Gypsy

Lesher Center for the Arts
1601 Civic Drive Walnut Creek

There's a reason why actresses like Ethel Merman, Patti Lupone, Bette Midler and fingers-crossed Barbra Streisand (who's rumored to be starring in a new film adaptation) have wanted to play the mother of all musical roles. Gypsy is that good. Even The New York Times says it "may be the greatest of all American musicals." Only an epic this grand could capture the real-life Rose, the ultimate stage mom, who groomed her two daughters to be vaudeville stars ... only to see one of them leave it all behind to become a burlesque sensation. With a book by Arthur Laurents (West Side Story), music by Jule Styne (Funny Girl) and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods), this timeless favorite boasts classic crowd-pleasing songs like "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Let Me Entertain You," "Together Wherever We Go," "Some People," "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" and the show-stopping "Rose's Turn." Catch this always emotional and engaging show, starring Lynda DiVito as Mama Rose, courtesy of the Contra Costa Musical Theatre at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.