Who Did "Rose's Turn" The Best?

Bitch, please!

Betty Buckley got the pause in the monologue just right. Everyone else steamrolls over it.

Vivian Vance

anyone else?

No one, but no one can compare to Merman.

All of the other ladies played the victim...Merman played it as if she was triumphant.

"Rose's Turn" Perfomed by Kay Medford

Team Bernadette.

Marisa Janet Winokur needs to give that Tony award to Bernadette ASAP.

Elaine Stritch

Elaine Stritch talked her way through the number "Rose's Turn"

Does anyone still wear ... a feathered hat?

Everybody knows that nobody can touch the multi-talented (triple threat!) Miss Linda Lavin's performance of "Rose's Turn." The rest of them all sound like amateurs compared to Miss Lavin's brilliant interpretation of this timeless song.

Linda only has 2% of the vote in the poll

It's somewhat startling to see Patti LuPone, who is almost universally despised on DL, being ahead of the beloved Rosalind Russell on any DL poll. Granted, Roz was not a singer, but Patti LuPone is, well, Patti LuPone.

I'm not a Broadway person, could you give me a brief summary of why Patti Lupone is so hated?

She’s a cunt, R14.

Linda wasn't so great. I can't even tell what she's going for here. There's not a lot of hurt or heart or fear or...really anything in this performance. She seems almost too nice or something. There's not enough desperation.

This girl has serious pipes, but she's just doing a LuPone imitation. Maybe she was directed that way. So weird seeing a high schooler do this song.

Bernadette probably moved me the most. I really like her interpretation and I love the craziness of Patti's. The only one who makes me feel nothing but embarrassment is Bette's. What the hell was she doing there? The monologue right before is especially horrible. And I like Bette.

Bonnie Franklin would have been an excellent Rose.

I've seen drag queens do this number before, but this feels more realistic than usual. I kinda loved it. Is this from a full production? That must have been fascinating.

Bernadette recording the song in the recording studio. She's so committed even out of costume.

Chita did this? Help me, I've fallen down a YouTube rabbit hole watching all the performances of "Rose's Turn" I can find.

Reason why Bette Midler lost the EMMY for Gypsy as she is in LAST PLACE in the poll!

Where's the Tovah Feldshuh option?

What, no love for Babs' weird mashup of "Rose's Turn", "Some People", and "Don't Rain on My Parade"?

Jesus, was that how Barbra was planning on doing it? I can see why the film never happened.

Well, Tovah was...you really woulda been SOMETHING, Mama.

[quote] Reason why Bette Midler lost the EMMY for Gypsy as she is in LAST PLACE in the poll!

She lost an Emmy because she's last in this poll? Get thee to the time travel thread.

It requires an element of self-pity, anger, and bitterness. Ethyl Merman nailed it.

Here she is, boys! Here she is, world! Here's DL favorite and shoplifter Lainie Kazan

I'm not a huge Ethel fan, but you can tell the role was written just for her. She'll probably always be the best in this role.

[quote] It requires an element of self-pity, anger, and bitterness.

Now I see why Patti LuPone is ahead of Rosalind Russell in the poll.

Where's the "Zoo!" option?

Caroline O' Connor is a really underrated performer and she sings the shit out of this. But what's with the matronly costume?

OP, 99.9% of people have only seen Rosalind Russell do it, because of the movie.

It's strange to see how different LuPone was when she played Rose in Chicago. Some parts I like better than what she did on Broadway.

Rosalind Russell probably does the pre-song monologue the best. I always loved her take on that. Since she's not doing any of the heavy lifting singing, though, it kinda takes away from the song portion. I also can't get over how unimaginative the staging for a film version of Gypsy is. It's like they just filmed a theatrical performance of the show. I always imagined that scene being a bit like the "Roxie" number from the film version of Chicago.

Does the gal who did Rose’s Turn the best also did Everything’s Coming Up Roses the best ?

Linda Lavin, Bette Midler and Imelda Staunton are all tied for last place

[quote] also did

I've seen some people nail "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and then do an abortion of "Rose's Turn." And vice versa. I think the trick is trying not to peak at "Everything's Coming Up Roses." If Rose has already had a full mental break at the end of act 1, what is there to build to? I loved Patti's "Everything's Coming Up Roses" the best. I thought it was fascinating and filled with so much desperation and anger. Tyne's was bone-chilling, too.

I think Lansbury does the best version of Everything's Coming Up Roses but I don't really love her Rose's Turn.

I always loved Lansbury's batshit crazy "Rose's Turn." I love the tempo change at the end to reflect how insane she is.

I loved Bernadette Peters' version because she has such a strong voice. But Rosalind Russell carried the most authority in the monologue. And sorry, I loved Bette Midler because she is such a star.

R43, Jule Styne changed the tempo at the climax because he realized she couldn't sing it so he gimmicked it. You can hear how she did it in London and throughout most of the US tour and it's the same as Merman but that last note. Yeesh!

