This week musical theater fans can rejoice as Shout! Factory is releasing three live musical productions on Blu-ray. One of these new releases is the West End production of Gypsy, a 2015 revival of the 1959 musical with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of American burlesque entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee. Rose Hovick (Imelda Staunton, Harry Potter) has been divorced three times—likely due to the fact that her obsession with making her Shirley Temple-like 9-year-old daughter “Baby June” a vaudeville star takes precedence over everything else. Even 10-year-old daughter Louise is often ignored or disregarded in the process, getting cast a boy, Uncle Sam, and even the back end of a cow to her sister’s starring role. Mama Rose packs up and takes her daughters to Los Angeles where she meets traveling candy salesman-turned-agent Herbie Sommers (Peter Davison, Doctor Who), who instantly falls for Rose. But Rose can’t entertain thoughts of yet another marriage while she’s obsessing with her daughter’s career.

As the years go by, the children grow up but the material Rose wants them to perform doesn’t—Rose will always see her daughter (Gemma Sutton) as the 9-year-old “Baby June”. June has grown tired of this and decides to take off in protest, and so Rose is forced to focus her efforts on Louise (Lara Pulver). However, vaudeville is quickly becoming a dying art, and Rose’s overbearing obsession and desperation in trying to find stardom and meaning through her daughter will ultimately drive everyone away.

Before watching this Blu-ray, I had heard of Gypsy but hadn’t seen any film or stage production, so I was unfamiliar with the story. Based on the title, I was expecting it to be about the career of Gypsy Rose Lee. Instead, it focuses on this sometimes funny/sometimes heartbreaking tale of this overbearing mother who obsesses with doing things for her children, without realizing that the real person she’s doing things for is herself. Imelda Staunton gives an amazing performance—both dramatically and musically. The way she emotionally chokes on some of her words conveys a sense that there really is a heart underneath this gruff exterior of a woman. The musical performances are also a stellar mix of drama and whimsy—while I hadn’t seen the play before, I certainly recognized many of these songs that have permeated their way into pop culture over the decades, such as “May We Entertain You?”, “Some People”, “Everything’s Coming up Roses” and “Together, Wherever We Go”.

The Blu-ray looks and sounds excellent. The picture is crisp and clear, and captures all of the action on the stage. It has the feeling of watching a stage play, but also a bit of a cinematic air. The dialogue and lyrics are clear, and the musical performances sound excellent. Unfortunately there is no bonus material included on this release. The disc comes packed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase without a slipcover.

What’s Included:

Film: (142 min)

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
• Subtitles: English

Extras:

There is no bonus material included on this Blu-ray.

Final Thoughts:

Gypsy is a dramatic and musical tour de force, led by a stellar performance by Imelda Staunton. The 2015 West End production is captured beautifully on this Blu-ray and makes for a thoroughly-entertaining viewing experience. The magnificent production itself is more than enough to warrant a recommendation—I would have upped this to highly recommended had there actually been some bonus material included.