On this day 60 years ago, the imdominable Ethel Merman opened in her greatest role in what is arguably the greatest musical ever written: the Jule Styne / Stephen Sondheim / Arthur Laurents showbiz saga Gypsy.
The “musical fable” opened at the Broadway Theatre to run 702 performances, and has been revived on Broadway four times since, garnering Tony Awards for three of five Roses.
Dan Soda (Windy City Operaman) is a Chicago native whose first visit to opera was at age 17 and Massenet’s Werther with Troyanos and Kraus. Nothing was ever the same. Opera and concert performances, recordings and video are an obsession. He prepares Parterre Box’s daily birthday and anniversary tributes. He also enjoys concerts, live theater and movies.
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
