The Broadway.com staff is crazy for Culturalist, the website that lets you choose and create your own top 10 lists. Every week, we’re challenging you with a new Broadway-themed topic to rank.
Here she is, boys! Here she is, world! Now the question is: which one is your favorite? Gypsy opened on May 21,1959 at the Broadway Theatre, and 57 years later, there have been five Main Stem revivals, two film adaptations (three if you count the taped West End revival) and the possibility of a third starring Barbra Streisand. Audiences still beg Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim and Jule Styne's tuner to entertain them, and that is in part due to the brassy, bossy, bombastic role of Rose. Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly and Patti LuPone have taken home Tonys for playing the iconic character, and Imelda Staunton nabbed an Olivier Award for leading 2015's West End revival. Rosalind Russell and Bette Midler have portrayed her onscreen, and of course, we cannot forget Ethel Merman's original take on the relentlessly ambitious stage mother. So which Rose performance can you truly never get away from? Everything's coming up Roses, and Broadway.com News Reporter Ryan McPhee kicked off this challenge with his top 10!
STEP 1—SELECT: Visit Culturalist to see all of your options. Highlight your 10 favorites and then click “rearrange list” (or, if you have nothing to rearrange, go right ahead and hit "publish").
STEP 2—RANK & PUBLISH: Reorder your 10 choices by dragging them into the correct spot on your list. Click the “publish” button.
Once your list is published, you can see the overall rankings of everyone on the aggregate list.
Pick your favorites, then tune in for the results next week on Broadway.com!