Jun 5, 2025 11:00 EST
Stage & Screen
566
Gypsy Rose Lee writes her sister June Havoc regarding her character in the musical Gypsy
GYPSY ROSE LEE [born Rose Louise Hovick] and JUNE HAVOC
Typed letter signed from Gypsy Rose Lee to her sister June Havoc about her character in the musical Gypsy. New York: 21 July 1958. A one-page typed letter signed "Gypsy" in blue ink on a sheet headed in type from Lee's 153 East 63rd Street address, the note addressed to Lee's sister June [the actress June Havoc] and bears a four-line handwritten signed response by Havoc in the lower margin. Usual fold and minor handling creases.
A remarkable letter from the pre-production phase of the musical Gypsy, in which the show's namesake, the famous striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee whose memoir was published the year prior, writes her sister to request her permission to appear as a character. The letter opens:
"As you know David Merrick and Leland Hayward are producing a musical version of my book GYPSY in which you are portrayed as a child... As I understand it, the dramatist, Arthur Laurents, sees the musical as a starring vehicle for Mother, a character in the book and her older daughter Gypsy. The Younger daughter, June, will appear only as a child and absolutely not as an adolescent, a teen-ager or a grown-up."
Gypsy Rose closes the letter by offering a similar agreement to her sister should her memoir be dramatized. June Havoc, a well-respected Hollywood star in her own right who was just one year younger than Gypsy Rose, here writes by hand "I am agreeable to being seen in the play as a small child only and as briefly as possible. I leave the material of the scene up to my sister's judgement." Despite this, it is known that Havoc disapproved of her and her mother's portrayal in the musical, and her relationship with her sister was estranged until close to the Gypsy's death in 1970.
A tour-de-force of talent descended on the making of Gypsy. As noted above, the musical was produced by David Merrick and Leland Hayward and dramatized by Arthur Laurents. Set to star Ethel Merman as domineering stage mother Rose Hovick, both Cole Porter and Irving Berlin declined the opportunity to compose the musical. Director Jerome Robbins approached the young Stephen Sondheim, fresh off the success of West Side Story, but Merman did not fully trust the unknown composer to write more than the lyrics, so Jule Styne was hired to compose. Opening on Broadway in May 1959, the first production ran to over 700 performances, and Gypsy is frequently revived, including a 2024 production starring Audra McDonald.
Sold for $3,840
Estimated at $500 - $800
Includes Buyer's Premium
GYPSY ROSE LEE [born Rose Louise Hovick] and JUNE HAVOC
Typed letter signed from Gypsy Rose Lee to her sister June Havoc about her character in the musical Gypsy. New York: 21 July 1958. A one-page typed letter signed "Gypsy" in blue ink on a sheet headed in type from Lee's 153 East 63rd Street address, the note addressed to Lee's sister June [the actress June Havoc] and bears a four-line handwritten signed response by Havoc in the lower margin. Usual fold and minor handling creases.
A remarkable letter from the pre-production phase of the musical Gypsy, in which the show's namesake, the famous striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee whose memoir was published the year prior, writes her sister to request her permission to appear as a character. The letter opens:
"As you know David Merrick and Leland Hayward are producing a musical version of my book GYPSY in which you are portrayed as a child... As I understand it, the dramatist, Arthur Laurents, sees the musical as a starring vehicle for Mother, a character in the book and her older daughter Gypsy. The Younger daughter, June, will appear only as a child and absolutely not as an adolescent, a teen-ager or a grown-up."
Gypsy Rose closes the letter by offering a similar agreement to her sister should her memoir be dramatized. June Havoc, a well-respected Hollywood star in her own right who was just one year younger than Gypsy Rose, here writes by hand "I am agreeable to being seen in the play as a small child only and as briefly as possible. I leave the material of the scene up to my sister's judgement." Despite this, it is known that Havoc disapproved of her and her mother's portrayal in the musical, and her relationship with her sister was estranged until close to the Gypsy's death in 1970.
