Gypsy Recordings

James Troutman

Date: 2003/10/19
Last revised: 2003/11/29

Of all the classic musicals there are probably more recordings of Gypsy than of any other, and what's amazing is that they are almost all very good, making choosing amongst them a difficult proposition. If I were stranded on desert island with just one, I don't think I'd be unhappy with any one of them. The one big exception is the soundtrack to the 1962 motion picture, which suffers from cuts and vocal deficiencies.

I do have my favorites, however. Certainly, the Ethel Merman Original Broadway Cast Recording belongs on the shelf of everyone who is serious about musicals. These are the artists for whom the songs were originally written or adapted, and whatever you may think of her, Ethel Merman does deliver the best performance of her career. Add in the bonus tracks and this recording becomes essential.

My other favorites relate to the two Broadway versions that I've seen, the Lansbury and the Peters. Both of these artists gave outstanding performances, and the rest of the casts were terrific, also. I wouldn't want to be without either of those recordings.

I purchased the Midler and the Daly CDs specifically to do the recording comparison. After hearing the Daly, I truly regret not making more of an effort to see her on Broadway. As to the Midler, while I think she's a great Rose in the 1993 film, she doesn't come across quite as well on the recording. Hers is a performance that must be seen to be fully appreciated.

Chances are, if you've seen any of the productions from which these recordings are derived, you'll probably want to own that performance. Otherwise, here is a guide to help you sort out the differences among the available Gypsy recordings.

I've included the DVD of the 1962 film starring Rosalind Russell mainly for completeness. Rhino has just released a CD of the soundtrack recording featuring extra bonus tracks of Rosalind Russell singing.

Note that the numbers are listed as they appear in the Gypsy Vocal Score; none of the recordings includes all the numbers, and each one makes different decisions as to what to include, what to omit, and what to conflate (chiefly the vaudeville act numbers).