Cabaret and stage's Meg Mackay ends her stint as Rose, Gypsy Rose Lee's mother, in the TheatreWorks revival of Gypsy July 16. Performances began June 21 with an opening June 24.

A six-time recipient of both Dean Goodman/Dramalogue Awards and Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards, Mackay performed in TheatreWorks' Putting It Together, The World Goes Round and She Loves Me, the long-running Beach Blanket Babylon and the national tour of Torch Song Trilogy. As a singer, she released two CDs, "So Many People" and "Legally Blonde."

Gypsy loosely adapts the story of June Havoc and Gypsy Rose Lee, dragged by their mom through the vaudeville circuit in search of stardom. Songs include "Some People," "Little Lamb," "You'll Never Get Away From Me" and the monumental "Rose's Turn."

Recent Mama Roses have included Tyne Daly on Broadway, Alene Robertson in Chicago, and Betty Buckley in New Jersey. The role is most closely identified with Ethel Merman, though Angela Lansbury's performance in the Broadway revival received equally laudatory reviews.

TheatreWorks artistic director Robert Kelley directs a cast including Elizabeth Ann Traub (Louise), Jackson David (Herbie), Gair Morris (Tulsa), Kristy Frank (Baby June), Linda Shiao-Ling Chuan, Jennifer Fagundes, Jerry Van Carlos Gore, Murphy Hart, Taylor Jordan and Jason Logan. Tickets are $38-$20. The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts is on the corner of Castro and Mercy Streets. For tickets, call (650) 903 6000.

-- By Christine Ehren
and David Lefkowitz