Liz Power as June Havoc (L) and Heather Baird as Gypsy Rose Lee. (Photo courtesy Thee Photo Ninja)
freeFall Theatre’s 15th season began in Tampa Bay with “Fable” Aug. 9, a show about the creation of the iconic “Gypsy.”
“Fable” depicts two starlet sisters — Gypsy Rose Lee and June Havoc — and highlights their feud over the creation and release of the Broadway staple. It plays select nights through Sept. 8.
“You’ve heard of the feuds between Capote and his Swans and Bette vs. Joan, but nothing will prepare you for the story of June Havoc, Gypsy Rose Lee and the making of one of Broadway’s most beloved properties,” freeFall teases. “‘Fable’ explores the nature of memory through the eyes of two very different show business siblings.
“When one sister wants her version of events made legendary on the Broadway stage, the other is pulled into a tug-of-war over the truth of things long past,” its synopsis continues. “A fable about the making of a Broadway fable … Sisters June and Rose’s loyalty to each other is tested in a mounting battle between fiction and truth.”
Liz Power makes her freeFall debut as June Havoc. Heather Baird, who recently featured in freeFall’s “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,” plays Gypsy Rose Lee. Other cast members include company favorites Bonnie Agan, James Putnam and Mya Simpkins. Rounding out the cast are Broadway veterans Larry Alexander as Jerome Robbins and Melissa Minyard as Ethel Merman. The show will be accompanied by a live band as well.
To understand “Fable,” one must understand the story of “Gypsy,” a fan favorite for many members of the LGBTQ+ community. The Broadway musical features an overbearing stage mother that tries to live out her dreams of stardom through her two daughters.
“Gypsy” is loosely based off a book that was based on the memoir written by Gypsy Rose Lee and mainly focuses on her point-of-view throughout the musical. “Fable” takes June Havoc’s unwritten perspective and creates a story playwright Doug DeVita, who is gay, says anyone can relate to.
“I think that a longing to be seen, recognized and appreciated for who we really are is what will appeal to almost anybody,” he says. “Not just the LGBTQ+ audience … we all have our stories. We have our lives. We want to be recognized for who and what we are.”
The show depicts real and imperfect people with flaws and problems, which he hopes audiences can see themselves in. Havoc’s character in “Gypsy” is not portrayed kindly. Rather, she is an extrovert who elopes with a boy whom Lee’s character, an introverted underdog named Louise, is in love with.
“I want people to see her in a more sympathetic light than she’s been seen … particularly in ‘Gypsy,’ because she comes across as a brat who steals her sister’s boyfriend, right?” DeVita explains. “That never happened. That was made up for the show.”
DeVita was eight years old when he was first introduced to “Gypsy,” having watched the film adaptation at home. From there his obsession with June Havoc began.
His love for her — as a character, as an actress and for “Gypsy” — went beyond the bombshell blonde and the movie’s aesthetics, however. He says Havoc’s story was personal for him.
“I always loved ‘Gypsy.’ I wouldn’t be gay if I didn’t love ‘Gypsy,’ or vice versa,” DeVita muses. “… June was always my favorite. It took years of therapy for me to figure out June’s my favorite because she got away from her mother. She had the domineering mother — and, you know, so did I.”
During his stint as marketing director for Abington Theatre Company in New York, DeVita was able to have a conversation with the elderly Havoc. DeVita recalls his conversation with the woman, who was upset that a local theatre was doing a three-week summer run of “Gypsy” and called to speak with the artistic director. She reached DeVita instead.
“And as she talked, I began to realize for the first time that she did consider [“Gypsy”] a hatchet job,” DaVita says. “That she was very actor studio. She was always looking for the truth in everything and ‘Gypsy’ is subtitled a fable because of her. There’s nothing truthful in it and that bothered her.”
The phone call gave him the idea for his show centered on Havoc’s perspective, but he didn’t start writing it until after she had passed, partially because it was a sensitive issue for many people involved in her life.
Eleven years and a variety of playwriting workshops later, “Fable” was finalized. DeVita used every resource available to him to get Havoc’s perspective to the best of his ability. Even then, the show is titled “Fable” for a reason, partly because it’s based on a musical subtitled a “Musical Fable.” He talked to multiple people involved in the original show, such as Lane Bradbury who played “Dainty June” and Jacqueline Mayro who played “Baby June.”
“And there’s a certain rationale-like quality to this, because June has her version of the events. Gypsy has her version of the events. Rose has her version of the events,” DeVita says. “Arthur Laurents, Jerry Robbins, Ethel Merman, they all have their versions of that show, and that fascinated me. Look at those people who were involved inthat production … Stephen Sondheim, David Merrick. It’s this astonishing array of theater legends, and it’s like catnip.
“So that’s what really drove me to it, because I could write about my stuff, but in a very different way than I usually write. Since it is a fable about a musical fable, I was also free to make stuff up the same way Gypsy Rose Lee did, the same way June did, the same way Rose did,” he continues. “It’s not to say that there’s nothing truthful in the script. I read everybody’s books, and I pulled ideas from all of them — and I did talk to several people who were involved in the original production.”
DeVita hopes audiences’ main takeaway from “Fable” is that experiences are not singular. Any given story is made up of multiple perspectives. “I’ve said this so many times, to realize that when we tell our stories, we’re telling other people’s stories as well,” DeVita elaborates. “Anyone who’s involved in your story … their story becomes a part of yours.”
“Fable” plays select nights through Sept. 8 at freeFall Theatre, located at 6099 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit freeFallTheatre.com.