Lansbury's last note is pretty rough. I'm surprised they didn't at least try for another take. I guess that, if you're going to fudge a note, it might as well be in "Rose's Turn". That song can get away without sounding pretty.

[quote]Does the gal who did Rose’s Turn the best also did Everything’s Coming Up Roses the best ?

Even an ancient Ethel Merman slays it. None of the other ladies mentioned here come close.

Merman's performance was pure Grand Guignol.

I'd compare it to Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard.

Merman was kind of dumb... not much thinking going on there, but she was totally-self assured and that's why this role fit her so well.

Mama!

This is so "Mary!" but it's a shame that Judy Garland wasn't well enough to do Gypsy. Can you just imagine her as Mama Rose? That part was tailor-made for her. Also, "Mame."

R49 Judy Garland lobbied to do the part on Mame on Broadway (that according to Angela Lansbury) but no company would insure her, so the producers of Mame couldn't hire her.

This one.

R50, the modified story from Garland's people is that they begged the producers not to hire her because she was known to be erratic and if she began missing performances and possibly even caused the production to close, it might mean the end to her concert career and that was her main, possibly only source of income at that time.

While she's not included in the poll, I'd say Betty Buckley may have SUNG it better than anyone else (in the Papermill production, not simply based on concert recordings). Unfortunately, she acted Rose so chilly and lacking in any love for anyone that you didn't feel as much was at stake by the time she got RT.

Betty's Rose is easily the weirdest interpretation I've ever seen. It's not that she played it too mean or batshit crazy like Imelda, but she was just so lacking any kind of human warmth. It was a very cold, robotic performance almost as if she was playing Rose as someone on the spectrum who couldn't relate to anyone around her. I still don't know what I think about it. I don't think it works. What I wouldn't give for a cast recording of her production, though. She really did sing the shit out of it. I just don't think she understood Rose (which Arthur Laurents made abundantly clear to her backstage after the show).

I'm so glad I never have to see that actor who played Kurt Hummel ever again.

I've already forgotten his name.

r51 Seriously?

R51 Ew.

[quote] it's a shame that Judy Garland wasn't well enough to do Gypsy.

Why was she not well enough? It was 1962 and she was able to do other movies.

You can all suck my Dick!

r59 Chuckle of the Day. Thanks for that.

Laurents and Sondheim trashed Merman's acting abilities for decades. But in the complete audio of Merman's final performance in Gypsy, everything is there. She lands every laugh, even things that I've never heard get a laugh before, she's driven and forceful throughout, and then is surprisingly vulnerable in the dressing room scene, like a lost child. Maybe it's true that she walked through some performances, or wasn't always playing it at the top of her game, but that part fit her in a way that it never has quite suited anyone else.

The other women all have to work a little harder. Either they weren't naturally coarse and dominating, or the vocals weren't up to the demands of the score. But Lansbury really goes for it with that crazy scary and somewhat grotesque ending. Daly, though not a great singer, had a take like she was betrayed by her dreams, and I remember her slapping the stage with her hand at one point, which always stuck with me. With Peters, I think she really plays the abandonment by her mother, and I found that a very fresh take on it. Lupone sang it well, but offered no surprises, really. It was exactly the performance I expected when I walked in. Buckley sang the shit out of it, so it thrills musically, and she's also quite terrifying, but chilly, as said above, is pretty accurate.

Peters actually brought tears to my eyes; none of the others did.

I love Norway. Look at it on a map and it's shaped like a big spoon.

Mama!

Someone actually voted for Jana Robbins - she is on the list because 1) she was the standby for both Tyne Daly and Linda Lavin and went on a few times for both of them.

I don't mind that Patti is a cunt. She hates all the right people.

Tyne. When she imitated Gypsy's striptease complete with licking her lips and trying to look seductive it was magic. And her 'mama's' were the most haunting. Jana Robbins went on quite a few times for Tyne and a couple of times for Lavin. She also covered Buckley at Papermill and went on for her and she played the part in stock. I know some people say she was one of the best Rose's ever but I thought she was just ok.

WHERE'S DL FAVE LENORA NEMETZ? Seriously, she went on once for Patti and she was marvelous. I saw her. I found out she was going on and ran to TKTS and grabbed a cheap ticket. She was extremely nervous but nailed every bit. I think she went to Laurents after that and begged him to hire a standby and just let her play Mazzeppa and not cover Patti. And he did. And the less said about the standby, the better.

I'm probably one of the few who ever saw Mary Louise Wilson play Rose. She played Tessie Tura in the Lansbury edition but was also her understudy. Because of huge demand for matinees, Wilson went on in a few special Thursday matinees in Los Angeles. I saw her and student rush was only $2.50. Very good but strange to see her in that setting as her Rose was crasser, meaner than Lansbury and truer to the actual character.

R69, I read your post and thought you were talking about Mary-Louise Parker. That would be interesting.

