Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Based loosely on the memoirs of burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, who famously dropped bon mots alongside her gowns, "Gypsy" has become the ur-text for stage-mother dramas. If reality television had been around in Rose's day, she would undoubtedly have beaten Kris Jenner to the cameras. But it's also the story of Louise, the shy thoughtful second-banana sister to child-star June who transforms into the first superstar stripper. The competing dreams - Louise wants a home and stability, while Mama declares "anybody who stays home is dead" - can't possibly be reconciled without considerable damage to both of them."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Despite an extensive career on local stages, in Broadway productions and beyond, veteran Chicago actress Mary Robin Roth might not be a household name. But watch her grab hold of the role of Mama Rose in the Music Theater Works production of the show now at Evanston’s Cahn Auditorium, and you will not only see a musical theater master at work, but you will understand that marquee “celebrity” is beside the point here. Roth’s Mama Rose is a tireless force of nature who can belt out the show’s brilliant score with the best of them. And it doesn’t get much better than the work of composer Jule Styne and lyricist Stephen Sondheim."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Hogenmiller's staging emphasizes the show's comical and sentimental aspects, driven by Mary Robin Roth's brassy portrayal of "Madame Rose," the overbearing, frustrated stage mother wondering when it's going to be her turn in the limelight."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...In this powerful revival by Music Theater Works (formerly Light Opera Works), Mary Robin Roth rents, if not owns, the killer role. A born belter with leather lungs, but a "tiger mother" when she bursts into self-pitying tantrums and paranoid blame-throwing, Roth nonetheless sinks her show-stoppers in a character as clear as hunger. "A pioneer woman without a frontier," Rose is every striver who's sick of second billing when she can taste the marquee."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Gypsy is a classic back stage story of vaudeville and of a mother's living her life through her children. It is also about the rise of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famed stripper. The lush sound from the full orchestra and the smart lyrics upon the vivid score each contribute to a wonderful production. Mary Robin Roth makes GYPSY a must see event."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Lovers of musicals are undoubtedly delighted to see Music Theater Works mounting Gypsy with their full orchestra, and with Roger L. Bingaman conducting, the show does not disappoint. Jules Styne's compositions have long made it one of the most cherished pieces of music on the American stage, and nearly sixty years later, it is still vibrant from the beginning of the overture to the end of its nearly three-hour running time."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...Rose tells her Pop early in the show that she's not going to die from sitting, but from getting up and getting out. Audiences will be following her example by getting up and out to Evanston to experience Rudy Hogenmiller's wonderfully entertaining production of a true American classic. Despite some overacting and over-singing, this is a production of a show that keeps its musical promise to Entertain You and Make You Smile."
Picture This Post - Recommended
"...The real stand-out in this cast, however, is Lexis Danca as Louise, the supposed "less talented and less appealing" daugher. Her singing voice is tragically underused but is stunning when we get the chance to hear it. Danca embodies the vulnerability of Louise with subtlety and grace. She never loses sight of the strength Louise has needed to survive her childhood."
