I agree with everything in the previous review, especially the Russell versus Midler versions of the movie. This is a wonderful show, and I am the lucky woman who gets to play Rose in my local theatre's production. I bought this book because Tams-Witmark sends out "sides" for each role -- a small book that includes only the character's lines with just a few words of the cue before. Having the full script is a great help, but be aware that this book is slightly different from the version used by Tams-Witmark. I'm marking the changes in my full script and using it, though, because it's much more convenient.

Do get the memoir Gypsy by Gypsy Rose Lee. It's amazing to see how much of this show was taken directly from the pages of her autobiography. Rose and Herbie were somewhat romanticized in the show, as was Tessie the stripper and many other aspects of the story -- hey this is Broadway! There can't be *too* much misery! But the cow really did come to Rose in a dream and really did get them on the Orpheum Circuit. They really did bleach a gaggle of girls' hair blonde. Both books are great reads.

I am a student in Chicago's New Tuners Workshop, an organization devoted to the writing of new works of musical theatre. In our first year, we are required to read GYPSY. Our artistic director, John Sparks, considers GYPSY to be one of the finest book musicals ever written.

The lead part of the Mama Rose is often considered the musical theatre equivalent of Lady MacBeth or Hedda Gabler. Lucky is the woman who gets to play her. Three women have played her on Broadway: Ethel Merman (in the original production), Angela Lansbury (in a 1970's revival) and Tyne Daly (in a 1990's revival). Lansbury and Daly both won Tony awards for their perfomances. Merman lost in 1960 to Mary Martin in "The Sound Music." She was robbed!

Musical highlights of the show include the character defining "Some People," the desperate "Ev'rything's Coming up Roses" and the tour-de-force finale, "Mama's Turn." A majority of the songs are Mama Rose's, the result, apparently, of Ethel Merman's ego. Nevertheless, it works brilliantly.

If you are looking for a version of this show on video, AVOID the Rosalind Russell version from the early sixties, in favor of the recent Bette Middler version. Not only is the Middler version more faithful to the original play, Bette does her own singing (Lisa Kirk sang for Russell) and her performance rivals Merman's.

If you love musicals, you will love this book. Read it yesterday!

What noted readers might have said: "Such a book as this has great relativity" --Einstein "This book is creating a cultural revolution" --Mao "This book contains information that even I did not know about myself" --Verne "Alas, the authors of this book know Verne well" --Shakespeare "Finally, a book on Verne for everyone to share" --Marx (Karl) "How this book got in my pajamas I don't know" --Marx(Groucho)

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a masterpiece that should not be missed by anyone. In this book, the reader is taken on an unbelievable journey aboard the Nautilus, an ingeniously built submarine, venturing the mysterious waters of the world. Jules Verne chooses to describe marine life in incredible detail (or maybe even overboard in detail) in this fictional novel. One may wonder how much research Verne did on the ocean in order to write this story. I believe readers who find life under the sea interesting will best enjoy this book, but the rest may still be fascinated. Not only is this novel a great learning experience of the sea, it is also packed with surprises, which includes a visit to the legendary, sunken Atlantis. Verne even decides to include a bit of mystery in the story. During the sea-voyage, the submarine undergoes a mysterious collision that the captain refuses to tell. I found myself dreading to speed through the pages to complete the book, hoping the author would reveal the solution to this mystery towards the end. Even though I was greatly fascinated by this novel, I still admit that I was disappointed in some ways after completing it. After finishing the book, I had discovered that the title of this book might have been a little misleading. Instead of descending a total of twenty thousand leagues under the sea, the Nautilus actually travels a total of twenty thousand leagues submerged in the sea. One may even find the ending of the story a little too spontaneous and shortly written. As a conclusion, I must say that, even though I did encounter some disappointments, I enjoyed reading the book and I do not regret reading it.

I really enjoy books that revolve around science... especially when they were written during the 1800s and early 1900s. It is very entertaining to discover what these people believed and to compare their beliefs to ours in modern times. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is entertaining in this fashion. Jules Verne is suprisingly accurate in his depiction of a modern-day electric submarine and its workings... although he doesn't go into the minute details that I was hoping for. The ending of this book is a tremendous let-down with regards to the character of Captain Nemo. Throughout the entire book, the Captain's background is built up to be a giant mystery... which simply begs for resolution. I couldn't wait to reach the end of the book in order to find out why Captain Nemo was the way he was. This resolution never comes. Never. This left me with the opinion that Jules Verne simply wasn't a talented storyteller, and never bothered to fill out and completely think about the character of Captain Nemo. Anyone can think up fantastic situations and theories... but the real talent comes in explaining them in a plausible way to the reader. It's akin to watching a movie where lots of incredible things happen to the main characters, only to have them wake up stating that it was all a dream.

When was the last time you went to the sea and had an exciting adventure? Get prepared because this is going to take you to a marvelous deep-sea trip. By the way don't forget your life jacket and join Professor Arronax, Council, Ned land for this unforgettable adventure. Warning! If you are not adventurous or hate's long trips in a little room, turn off your computer get out there.
Professor Pierre Arronax was a French marine biologist. He was on a big case of a big creature living in the sea. After a lot of research he thought it was a giant se unicorn. Professor Arronax was recognized for excellent biologist. He was told to join the ship Abraham Lincoln for the hunt of this big creature. Some ships had been attack by this animal; the survivors told that threw huge jets of water, glowed in the dark. Finally they took of from the port, looking for hunt this big animal. Professor Arronax, Council, Ned land the harpooner started a great adventure. They were 3 days on the out on the deep blue sea with no sign of the creature, didn't know what would happen to them. That day they saw something glowing in the night and were moving very fast towards the ship. Started a fierce fight between the ship and the creature. After an hour of fighting they realize it wasn't an animal it was machine made up of steel! This machine destroyed the ship Abraham Lincoln. The only survivors were Professor Arronax, Council and Ned Land. They were prisoners of the evil machine. When they woke up, there were inside the machine Called Nautilus. Named by Captain Nemo, held the 3 men aboard the submarine. Will Professor Arronax, Council and Ned land could escape?
The book 20,000 Under the Sea was written by Jules Verne. I recommend this book to persons that like adventure books. This book was written in the year in 1910, is high quality book.