 While the title suggest that this musical is about the famous stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, it is really about her hard-driven, determined stage mother, Mama Rose. In the beginning, Rose concentrates on her talented younger daughter, June, leaving older, less talented Louise in the cold. When June tires of being cute and runs away, Rose turns to Louise instead. Louise eventually does become "Gypsy", and Rose is left by herself, her aspirations for her kids realized, but her own show-business aspirations still unrealized.