Wanted to add that Wilson hadn't found the Rose character and played her like Tessie Tura, which wasn't a bad idea.

I just think if you are going to perform in a musical, you must have a good to good to great singing voice, as well as being able to act the part effectively. When I hear Lucille Ball "sing" in Auntie Mame, I want to cut my ears off. Bernadette Peters can really sing. I didn't like Streisand's rendition though.

The horror of Lucille Ball's "Mame" has been discussed at length on DL. Those threads are always fun, as are all the Lucille Ball threads.

And the irony was that Lucy would have been a helluva Rose.

Whom would you most like to hear sing it?

I would love to hear Christine Ebersole do Rose.

Lucy was certainly better suited to Rose or Dolly than Mame - that's for sure. She could have never vocally handled Rose, but she'd have been just fine for Dolly.

I'm thrilled that Carolee Carmello is playing Rose in Sacramento this year. I bet she'll be wonderful.

Now, I can't get the idea of Mary Louise Parker playing Rose out of my head. Dramatically, she'd probably be terrific. I'm almost positive she could never sing it, but it would be interesting to see her take on the role. I guess she already sorta played a Rose type on Weeds, though. I mean, she's a driven woman traveling everywhere with her kids in search of success and not really aware of all the trauma it's bringing upon them.

Annette Bening always struck me as being tailor made for Rose. Once again, I don't know if she could sing it, but I think she'd be brilliant. I try to imagine Catherine O'Hara doing it, too. She can sing (not like a belter), but she'd probably be hysterically funny and even very moving.

My performance was clearly the best. People just don’t know talent anymore. I was pure gold in that role, and every goddamn one of you knows it.

But all I ever hear is Alice, Alice, Alice.

No love for Imelda Staunton ?

Toni Collette will be an incredible Rose in ten years or so.

Tyne Daly couldn’t sing for shit.

I'd love to hear Mandy Patinkin's "Rose's Turn." Someone once floated here an idea for a Mandy Patinkin one-man show of "Gypsy" where he'd play all the parts (including Baby June), and I would pay money to see that. You know he'd do it in an instant.

Jesus! Mandy's "Rose's Turn" would easily be the scariest...and sweatiest. I could actually see Norbert Leo Butz do it at one of those Miscast things. I saw him do And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going at one of them and I found him strangely moving. He was sorta awesome.

I think Toni Collette is ready to do Gypsy now. I'd love to see that. God knows she could act it better than anyone and I'm fairly certain she could do justice to the score, too. That's an unbeatable combo. I wish they'd give her the movie version.

A Toni Collette-led Gypsy is probably the only way you could get me to see that show again in the next decade. I love the show to pieces, but let's give it rest. We had Bernadette, Patti, Imelda, and the on/again/off/again Streisand movie in talks - all in the past 10/15 years. I think Toni Collette is the only perfect choice for that role at the moment. She's the right age, can act it, and can sing it. If the LuPone revival ran for about a year, I'm sure a Toni Collette revival could run for at least as long if they played their cards right. The issue is - Gypsy has never really been a crowd pleaser or big money maker. Even if they keep that cheesy ending where Rose and Louise walk off into the sunset, there's still something about the show that leaves a bitter taste in most people's mouths.

How old is Rose supposed to be?

Liza Minnelli - Rose's Turn!

R79, 'cause she sucked. Screaming everything does not equal acting.

If we're following the real life story, Rose would be in her early 20's when she had her children if not younger, which puts her in her late 20's at the start of the show and probably her early/mid-40's by the end of it. Tyne Daly was probably the closest to Rose's real age. Bernadette would count, too. I think she was in her mid-50's at the time, but she's always looked at least a decade younger than her real age.

I think Liza would have been a stunning Rose in a 80's/90's TV movie or stage production. I believe she was offered the Tyne Daly revival, but she passed because it seemed like so much work. It's a shame she's too old now and has no voice left. Same with Streisand (although, even when younger, I could never really picture her in the role.)

Yeah, a younger Liza would've been great as Rose. Too bad she never did it.

Is there some sort of rule that says Rose must be cast with a post-menopausal actress? I know the stage is more forgiving for older people than film, but sometimes it's stretching it a bit. Didn't 70-something Leslie Uggams play Rose in a production a few years back? She looks great and all, but c'mon.

I've never understood this kind of casting. The previous poster is right - Rose would be in her early/mid-40's by the end of the show. Why not cast someone in their early/mid-30's and age them up if need be? Although, these days, I can't think of anyone in that age group who'd make an interesting Rose. Most of them are so bland.

Don't laugh at me, but I think Reese Witherspoon could be a great Rose. It's a lot like those tough quirky roles she used to play in the 90's. I know she sings a little, but probably not well enough to carry Rose's songs off, but y'never know.

Sadly, I'm still far too young. But I could handle Louise.

Catherine, your youthful exuberance would make for a fantastic Louise. And someday, when you're eventually over 40, you'd make a swell Mama Rose too!

Mama!

Momma!