“The cousin said that Gypsy [Rose Lee] took a full fifteen minutes to peel off a single glove, and that she was so damn good at it he gladly would've given her fifteen more. So this story got me thinking, who was Gypsy Rose Lee? Who could possibly take the simple act of peeling off a glove and make it so riveting that one might be compelled to watch this for a full half-hour? So I began researching, and I came across a series of articles from the year 1940 about Gypsy in Life magazine.” ThinkingYearsSaidStoriesMightGivenHoursSimpleHalfWatchesMinutesRoseSeriesMagazinesDamnArticlesFifteenCompelledCousinGlovesGypsyHalf HoursPeelingDamn Good Author:Karen Abbott
“Her sister [June Havoc] said the musical portrayed who Gypsy [Rose Lee] wanted to be before the burlesque thing happened she wanted to be this beautiful, romantic person with dreams. So Gypsy told the story of her life as she wished she'd lived it: embellishing, softening the edges, eliminating certain things altogether.” PersonsSaidStoriesDreamWantedBeautifulCertainHappenedRoseMusicalEdgesThings HappenJuneGypsyEliminatingHavocBurlesqueBeautiful RomanticRomantic Person Author:Karen Abbott
“I thought both she [Gypsy Rose Lee] and her story would be ill-served by a conventional, birth-to-death narrative, and so I structured the book like one of her stripteases: revealing a peek of shoulder, then a glimpse of knee, pulling back a bit before you go a bit further, until all is revealed at the end.” BookEndsStoriesWould BeBitsBirthRoseIllShouldersNarrativeKneesConventionalPullingGlimpseRevealingGypsy Author:Karen Abbott
“Gypsy [Rose Lee] is as unique as she is timeless. Her story is classic Americana, and the strangest rags-to-riches saga you'll ever read; I like to call it Horatio Alger meets Tim Burton.” StoriesUniqueRoseRichesClassicTimelessGypsyRagsSagaHoratioAmericanaRags To Riches Author:Karen Abbott
“Classic burlesque in the style of Gypsy which many modern burlesque troupes practice is, at its core, so playful and teasing and innocent. It's not hardcore stripping so much as letting your body tell a story; the women are playing characters and unfolding a complete narrative onstage, with beginning, middle, and end.” EndsCharacterStoriesBodyPracticeModernMiddleStyleYour BodyCoreInnocentNarrativeClassicUnfoldingTeaseGypsyHardcoreStrippingBeginning Middle And EndBurlesqueTroupe Author:Karen Abbott
