I recently had the privilege of seeing freeFall Theatre’s stunning production of FABLE in St. Petersburg, FL. DeVita’s intimate familiarity with the long-standing sibling struggle of sisters June Havoc and “Gypsy Rose Lee” is plainly apparent in this mesmerizing homage. Seeing June at three key stages of her life: bright eyed child prodigy, shrewd negotiator and holdout, and then remorseful and bitter aging performer eclipsed by stolen stardom, is exploited beautifully in this charging drama.

It takes confidence to write dialogue for iconic figures from theatre history like Merman, Robbins, and Laurents; DeVita pulls it off with grace and an insider's savvy. The achievement here is that he corrects some of the musical's misrepresentations of Havoc's story while still celebrating its legendary power. All done with great ingenuity and economy; a cast of just seven manages to evoke the bustle and grandeur of 1959 Broadway.

A stunning and beautifully told homage to June and also to Gypsy, Rose, Ethel, and Arthur and Jerry, to Broadway, the old days, the bright lights and the dreams, Fable is also a wise-cracking, rib-splitting, tough-as-nails tour-de-force with great roles for women. I would love to see this staged. What is it about us humans that makes us want to be able to control our own narratives? Wonderful work that I highly recommend.