1959 The life of Gypsy Rose Lee becomes legendary as Ethel Merman takes the lead in Gypsy. Arthur Laurents based his book in the memoirs of the stripper, with a score by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Jerome Robbins stages what will be a 702 performance run at the Broadway Theatre. Future mountings will feature Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly and, on TV, Bette Midler.
Mister D: I guess we should be adding Bernadette Peters to this list also, since she is playing Mama Rose presently, and has just garnered a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
