LUPONE SLOTTED FOR GYPSY IN JULY! Today's New York Times reports that Patti LuPone--said to be sensational in a 2006 production of Gypsy at Ravinia--will reprise her role as the driven Mama Rose at Encores! this summer, in a production directed by Gypsy author Arthur Laurents.

The run from July 9 to July 29 (opening on July 12) represents a change in direction for Encores! It's the first summer production for the series, it'll last longer than the usual weekend, and, like the recent production of Follies, it's a revival of a recently revived Sondheim musical. (He wrote the Gypsy lyrics.)

Follies originally marketed itself as a venue for rare revivals of Broadway's hidden treasures, but in recent years it seems to be more divided between rarities and more familiar (commercial?) fare.

Anyway, this is exciting news--just look at how psyched Steve on Broadway is!

It's certainly an opportunity for LuPone to put down her tuba and cut loose in a way that wouldn't have been appropriate in the recent Broadway revival Sweeney Todd.

Here is LuPone's "Some People" from Ravinia--not the same as actually being there, of course!



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