GYPSY   Scenic Flow Chart, as scripted, PROPS and Comments                        March 3, 2006

ACTION:  Early 1920’s to the early 1930’s

 ACT ONE

 SCENE 1:              VAUDEVILLE THEATRE STAGE, SEATTLE

 Scenery:  On either side of the proscenium, there are illuminated placards – as in the days of  vaudelville.  After the overture, these light up to read:  UNLCE JOCKO’S KIDDIE SHOW, SEATTLE

 The stage of a tacky vaudeville theatre.
The stage is half set for the rehearsal of a kiddie show.

PROPS:  Clarence and his classic clarinet

 “Rose’s Entrance:  Let Me Entertain You”

 ACTION:  Coming down the aisle and onto the stage is MOMMA

 PROPS:            A little dog
Hatpin

SCENE 2:            KITCHEN OF A FRAME HOUSE, SEATTLE

PLACARDS:            HOME SWEET HOME

SCENERY:  Kitchen of a frame house.
Icebox; sink overflowing with dishers; calendars, timetables on walls; a rocker, perhaps a small sunken sofa.
PROPS:   Plate of food from icebox for Chowsie.
Hairbrush
Bible
Gold plaque on the wall.  P. 10.  Railroad 50 years for Father, which Rose takes off wall at end of scene

“Some People”

SCENE 3:            ROAD BETWEEN SEATTLE AND LOS ANGELES

PLACARDS:            SEATTLE TO LOS ANGELES

 “Rose & Boy Scouts”

SCENERY AND PROPS:  Carrying suitcases, 3.
Cut-out of a fancy old touring car “driven” by a rich MAN and his little SON comes on and stopes to pick up the children and ROSE,BOYS cross stage carring signs indicating the lessening distance between Seattle and LA
Pennies
Banner:  Welcome to Los Angeles

SCENE 4:            BACKSTAGE OF A VAUDELVILLE HOUSE, DALLAS

PLACARDS:            DON’T CALL US … LOS ANGELES

SCENERY & PROPS:  Odds and ends of scenery, crates, trunks, lights, etc.  Backstage
“Children, go play in the alley.”
Herbie’s suitcase

“Small World”

SCENE 5;            ON STAGE OF A VAUDELVILLE THEATRE, LOS ANGELES

PLACARDS:            BABY JUNE AND HER NEWSBOYS, LOS ANGELES

SCENERY & PROPS:  Curtains part to show a street drop typical of vaudeville: before it, a newspaper kiosk.
Newspapers
“crash” through the paper “front page” plastered across the kiosk comes June.

 “Baby June and Her Newsboys”

“Let Me Entertain You:  Ragtime Version”

 “Recitation & Military Routine”

SCENERY & PROPS:  June darts behind the kiosk to change her costume.
 Batons
American Eagle pops up over the kiosk
Boys fire rifles and American flags pop up.
June and her boys start a traveling step.  As the music builds and gets faster, the name of the city on the illuminated placard changes from one town to another to end up with DAINTY JUNE AND HER NEWSBOYS … AKRON.  During this the LIGHTS flicker faster and faster… lobsterscope.

SCENE 6:            HOTEL ROOMS, AKRON

PLACARDS:            HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AKRON

SCENERY & PROPS:  Two plaster-cracked hotel rooms.
Alarm clock is ringing.
Room is festooned with clothesline:  winter underwear and costumes
On the bare bedsprings of one bed lies LOUISE wrapped up in a blanket.
The mattress has been put on the floor and on it, wrapped in another blanket of the same pattern, are three of the BOYS.
Asleep on two chairs pushed together is the oldest boy, TULSA
He is wrapped in one of the blankets
There is a small window with the shade down and when opened it rolls up with a tremendous clatter.
Outside the window is a brick wall.
The window must open for Louise to put her head outside.
Door to the other room opens
June in curlers
Rose carries in a small birthday cake lighted with candles
One boy turns on a light in the room.
Big bed and table near ti.
June’s cat
Bird cage suspended from the chandelier
He has picked up a box from under the bed … in it a catcher’s mitt and a big league baseball.
A real stuffed cat
Picture of a goldfish
A “beautiful package” in it a complete sewing set in a velvet lined basket
3 second-hand books tied with cord
Rose comes out of the bathroom carrying food.
Food plates, “one egg roll apiece.”
KRINGERLEIN opens the door quietly, shuts it behind him and tiptoes to the doorway between the two rooms.
Little lamb in rubber drawers
Throws pillows and blankets
Picks up a plate from the trunk

“Mr. Goldstone”

“Little Lamb” 

SCENE 7:            CHINESE RESTAURANT,  NEW YORK

PLACARDS:            TABLE FOR TWO… NEW YORK

SCENERY & PROPS:  Gaudy Chinese restaurant.
Cigarettes
Table
Chairs
Blankets from above scene must match costumes.
Rose is scraping left-overs fro the plates into cartons which she eventually gathers into a paper sack.
Silverware
Rose hands Herbie a pill

“You’ll Never Get Away from Me”

SCENE 8:            STAGE OF GRANTZIGER’S PALACE, NEW YORK

PLACARDS:            GRANTZIGER’S PALACE, NEW YORK

SCENERY & PROPS:  A telephone is ringing as the lights come up on the gold theatre curtains.
Telephone attached on a bracket to the proscenium
“Having difficulty with the scenery”

Farm Sequence”

SCENERY & PROPS:  Corny set of a vaudeville barnyard, complete with haystack
Rakes, hoes, etc.
Haystack parts to reveal JUNE
Cow
Rose appears in the wings

“Broadway”

 Canes
End of number, BOYS and stagehands help get the haystack offstage

 TRAIN.  Scenery
She runs off the platform of the train and embraces the COW
American Eagle pops up over the train
Batons
Boys fire American flags from their canes.
Gold Curtain closes. 

