All the songs in 'Gypsy' on Broadway

Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald takes on the iconic role of Mama Rose in visionary director George C. Wolfe’s revival of the classic showbiz musical.

Joey SimsSeptember 3, 2024, 04:00

It is Audra’s turn. Theatrical legend Audra McDonald takes on the role of Mama Rose in the hotly anticipated Broadway revival of the classic musical Gypsy. Directed by Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe and choreographed by four-time Tony nominee Camille A. Brown, the production marks McDonald’s first musical role on Broadway since 2017.

Based on the memoir of burlesque artist Gypsy Rose Lee, Gypsy focuses on Lee’s fraught relationship with her mother, Rose, a frightening and powerful figure who lives vicariously through her daughter’s success. First on Broadway in 1959, the show features music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.

McDonald is the latest in a long line of performers to tackle Styne and Sondheim’s beloved score, which features such standards as “Let Me Entertain You” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.” Keep reading to learn more about the musical numbers in Gypsy.

Check back for information on Gypsy tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

This article contains spoilers for Gypsy.

“May We Entertain You”

Seattle, early 1920s. Young sisters Baby June and Louise rehearse their vaudeville act ahead of a performance that evening at Uncle Jocko’s Vaudeville. The siblings’ mother, Rose, interrupts their number to critique her children and boss around the musicians. Baby June is the star of the act and Rose's favorite, while Louise stays in the background.

“Some People”

Rose has grand ambitions for her children’s act, but her grandfather refuses to provide any more financial support, suggesting Rose instead find a new husband. Her rejoinder: “After three husbands, I want to enjoy myself.” Some people, Rose sings, might be content with an unexciting life, but not Rose. She refuses to let her daughters settle for the average or the expected. They will be stars.

Legendary entertainer Ethel Merman originated the role of Rose in the 1959 Broadway premiere of Gypsy after building the show from the ground up alongside producer David Merrick. The role has since been played on Broadway by Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, and Patti LuPone.

“Some People (Reprise)”

As Rose and the girls drive cross-country to Los Angeles, she sings again of her dreams for her daughters. But in truth, the ambitions really belong to Rose herself: “Got the dream, but not the guts… That’s living for some people, but not Rose.”

“Small World”

At a theatre in Los Angeles, Rose struggles to land her daughters a booking until Herbie, a former agent, speaks up on their behalf. He expresses romantic interest in Rose, but she doesn’t wish to remarry. She asks Herbie to represent June and Louise, but he’s done with show business. Rose seduces the sweetly Herbie, convincing him the act is worth his time: “We have so much in common, it’s a phenomenon.”

The role of Herbie was originated on Broadway by film and television actor Jack Kulgman. The role has since been played on Broadway by Jonathan Hadary (opposite Daly), John Dossett (opposite Peters), and Boyd Gaines (opposite LuPone).

“Baby June and Her Newsboys/Let Me Entertain You”

Baby June, joined by a chorus of newsboys, performs a jazzed-up version of her vaudeville act. Louise now appears only as an ensemble dancer.

Years pass, and the girls are now adolescents, still performing the same show across the country.

“Have An Eggroll, Mr. Goldstone”

Rose, June, and the company celebrate Louise’s birthday one morning, but they are quickly distracted by the news that June’s show has been booked on the Orpheum Circuit. With everyone now focused on celebrating their new producer, Mr. Goldstone, Louise’s big day is quickly forgotten.

“Little Lamb”

Singing to her stuffed animals, Louise celebrates her birthday alone, wondering: “Little lamb, little lamb, I wonder how old I am.”

Sandra Church originated the role of Louise in the original 1959 Broadway production, while film actress Lane Bradbury played June. More recently, Crista Moore, Tammy Blanchard, and Laura Benanti have played Louise on Broadway. Benanti won a Tony Award for her portrayal in 2008.

“You’ll Never Get Away From Me”

Herbie tries to warn Rose the Depression and the advent of “talkies” (movies with sound) could mean the end of vaudeville. He wonders if June and Louise should instead be in school. Herbie proposes marriage again, but Rose moves the goalposts again – if he helps her get June’s name “up in lights on Broadway,” she will marry him. The two sing together: “I couldn’t get away from you even if I wanted to.”

