Gypsy (Chichester Festival Theatre)

Anyone who wants to see how fashions change could take a closer look at Gypsy. A contemporary musical that spent much of the first half eulogising the young age of its performers and boasted a line like "young, girlish and pure" would have producers demanding rewrites before you could say Operation Yewtree.

And that's not the only old-fashioned aspect; the central character of Momma Rose is a showstopping role for a big-voiced Broadway diva, the likes of which are rarely seen now. So what makes Imelda Staunton's portrayal stand out is not just the way that she delivers the big numbers – although she does that with some style – but her powerful evocation of a truly driven woman. This is a psychological tour de force.

Yes, her treatment of daughters June and Louise is a form of emotional abuse but Staunton also captures her vulnerability too; her big number that ends the first half, "Everything's Coming Up Roses", is less an affirmation of her optimism and more a defiant response to her mental battering. After witnessing this, I'd love to see Staunton play Mother Courage.

There's some strong support. After Lara Pulver's turn on Sherlock as, possibly, the most famous nude on British television, she is a natural choice for the most celebrated stripper of all time. Her transformation from the meek and submissive Louise to the provocative and teasing Gypsy Rose Lee is a slow and subtle one and Pulver handles the journey well. The changeover between the child performers and the adults is handled cleverly.

Kevin Whateley provides a decent turn too as the all-too-decent Herbie, hankering after the peaceful family life that will never arrive. While he doesn't have the strongest of singing voices, it's a sympathetic performance in a cast of strong women. And Georgia Pemberton as the Young June has the most elastic legs you're likely to see this year.

Gypsy doesn't have the razzmatazz and the verve of many of Chichester productions but Jonathan Kent handles the musical numbers adroitly and provides a psychological depth that few musical productions possess. But, above all, it's Staunton's performance that provides the show with its memorable moments: looks like Chichester has another hit on its hands.