'Gypsy' takes a bow in breathtaking Ravinia production

It was one of the most highly anticipated events of the summertheater season, and it certainly did not disappoint.

This weekend's elaborate staged concert version of "Gypsy" -- theBroadway classic that, since its debut with Ethel Merman in 1959 hasleft even the most practiced divas panting for breath -- marked thefirst time Patti LuPone essayed the grueling and commanding role ofMama Rose. And she turned in a richly realistic yet red-hotperformance as the relentlessly driven Depression-era single motherwhose fear of abandonment is matched only by her fear of failure, andwhose primal hunger to be noticed is channeled into a fearsomeambition for her daughters.

The …