Being a child star comes with a price; one must sacrifice one’s life to entertain others and attain a lavish life, but behind closed curtains, there is a lot of suffering that one cannot begin to imagine.
Palo Alto Players will present its new take on the Broadway play “Gyspy,” a story based on the life of Rose Louise Hovick, also known as her stage name Gypsy Rose Lee. Opening night is expected to be Friday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m.
Gyspy was a famous burlesque dancer between the 1930s and the 1950s and redefined how a performer interacts with the audience. She had a brassy personality toward the public and fought for her independence at a young age.
Whitney Hisako Moore, who will be playing Gypsy Rose Lee, said that Gyspy faced a lot of abuse from her mother as a child vaudeville star. She said this role was a dream of hers and one of the most complicated roles she has experienced. The story follows her entire life, where she suffers through a traumatic childhood watching her younger sister, June, get all the attention from their mother and not believing she had any potential to succeed.
“She starts as this very neglected child, someone who is forced to play a boy to hide her sexuality,” she said. “She doesn’t even know how old she is. Her mom doesn’t tell her. She thinks she’s 10 her whole life. And then, you know, she keeps on getting these tastes of what it might mean to live a normal life and have a family and she keeps hoping for that.”
Moore said when she begins to have more time on the stage, she begins love her life once she is able to build a career for herself. She said the role taught her the commitment and determination that is required for actors. There are many sacrifices that people in the entertainment business make, but there is still a balance one can achieve, she said.
“There are so many relatable elements for truly any age,” she said. “We have the aspect of wanting something so badly, yearning for this dream and the journey to see someone achieve it is so satisfying to watch. I think people in the theatre industry can relate to giving your all and wanting this so badly and finally getting that satisfaction of achieving that dream.”
Janie Scott, the director of “Gypsy,” said this is her first play after a year’s hiatus and is excited to show this classic musical. She said she has a 12-year relationship with Palo Alto Players and has shown in more than six other Broadway revivals there.
She said this play will question one’s family dynamics. The ambition of Gyspy’s mother to become rich and famous pushed the family over the edge and it was not easy for them to make their own decisions. She said the first half of the play explores Gyspy’s roots, but the second act will be a major shift in her character that no one will see coming.
“I think what the director certainly is concerned about, in particular, is that her two female leads are super strong performers,” Scott said. “The role of June is very vocal, demanding and an acting role that not everybody can conquer. And Gyspy, the other sister, is this young, shy tomboy of a girl who’s quite a happy being and then traverses all of this as she gets older.”
She said that the audience does not need to know much about the show’s background, but they should know a general idea of the vaudeville and burlesque era. She said the show is very much grounded in the 1920s and 1930s, applying popular slang, costumes and props. She said people will be referred to as strippers in the show, but in the context of the time, it referred to women who were “bold and the cutting edge of entertainment.” She said the show will give a nostalgic reflection of American entertainment and how many performance artists were inspired by Gypsy’s work.
“A lot of people take to TikTok, hoping somebody’s gonna see what they do so they can become famous,” she said. “That idea and drive for wanting to become famous is exactly what Rose has going. That feeling is not specific to the 1920s. Many want their 15 minutes of fame, or whatever they’re gonna maybe get and I think that’s very alive and well in this story.”
“Gypsy” will be performed at Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. For more information visit paplayers.org/event/gypsy.