SCENE 9:            GRANTZIGER’S OFFICE

PLACARDS:            none

SCENERY & PROPS:  An ornately Gothic office with two doors
June is playing the piano  (it is electric as it plays by self)
Telephone rings
Contract
Scrapbook of clippings

“If Mama Was Married”

SCENE 10:            THEATRE ALLEY, BUFFALO

PLACARDS:            DREAMS OF GLORY … BUFFALO

SCENERY & PROPS: A theatre alley with steps leading to the functional stage door.
Broom for a partner

 “All I Need Is a Girl”

SCENE 11:            RAILROAD PLATFORM, OMAHA

PLACARDS:            TERMINAL… OMAHA

SCENERY & PROPS:  Railroad platform with baggage.
Tickets
Note from June to Rose, which she tears in half later

“Everything’s Coming Up Roses”

ACT         TWO

SCENE 1:              DESERT COUNTRY, TEXAS

 PLACARDS:            MME. ROSE’S TOREADROABLES,  TEXAS

 SCENERY & PROPS:  Desert country.  Rear end of a touring car sticks out from one side.  From the other, part of a tent.

 “Toreadorables”

 DANCE

 “Stars and Stripes”

 Baton
Shawls turn around to become American flags.  Read script.  2-1-3

 “Together Wherever We Go”

Agnes enters with letters.

PLACARD CHANGE TO READ:  THE BOTTOM , WICHITA

SCENE 2:            BACKSTAGE OF A BURLESQUE HOUSE, WICHITA

PLACARDS:            none

SCENERY & PROPS:  Backstage of a Burlesque house, Wichita.  At one side, a large theatre dressing room; a long corridor leading to the stage.  The corridor continues (unseen) the dressing room, thus leading to the other, unseen dressing rooms.  A large door opens into the theatre alley.  Each has a large shield.
Girls carry bags, props, part of the cow
Clipboard and pencil
Strippers exit the stage to pick up their gilded spears (2) from a stack leaning on the corridor wall.
In the dressing room, Louise is hanging up costumes.
Agnes holds up a jeweled B-string which she proceeds to try on as a necklace.
Messy dressing room table.
Rose enters from the alley door with more bags and props.
Mazeppa with her spear as Queen of the Gladiators
Door on the dressing room
Hook for costumes
Rose exits with make-up kit for other dressing room
Bugle
Electra with batteries to operate her lights.

 “You Gotta Get a Gmmick”

SCENE 3:            BACKSTAGE CORRIDOR

PLACARDS:            none

SCENERY & PROPS:  Herbie runs on with a bouquet of flowers

Agnes with suitcase

SCENE 4:            BACKSTAGE AND ON STAGE:  WICHITA, DETROIT, PHILADELPHIA, MINSKY’S

PLACARDS:            none

SCENERY & PROPS:  Dressing room looks emptier.  Most of Rose’s costumes, etc. have been packed
Herbie with wedding license.
Cow head
Puts cow head into suitcase
Make-up and table, etc
Suitcase
Sheet music in suitcase
Herbie picks up his suitcase

“Small World (Reprise)”

Louse alone before a long mirror in dressing room.
The dressing room has been rolled off, leaving only the mirror
The only light on the stage is the glow of the mirror bulbs;
The mirror moves off
We are “ion stage”.  The curtain is upstage; strip music can be heard, a dim striper can be seen through the curtain.
Patsy with microphone

“Gypsy Strip Routine”

Louise stands alone befored the curtain.  Lights reveal the curtain as a scrim.  Throught it, we can see the glow of the stripper’s runway.  The curtains part and Louise steps forward.  A spotlight hits her and her head goes back as blinded.  Then total blackout.  When the lights go on again, Louise is downstage, facing the audience before a curtain the exact replica of the one upstage. 

“Let Me Entertain You”

PLACARD:  DETRIOT  GYPSY ROSE LEE

PHILADELPHIA  GYPSY ROSE LEE

Big feature hat

MINEKY’S  GYPSY ROSE LEE

Salute to Christmas
Curtain opens for a brief flash of a garish, loud, corny production number of nudes on a Christmas tree.  Christmas present brought on by comics .
She pulls the curtain across the stage with her.

SCENE 5;            LOUISE’S DRESSING ROOM

PLACARDS:            none

SCENERY & PROPS:  Dressing room with gleaming bottles, a nude statue festooned with features and a rhinestone G-strinjg, souvenirs, costumes, etc.
Rose is hammering a spike into the wall to hang the cow’s head.
Dressing table, seat, make-up
Telephone rings
Door
Photographers with flash cameras

SCENE 6:            BARE STAGE AFTER THE SHOW

 PLACARDS:            none

 SCENERY & PROPS:  Whole  bare stage, except for a few stacked flats of scenery used earlier in the big production number.

 “Rose’s Turn”

CURTAIN