Blame it on living under a rock, but although I've long heard of the musical Gypsy, I was clueless about its content. Gypsy, in case anyone else lives under the same rock, is the story of Gypsy Rose Lee, a mediocre vaudeville performer in childhood who became America's most famous burlesque dancer during the heyday of that, um, art. American Rose as the subtitles suggest, is a biography of the same said woman. I can't remember where or when I heard of the book (maybe one of last year's summer reading lists?) and found it interesting enough, I suppose, although nowhere near as riveting as Once We Were Brothers. I actually started reading the latter as I was becoming bored with Gypsy.
So, why did I finish? American Rose is an interesting look at vaudeville, New York, and Broadway during the interwar years. It explores the influence of la belle ville (Paris, bien sur!) on theater, especially burlesque, in the U.S. And, on some level, American Rose is also about the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters (and sometimes sisters), i.e., food for thought for any girl with a mama. That said, I just barely finished it and, while it is certainly well-research and written, it surely won't be on my Best of '13 list at the end of the year. Unless you're a Broadway history fanatic, you can easily skip this one and not miss a thing.
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