‘Gypsy’ Sings Her Way Into Your Heart
Theater
“Gypsy” is one of the most widely exposed of American musicals, having been performed somewhere practically every day of the last 37 years: either on Broadway, on tour, in revival, in movies or on prime time.
People never seem to tire of this Sondheim-Styne musical about the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, her mother, Mama Rose, and their early life in vaudeville. It’s the ultimate stage-mother musical.
Part of the fun is what you might call comparative Gypsy-ology. How does one particular Mama Rose stack up against Ethel Merman? To Bette Midler? To Tyne Daly?
Dawn Dos Santos, who will play Mama Rose in the one-night-stand touring version of “Gypsy” at the Spokane Opera House on Sunday, has heard all of those comparisons. She does the role her way, but she compares herself to another actress who had a triumph in this role.
“I feel I fall along the lines of an Angela Lansbury,” said Dos Santos from a hotel room near Everett. “She is an actress first, then a singer. Ethel Merman had a big huge giant voice. I have one of those big brassy voices, too, but I can act it also.”
This New York actress (80 percent of the cast comes from New York) has a long list of credits in national touring companies. She said she has a particular affinity for this role, because, like Mama Rose, she is also a single mother striving to do what is best for her child.
“I have an 18-year-old son, and I’m going on my third marriage - I’m about to get married again,” said Dos Santos. “Also, I didn’t have a good relationship with my mother, although she did the total opposite of Mama Rose. She held me back from my career.”
All of these things help her to bring emotion to the role. And she even brings a note of reconciliation to the performance.
“Finally, in the last six months of my mother’s life, we came to be loving and close again,” said Dos Santos. “I have dedicated every night of this tour to the memory of my mother.”
“Gypsy” will be at the Opera House Sunday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $24.50 and $29.50, available through all G&B Select-a-Seat outlets, or by calling 325-SEAT or (800) 325-SEAT.
‘The Taming of the Shrew’
The audience is invited to join in the fun at the Rogue Players’ “The Taming of the Shrew,” opening Friday.
Audience members are “encouraged to attend in period costume” and will be invited to exhange American money for pseudo-Shakespearean currency, redeemable at the snack bar.
The Rogue Players, a grassroots community theater, tackles Shakespeare’s comedy about a couple at war through March 9.
The director is Dann Zehm. Dean Bethmann plays Petruchio, and Debbie Allen plays Kate. Other lead roles are played by Benjamin Meader, Tara Cooper and Wilson Shaw.
Performances are Friday, Saturday, Sunday and March 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9. All shows are at 8 p.m. except Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on Sunday and March 3. Tickets are $8 general admission; $6 for seniors and students. Call 327-9907 for tickets and information.
The Rogue Players perform in the Mason Auditorium of the West Central Community Center, 1603 N. Belt.
‘Snow White’
The Spokane Children’s Theatre opens the classic children’s show “Snow White” Saturday at the Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard.
Based on the well-known fairy tale, it is aimed at children from preschool age up through elementary age. This is part of the 50th anniversary season of the Spokane Children’s Theatre, which consists of the same shows that were presented in its inaugural season in 1946.
Showtimes are: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.; March 2, 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; March 9, 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; March 16, 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; March 17, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
All shows are sold out. Call 328-4886 for more information.
‘The Long Road to Memphis’
The one-man show about Martin Luther King, “The Long Road To Memphis,” will be performed at The Met at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Craig Alan Edwards, a New York actor/playwright, portrays King in this free show, which has been performed at colleges and theaters throughout the country. He also wrote the show, which reveals a more intimate, personal side of the civil rights leader on the night before his assassination.
The show is sponsored by the Associated Students of Eastern Washington University and the Gonzaga Law School.
Admission is free; arrive early if you want to be sure you get a seat.
‘Big River’
Eastern Washington University’s “Big River,” the musical version of “Huckleberry Finn,” opens Friday at the University Theater in Cheney.
This acclaimed Roger Miller musical is directed by EWU theater instructor Don McLaughlin and stars Troy Burke, Heather Jackson and Benjamin Dyck.
The show runs Friday, Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and March 1 and 2. All shows are 8 p.m. except a 2 p.m. matinee on Wednesday.
Tickets are $5 general admission, or free to EWU students. Call 359-6400 for information.
‘Waiting On FM’
The annual presentation of skits mocking Gonzaga University life, “Waiting on FM,” will run tonight, Friday and Saturday at 10 p.m. at the Russell Theatre on the campus.
The show is written, produced, directed and performed by students. Tickets are $3 at the door.
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