Some context: Gypsy is a 1959 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business mother." It follows the dreams and efforts of Rose to raise two daughters to perform onstage and casts an affectionate eye on the hardships of show business life. The character of Louise is based on Lee, and the character of June is based on Lee's sister, the actress June Havoc.
The original Broadway production opened on May 21, 1959 at The Broadway Theatre, transferred to the Imperial Theatre, and closed on March 25, 1961 after 702 performances and two previews. The show was produced by David Merrick and directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Ethel Merman starred as Rose, with Jack Klugman as Herbie and Sandra Church as Louise. Scenic and Lighting design were by Jo Mielziner and costumes were by Raoul Pene Du Bois. The orchestrations, including an overture, were supplied by Sid Ramin and Robert Ginzler. Critic Frank Rich has referred to Robbins' work as one of the most influential stagings of a musical in American theatrical history. The original production received eight Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical, Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design and Best Direction of a Musical, but failed to win any. When the show closed in March 1961, two national touring companies toured the US. The first company starred Merman and opened in March 1961 at the Rochester, New York Auditorium, and closed in December 1961 at the American, St. Louis, Missouri. The second national company starred Mitzi Green as Rose, followed by Mary McCarty. A young Bernadette Peters appeared in the ensemble and understudied Dainty June, a role she would play the following year in summer stock, opposite Betty Hutton's Rose. It opened in September 1961 at the Shubert Theatre, Detroit and closed in January 1962 at the Hanna, Cleveland, Ohio.
Was it popular
A: When the show closed in March 1961, two national touring companies toured the US.
Some context: Brown was born on July 28, 1891, in Holgate, Ohio, near Toledo, into a large family largely of Welsh descent. He spent most of his childhood in Toledo. In 1902, at the age of ten, he joined a troupe of circus tumblers known as the Five Marvelous Ashtons, who toured the country on both the circus and vaudeville circuits. Later he became a professional baseball player.
In 1939, Brown testified before the House Immigration Committee in support of a bill that would allow 20,000 German Jewish refugee children into the US. He later adopted two refugee children. During WWII, he spent a great deal of time entertaining troops, spending many nights working and meeting servicemen at the Hollywood Canteen. He wrote of his experiences entertaining the troops in his book Your Kids and Mine. Joe E. Brown's other two sons were in the military service. In 1942 Brown's son, Captain Don E. Brown, was killed when his A-20 Havoc crashed near Palm Springs, California. At 50, Brown himself was too old to enlist, but he traveled thousands of miles at his own expense to entertain American troops. He was the first to do so, traveling to both the Caribbean and Alaska before Bob Hope had, and before the USO was organized. "While big USO names like Bob Hope did not visit the Leyte, Philippine area my father was in (housing was not good), Leyte received any number of entertainers during the war. Dad said the entertainers were all just a bunch of nice people. One group in particular was the top actors from a very popular and large musical of the times. Dad and a few of his buddies would walk back to the tents that housed the USO performers and would visit with them. Mostly, the USO performers were curious about the events on the islands and how the men were handling things. One performer, a "wonderful comedian" named Joe E. Brown, would commandeer a military vehicle and be driven around the island. The entertainer would stop military pedestrians, "ream" them for some inconsequential matter, start laughing, then invite them into the cab so they could be driven to their destinations. Joe E. Brown was greatly appreciated." (Memories of Capt. Donald Courtright, told to his daughter Mary in 2011.) On his return to the States, he brought sacks of letters, making sure they were delivered by the Post Office Department. He gave shows in all weather conditions, many in hospitals, sometimes doing his entire show for a single dying soldier. He would sign autographs for everyone. Brown was one of only two civilians to be awarded the Bronze Star in WWII.
Did he tour through World War II?
A: During WWII, he spent a great deal of time entertaining troops,
Some context: Dr. Soo Wincci (Chinese: Su Ying Zhi ; pinyin: Su Yingzhi) is an award-winning Malaysian singer, recording artist, actress, composer, celebrity chef, host, model, beauty queen, PhD holder and also an entrepreneur. Soo was crowned Miss World Malaysia 2008 and represented Malaysia in the Miss World 2008 beauty pageant. In 2013, She was selected by Hollywood's Independence Critics as the world Top 100 most beautiful women in the world.
In 2016, she restructured her company "Beyond Artistes" and managed to stand up from her downfall and settled her concert debts by declaring not receiving income for one year. She performed and acted non stop to clear off her debts and manage to save her company within less than a year and now her company is expanding. While facing so many things at one go, she managed to complete her PHD research and passed her VIVA on 31 May. She is officially Dr Soo Wincci on 31st Oct where her convocation was held at PWTC after pursuing her 6 years of PhD Journey in Business Administration at Open University Malaysia. In conjunction of her convocation, she was also awarded by The Malaysia Book of Records as the national title holder of "The 1st Miss World Malaysia To Receive PhD". Also, in 2017, she transformed herself to become an author by writing and producing her 1st book and audio book titled "Inwinccible X". She also started to become a music producer by writing, composing and producing her self-created 1st motivational pop song titled "I Am X A Loser". Her Drama "I Am Not a Loser" Also geared one of the highest rating Chinese drama of 2017. Besides that, she also dedicated herself few months to become a motivational speaker by holding her 1st motivational talk tour by giving motivational talks to 20 over universities across Malaysia to inspire the students nationwide. In 2017, she transformed herself from a drama actress to a movie actress by having two Malay films out in the cinema titled "Sindiket" & "Kau Yang Satu". Her Performance as a Villain in Kau Yang Satu as Isabella was an eye opener for the audience as she let go of her innocent image by acting as a super bad character inside the movie. She received a lot of good reviews from the industry and also from the audience. In Aug 2017, her drama "Beautiful World" Is being nominated the final top 8 for 2017 Seoul International Drama Awards.
What year was she awarded by The Malaysia Book of Records?
A:
In 2016,