A tour-de-force of talent descended on the making of Gypsy. As noted above, the musical was produced by David Merrick and Leland Hayward and dramatized by Arthur Laurents. Set to star Ethel Merman as domineering stage mother Rose Hovick, both Cole Porter and Irving Berlin declined the opportunity to compose the musical. Director Jerome Robbins approached the young Stephen Sondheim, fresh off the success of West Side Story, but Merman did not fully trust the unknown composer to write more than the lyrics, so Jule Styne was hired to compose. Opening on Broadway in May 1959, the first production ran to over 700 performances, and Gypsy is frequently revived, including a 2024 production starring Audra McDonald.
Auction: Stage & Screen, Jun 5, 2025
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Popular Stage & Screen Auction on Thursday, June 5, 2025 at 11am
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Memorabilia, Autographs, Artwork & Photographs of the Theater, Hollywood, Music and Dance
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Hosted in Collaboration with the Entertainment Community Fund (Formerly the Actors Fund)
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle hosted the popular Stage & Screen auction on June 5, 2025. Fans and collectors around the world vied for exciting offerings celebrating the performing arts of Theater, Hollywood, Music and Dance.
The Glass Menagerie
Highlighting the sale was an extraordinary script of The Glass Menagerie, inscribed by Tennessee Williams to Jo Mielziner, the celebrated set and lighting designer. Mielziner’s annotated carbon copy, it sold for $11,520, many times its $1,500-2,500 estimate. His notes reveal early design ideas, including “wonderful!” beside Williams’ lighting suggestions. This script predates rewrites and was issued before rehearsals began in late November 1944. Their first collaboration, Menagerie became a theatrical milestone, with Mielziner’s visionary designs playing a crucial role in its success and in later Williams-Meilziner productions, A Streetcar Named Desire and Summer and Smoke.
The Entertainment Community Fund
Recognizing the importance of the performing arts to the fabric of New York, Doyle is proud to collaborate on this auction with the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Lots 501 through 519 were auctioned to directly benefit the Fund, and Doyle will donate 100% of our Buyer's Premium on these lots. Featured are stylish costumes from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. For further information on the Entertainment Community Fund, visit EntertainmentCommunity.org
Property of Technical Production Manager Jake Bell
Jake Bell has had a legendary career in the theater as Technical Production Manager for Sir Cameron Mackintosh's iconic musicals. Bell managed some of the most dazzling and technologically advanced stage elements in theater history: the famous falling chandelier in The Phantom of the Opera, the flying helicopter in Miss Saigon, the barricade of Les Misérables and so much more. Among the collection's highlights are annotated production books, scripts, props and memorabilia from Cats, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, A Chorus Line and Phantom of the Opera, including a stage-worn Phantom mask presented to Bell at the April 2023 closing performance. View Lots
The Estate of Tony Roberts
New York native Tony Roberts (1939–2025) was a prolific stage and screen actor with a career spanning over six decades. A two-time Tony award nominee, he appeared in 23 Broadway productions, among them David Merrick’s Barefoot in the Park, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Promises, Promises, for which he won the London Critics Poll Award for the West End production. Among his numerous screen credits are six Woody Allen films, including Annie Hall, Play It Again, Sam and Star-Spangled Girl. He performed in New York City Opera's Brigadoon and South Pacific, and played Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden. Collection highlights feature original illustrations by Al Hirschfeld depicting Roberts in Arsenic and Old Lace and Doubles, his script from Star Spangled Girl, and a large group of awards and memorabilia. View Lots
“Costume Bibles” of Barbara Matera
Barbara Matera (1929-2001) was one of the foremost costume designers and creators of costumes on Broadway, working on more than 100 shows between the 1970s to the early 2000s. It was her invariable practice to create a costume bible for every show, with copies of the original designs, specimens of the fabrics used, and notes on the sources of those fabrics. This enabled repairs and new copies of costumes to be consistently assembled over the course of a show. Featured in the sale are costume bibles for Angels in America, Evita, La Cage aux Folles, Phantom of the Opera, RENT and even the Rolling Stones 1994 Voodoo Lounge Tour. View Lots
