Double Olivier Award-winner Joanna Riding will take on the role of the ultimate domineering stage mother, Madame Rose in the Buxton Opera House and Buxton International Festival upcoming production of Gypsy this summer.
Best known for her work in musical theatre, Riding (Follies, Billy Elliot, The Girls) will take to the stage as one of the genre’s most formidable females from 7-24 July 2022.
Announcing Riding’s casting, the chief executive of Buxton Opera House Paul Kerryson said: “We are so thrilled to be able to cast such an accomplished performer in one of the most iconic roles ever written for musical theatre. I am looking forward to bringing this new production of Gypsy to the stage of the stunning Buxton Opera House which will open the 2022 Buxton International Festival. “
Buxton International Festival CEO Michael Williams added: “Following the success of A Little Night Music last summer, we are delighted to be combining forces with Buxton Opera House again this year for Gypsy: A Musical Fable. Joanna Riding will make a brilliant Rose, the ultimate showbiz mother.”
Based on the 1957 memoir of American burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, and widely regarded as one of the great Broadway musicals, Gypsy has a book by Arthur Laurents with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
The original production directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins and produced by David Merrick and Leland Hayward debuted on Broadway in 1959 with the legendary Ethel Merman starring as the indomitable Rose, the showbiz-addicted mother who drags her daughters around the US in search of stardom.
Famously played by Rosalind Russell in the 1962 film version, the role of Rose has been played by some of the stage and screen’s biggest stars, including Betty Hutton, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters. The most recent West End revival of the show in 2015 featured a barnstorming and award-winning performance by Imelda Staunton.
Angela Thomas
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