Gypsy, a musical by Jule Styne. St. James Theatre. This production of Gypsy originated at the Encores! last summer. We reviewed that production and raved about it. But now it is at the St. James and happily it is actually improved. As good as the stellar cast was last summer, they've all settled into their roles so that they now inhabit them. What was sketchy in the summer is now fully fleshed out. No one though has made more of a metamorphosis than Patti LuPone. Where she was all brass and belter in the summer, she's toned it down, reached for the character of this complicated woman called Rose (who is emphatically NOT a monster) and found her core. LuPone builds her performance so that instead of one socked out number after the other, it is a slowly formed tidal wave that crests with an astonishingly powerful "Rose's Turn." This is a monumental performance - one for the ages. Laura Benanti had already found the core of Louise last summer, but she now adds real authority to what was already the best Louise seen on stage. The always superb Boyd Gaines is the most faithfully frumpy Herbie imaginable. These three make up the best balanced cast "Gypsy" has ever had. It is their incandescence that carry what is otherwise a routine and cheap looking production that brings nothing new to the work. Shockingly, the orchestra does not play well (the first famous trumpet note was sour), the choreography by Robbins has gone stale (no doubt because the master's hand is not available), and the stage direction seems frozen in amber from 1959. But as long as this incomparable trio prowls the stage of the St. James, this "Gypsy" is a can't miss. Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Grade. A