Archive: Arts & Entertainment

The Hangar Theatre continues its 39th season with one of the greatest American musicals of all time, Gypsy, which runs from July 4-20. Distinguished by more than 45 awards and nominations - including the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World awards - Gypsy has been revived on Broadway four times.

Gypsy was inspired by the memoirs of the legendary burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee. This gripping story follows the ultimate stage mother, determined to catapult her daughters to stardom in the waning 1920s vaudeville circuit. It's filled with Styne and Sondheim's popular standards, including 'Everything's Coming up Roses,' 'Small World,' 'Let Me Entertain You,' 'All I Need Is the Girl,' and 'Rose's Turn'.

Michele Ragusa (Broadway's Young Frankenstein, Urinetown, and Titanic) stars as Mama Rose. The cast features Hangar alumni David Studwell (the Hangar's productions of Titanic and Ragtime) as Herbie; Wally Dunn (the Hangar's productions of November and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, as well as Broadway's Spamalot and Gypsy) as Uncle Jocko; and Ariella Serur (the Hangar's production of Titanic) as Louise.

The cast also features Martin Van Treuren (Broadway's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Jekyll and Hyde, and NYC Opera's Candide) as Pops; Rebecca Gibel (TV's "Blue Bloods" and Trinity Rep's Boeing Boeing) as Tessie Tura; and Cathy Trien (Broadway revival of Gypsy and The Great American Trailer Park Musical) as Mazeppa. The Hangar production will be directed by Artistic Director Stephanie Yankwitt, with musical direction by Ryan MacKenzie Lewis, and choreography by Cody Smith.

Director Stephanie Yankwitt says, "The history of Gypsy is the history of Vaudeville in America. On a personal level, Gypsy is the musical that inspired me toward a life in the theatre. Rose's relentless pursuit of achieving her dreams and creating a life that she can be proud of, and Louise's ability to thrive in the face of adversity, speak to the heart of the American experience and the struggle we confront as we move through our lives. 'Everybody needs something impossible to hope for,' and that is at the heart of Gypsy."

This classic musical speaks directly to the underlying theme of this season at the Hangar: stories of people confronting their past in order to discover their future.

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