Century Quote by Karen Abbott
![“A half-century before Madonna, Gypsy [Rose Lee] understood how to make performance out of desire, how to exploit the very human and eternal instinct to always want most what we'll never have.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a50/karen-abbott-13658_century_a-half-century-before-madonna-gypsy-rose_2856261.jpg)
“A half-century before Madonna, Gypsy [Rose Lee] understood how to make performance out of desire, how to exploit the very human and eternal instinct to always want most what we'll never have.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Rise and Fall of the Great American Circus by Karen Abbott, 2017
The quote highlights how performers turn longing into spectacle, tapping into the timeless human drive to crave the unattainable.
In simple terms: Performers use desire to create shows, exploiting our urge for the impossible.
Key Takeaway
Leverage desire to engage audiences.
Themes
performance
desire
human nature
spectacle
Mood
intriguing
analytical
Type
observational
commentary
When to use this quote
- theater productions
- advertising campaigns
- motivational speaking
- product launches
Key Concepts
psychology
marketing
entertainment
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you channel yearning into meaningful experiences?
- What limits does perpetual wanting impose?
A Different Perspective
Desire alone may not sustain interest without substance.
![“She [Gypsy Rose Lee] was a sophisticated self-satirist with a contagious delight in the comedy of sex. She was coy; she was sly; she always had a witty quip; she had an intensely dramatic presence.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b3e/karen-abbott-13658_comedy_she-gypsy-rose-lee-was-a-sophisticated-s_1447479.jpg)
![“Gypsy [Rose Lee] wasn't a linear person, and she didn't live life in a linear fashion. She was relentlessly self-inventing, and moved backward as often as she moved forward.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2a8/karen-abbott-13658_fashion_gypsy-rose-lee-wasn-t-a-linear-person-an_2555037.jpg)
![“Gypsy [Rose Lee], who was called Louise as a kid, gave her first performances here with her sister [June Hovac], playing for the local Masonic lodge halls. It was a tight-knit community, and the support and success the act enjoyed here enabled them to hit the road and make it in big-time vaudeville.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c33/karen-abbott-13658_bigs_gypsy-rose-lee-who-was-called-louise-as_2173429.jpg)
![“Her sister [June Havoc] said the musical portrayed who Gypsy [Rose Lee] wanted to be before the burlesque thing happened she wanted to be this beautiful, romantic person with dreams. So Gypsy told the story of her life as she wished she'd lived it: embellishing, softening the edges, eliminating…” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f9d/karen-abbott-13658_beautiful_her-sister-june-havoc-said-the-musical-p_3013386.jpg)
![“I greatly admired Gypsy [Rose Lee] for being able to rise above her circumstances; I was terrified of her; I thought she was generous; I thought she was brilliant; I thought she was cruel.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/421/karen-abbott-13658_able_i-greatly-admired-gypsy-rose-lee-for-bei_2782139.jpg)
![“Burlesque thrived during the Great Depression, and by extension, so, too, did Gypsy [Rose Lee]. Men could no longer afford to pay $5.50 to see a show on Broadway, but they could scrape together $1.00 for a matinee at a burlesque house.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8c7/karen-abbott-13658_broadway_burlesque-thrived-during-the-great-depre_2257195.jpg)
![“Gypsy [Rose Lee] is as unique as she is timeless. Her story is classic Americana, and the strangest rags-to-riches saga you'll ever read; I like to call it Horatio Alger meets Tim Burton.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/829/karen-abbott-13658_americana_gypsy-rose-lee-is-as-unique-as-she-is-ti_902352.jpg)
![“The cousin said that Gypsy [Rose Lee] took a full fifteen minutes to peel off a single glove, and that she was so damn good at it he gladly would've given her fifteen more. So this story got me thinking, who was Gypsy Rose Lee? Who could possibly take the simple act of peeling off a glove and make…” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/424/karen-abbott-13658_articles_the-cousin-said-that-gypsy-rose-lee-took_512540.jpg)
![“Gypsy [Rose Lee ] was a masterful storyteller, and her memoir and by extension, the musical weren't only Gypsy's monument; they were also her chance for monumental revisionism.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fe2/karen-abbott-13658_chance_gypsy-rose-lee-was-a-masterful-storytell_259518.jpg)
![“I think Gypsy [Rose Lee] would be appalled at today's rawer, more blatant displays of the female form. She was, in her own way, a prude.” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/35c/karen-abbott-13658_appalled_i-think-gypsy-rose-lee-would-be-appalled_10445.jpg)
![“I thought both she [Gypsy Rose Lee] and her story would be ill-served by a conventional, birth-to-death narrative, and so I structured the book like one of her stripteases: revealing a peek of shoulder, then a glimpse of knee, pulling back a bit before you go a bit further, until all is revealed…” quote by Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ba0/karen-abbott-13658_birth_i-thought-both-she-gypsy-rose-lee-and-he_637177.jpg)
![“[The Dalai Lama] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could, and still things get worse in Tibet." If you look at it from one point of view, as he himself says, his monastic position of forbearance and nonviolence hasn't reaped any…” quote by Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9fe/pico-iyer-1252_benefits_the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i_678.jpg)
