North Shore’s ‘Gypsy’ has its moments

So it would be wonderful to report that the inaugural production of “Gypsy’’ was an unqualified success. Alas, it would not be true. This production has some entertaining moments — particularly in the comic numbers, such as “You Gotta Get a Gimmick’’ and the future Gypsy Rose Lee’s turn as the front end of a dancing cow — and some finely tuned performances, notably from Kirby Ward as Herbie and Catherine Walker as Louise. But awkward staging, technical glitches, and a two-dimensional performance in the critical role of Rose keep it from fully taking off.

Let’s start with Rose. Vicki Lewis, best known for her television comedy work, has some formidable ghosts to contend with, from Ethel Merman right on down through Patti LuPone. But many actresses have faced this problem and nevertheless found a way to create their own version of this formidable, infuriating, and fascinating creature who is the musical theater’s purest embodiment of its own favorite monster, the stage mother.

Lewis, while she displays a strong singing voice, reduces Rose’s complexities to a two-dimensional caricature. This woman is so hard, so relentless, that we get no sense of why her daughters remain connected to her, and even less why sweet manager-agent Herbie would stick with her so long. Lewis does give her a weird obsession with flicking her skirt up to reveal her thigh-high stockings (and the old-style snap garters that hold them up), but this attempt to make Rose a sexy if aging minx just feels off: oversimplified, out of character, and ultimately a little embarrassing.