“Dainty June and Her Farmboys”

June and company perform for high-powered mogul T.T. Grantziger. He offers to take June under his wing and pay to send her to school for acting, but on the condition that Rose no longer be involved.

“If Momma Was Married”

June admits to Louise that she hates their act and the life Rose has forced upon them. Together, the two happily imagine a world where their mother married Herbie and let go of her showbiz fantasies.

The sisters sing together: “Momma, please take our advice, we aren’t the Lunts,” with June adding: “I’m not Fanny Brice.” The Lunts — Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontane — were a showbiz couple for whom Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is named. Brice was a famous performer in the Ziegfeld Follies and the subject of her own musical, Funny Girl.

“All I Need Is The Girl”

Rose refuses Grantziger’s offer and the act goes back on the road, now in Buffalo. Tulsa, one of the dancers in the show, confides to Louise that he is secretly working on his own two-person act, revealing: “All I really need is the girl.” Excited by Tulsa’s vigor and passion, Louise joins in the dance and fantasizes of being just the “girl” for Tulsa.

“Everything’s Coming Up Roses”

Tulsa instead secretly marries June, and the two run away together. Herbie proposes to Rose again, suggesting he get back into the candy business. But Rose refuses to let the act die, instead declaring that Louise will be the new star: “You can do it, All you need is a hand... We can do it, Momma is gonna see to it!”

Somewhere between a rallying cry and a breakdown, the Act 1 finale “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” is one of the most famous numbers from Gypsy. It became a signature number for Merman, who recorded it for multiple albums over the course of her career and even performed it for a television commercial promoting dish soap. Merman also made her final film appearance in Airplane! as Lt. Hurwitz, a shell-shocked soldier convinced he is Ethel Merman. So introduced, the film then cuts to Merman singing a few bars of “Roses” before she is subdued by doctors.

“Madame Rose’s Toreadorables”

A few years later, at the top of Act 2, Rose and Louise are still on the road. Louise is the average headliner of a far lesser vaudeville act, “Madame Rose’s Toreadorables.” Rose forces Louise to wear a blonde wig so she more closely resembles June.

“Together Wherever We Go”

Louise asks Rose to give up on her showbiz dreams, but her mother is unmoved. Despite their disagreements, Rose, Louise, and Herbie pledge to stick by each other no matter what: “We’re gonna go through it together.”

“You Gotta Get A Gimmick”

Herbie accidentally books Louise's act at a burlesque house in Wichita, Kansas. Distraught, Rose realizes the act is finished and asks Herbie to marry her. He happily accepts. Louise convinces her mother to let them play the two weeks, as the family is desperate for money.

Backstage, Louise receives advice from three strippers on how to make a successful burlesque act: “Get yourself a gimmick, and you too can be a star!”

“Small World (Reprise)”

On their last night performing at the burlesque house, Rose overhears that the show’s star stripper has been arrested. Unable to resist a last chance at glory, she volunteers Louise to perform the striptease instead. Seeing Louise’s horror, Rose pressures her into the performance: “Let’s walk away a star.” Horrified, Herbie calls off the wedding and leaves for good.

“Let Me Entertain You”

Louise performs her striptease, at first nervously, but then gradually growing in confidence as her Rose whispers instructions from off stage. As the number continues, the years pass, and Louise – taking on the stage name Gypsy Rose Lee – gradually becomes a star burlesque performer, traveling the country before ever-growing crowds.

“Rose’s Turn”

Louise is now an accomplished burlesque performer. She argues in her dressing room with Rose, who finally admits to her daughter — and to herself — that she only pushed her daughters into show business after failing to achieve her own dreams as a performer.

Rose attempts to demonstrate her untapped talent for Louise, in hopes that her daughter might understand her. She performs a bold, brassy solo confronting her regrets, fears. self-absorption, and hurt, singing: “If it wasn’t for me, then where would you be, Miss Gypsy Rose Lee?”

Louise leaves and Rose follows, their future together unclear.