsy,” Babbo has a couple of parts, one of which doesn’t take much acting at all, the 11-year-old said.

“I really am bad at clarinet,” said Babbo, who plays a boy who botches an audition early in the show. He then returns to the stage as a newsboy, singing “Extra, Extra,” one of many songs that the audience is sure to recognize, even if they’ve never seen the musical before.

Classic songs

The Grammy-winning score includes such iconic tunes as “Let Me Entertain You,” “Some People,” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.”

Francis Asher of Oak Park has spent a lifetime on stage, but she’s new to Drury Lane, and to “Gypsy.”

“It’s a wonderful production. The people are so talented,” she said. “I’m just blown away with the talent.”

After a lengthy break from theater, Asher is pleased to return as Electra. “I play a stripper from Wichita,” Asher said.

Weeks before opening night, she said she’s already back home on stage. “I missed it,” she said. “It’s like being home again.”

Osetek said the story of “Gypsy” is both tragic and funny, with a score that drives the story along.

“It moves seamlessly from scene to song,” he said.

“Gypsy” features music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Arthur Laurents, and has seen four revivals since it first opened on Broadway in 1959, with Ethel Merman as Mama Rose. It is the winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.

“It’s epic,” Osetek said.