merman

We all need an anecdote about Ethel Merman, who starred as Rose, the overbearing stage mother.

“But first they have to name a theater after Ethel Merman and Mary Martin,” LuPone replied.

While still in her teens, Squibb began performing in theaters in St. Louis and Cleveland before moving to New York, where she made her Broadway debut in “Gypsy” alongside Ethel Merman in 1959.

On a late Sunday afternoon in March, energy pulses at the Mountain Merman Brewing Company — one of the few bars in town.

Stepping into the notorious stage mother role that Ethel Merman originated, Lansbury knew that she couldn’t compete with her predecessor’s raw theatrical power.