Last Chances for "Gypsy" at Napa Valley College

Tonight and tomorrow are your final chances to enjoy Napa Valley Repertory Theater’s production of the riveting musical Gypsy at the Performing Arts Center.

With an orchestra conducted by Harry Cadelago performing the Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim score, the show stars Allison Baker as Gypsy, Taylor Bartolucci as her demanding mother Rose, Lexie Martin as sister June and Tim Setzer as Herbie.

“The music is fantastic,” says Gypsy actress Cady Dillman, who portrayed the intrepid stripper Mazeppa. “Having a live orchestra makes it that much better and really makes Gypsy a musical experience.”

Written by Arthur Laurents, who adapted it from burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee's 1957 memoir, Gypsy follows the story of a vaudeville family as Rose, a fierce stage mother, seeks and fails to make her daughter June a star -- only to see June's less-favored sister rise to the top of the burlesque world.

Since its 1959 premiere, Gypsy has become a classic American tale of mother-daughter conflict and emerging independence

Though the story is set in the Roaring Twenties, its themes are as timely as ever.

“I think that everyone has had to deal with a similar situation at some point or another,” said ticketholder Carly Grote after a recent performance. 

Directed by Richard Rossi, with music directed by Eve-Anne Wilkes and choreography by Pamela Rogers, Gypsy ends its run with performances tonight at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center, Main Theater, 2277 Napa Vallejo Highway, Napa, CA 94558.

Tickets are $15 for students, seniors and military, and $20 for adults: (707) 256-7500, napavalleytheater.org and at the door.