A Juicy Show Biz Story
There is nothing like a juicy showbiz story!
The author and his play. Photo credit: Jay Michaels
For a peek behind the curtain of the legendary musical Gypsy, look no further than the just published play Fable, written by Doug DeVita. In Fable, DeVita dramatizes the backstory of the making of this musical and, as often happens in the creative process, the backstabbing that occurred. As DeVita explains it, “Fable is a fable about the creation of the musical Gypsy, as remembered by the aging June Havoc, Gypsy Rose Lee’s younger sister, a child star on the vaudeville circuit in the early years of the 20th century. June was famously unhappy with the show, going so far as to try and stop the production from happening at all.”
Last week, The Drama Book Shop hosted an event with Doug and featured Lane Bradbury, the actress who played Dainty June in the original Broadway production of Gypsy starring Ethel Merman, which opened May 21,1959. Bradbury offered her memories of that time, and selections from the play were read.
Since the original production of Gypsy premiered on Broadway, there have been four revivals. The last opened in 2008 and starred Patti LuPone.
I am excited to announce that Fable is currently in development for an off-Broadway run this fall. Can’t wait to see it!
For now, you can read the play, available here.
Valerie Smaldone is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award winner and is well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market on 106.7 Life-FM, an iHeart station. She has hosted, produced, and created several award-winning nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with stars like Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Elton John and Mariah Carey among others. Her radio talk show "Bagels and Broadway" highlighted theatre and food personalities. She is an accomplished interviewer and voice artist heard on commercials, narrations, promos and audiobooks, as well as a sought after live announcer.
Most recently, Valerie produced and directed a film, The Thursday Night Club, featuring pop diva Gloria Gaynor in her movie acting debut. She is one of the creators and producers of a docu-series, Divine Renovation, starring Erik Estrada, on streaming networks soon.
