Follies By Rick Pender Follies original poster Follies, Sondheim's seventh Broadway production, began as The Girls Upstairs, a collaboration with bookwriter James Goldman about some young women in a Ziegfeld-like extravaganza and the stage-boy Johnnies who courted them. And I usually do things that are different and a challenge and interesting to me to approach. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Broadway Baby, Learning how to sing and dance, Waiting for that one big chance To be in a show.Oh.Gee.' I'd like to be On some marquee, All twinkling lights, "[45] In The New York Times, the critic Francis X. Clines wrote: "The initial critics' reviews ranged from unqualified raves to some doubts whether the reworked book of James Goldman is up to the inventiveness of Sondheim's songs. The AP quoted Michael Coveney of the Financial Times, who wrote: "Follies is a great deal more than a camp love-in for old burlesque buffs and Sondheim aficionados. Not only has it already outsold every other album at our website, but the steady stream of emails from customers has been amazing. In 1971, on the soon-to-be-demolished stage of the Weismann Theatre, a reunion is being held to honor the Weismann's Follies shows past and the beautiful chorus girls who performed there every year between the two world wars. The Paper Mill Playhouse production used some elements from London but stayed close to the original. And then the rest of the cast is fantastic, Jan Maxwell and Ron Raines and Danny Burstein. A few years after the fling that led to his unknown fatherhood, the man has settled into a new life, but the establishing of his paternity makes him determined to . but cold Jessie could only combine then I could tell you someone explains: "Today, Follies is rarely performed twice in exactly the same version. PHYLLIS ROGERS STONE - Ben's 50-year old society wife, smart, tart, vicious Afterwards, though, Buddy's The-God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me-Blues begin Ms. PETERS: (as Sally Durant Plummer) (Singing) If I stick it long enough, I can get to strut my stuff. Ms. PETERS: He does that with notes and music. Road You Didn't Take). She made her Broadway debut in 1967 in "How Now, Dow Jones" and went on to play roles in "Promises, Promises" and "Applause." He forget his lines, the tune, the dance steps and finally, in The cast starred Julia McKenzie (Sally), Donna McKechnie (Phyllis), Denis Quilley (Ben) and Ron Moody (Buddy). SIMON: Bernadette Peters stars in "Follies" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. through June 19th. [121] However, as Kritzerland Records head Bruce Kimmel wrote in his liner notes to Kritzerland's remixed version of the album, "What it did have made it something that, despite the frustrations, meant it would never be bettered the original cast. concert for The New York Times, wrote: "I have never felt the splendid sadness of Follies as acutely as I did watching the emotionally transparent concert production At almost any moment, to look at the faces of any of the principal performers is to be aware of people both bewitched and wounded by the contemplation of who they used to be. and soon Sally and Buddy, together with their younger selves, join How does she compare? In 2001, a physically scaled-back but starry-cast production was mounted by the Roundabout Theatre Company. The Who. older selves with the failed promises of youth. Dimitri Weismann's reunion; they'll have to find out whether anything's According to the Associated Press (AP) reviewer, "A revised version of the Broadway hit Follies received a standing ovation from its opening-night audience and raves from British critics, who stated the show was worth a 16-year wait." It depends on how you like to work. [31], Frank Rich, for many years the chief drama critic for The New York Times, had first garnered attention, while an undergraduate at Harvard University, with a lengthy essay for the Harvard Crimson about the show, which he had seen during its pre-Broadway run in Boston. The youthful ghosts of the four leads are winning portrayed by Erin Dilly, Richard Roland, Joey Sorge and Lauren Ward. The musical has had a number of major revivals, and several of its songs have become standards, including "Broadway Baby", "I'm Still Here", "Too Many Mornings", "Could I Leave You? Young Phyllis, Ben, Sally and Buddy taunt their disillusioned the Weismann Follies. a Follies girl. Ben drunkenly propositions Carlotta, with whom he once had a fling, but she has a young lover and coolly turns him down. Like an actor turns himself into another character. Ms. PETERS: She is horribly disappointed with her life, comes back to the Follies Theater that she performed in 30 years ago, where she was the happiest in her life, and trying to recapture the happiness again and think she is actually, that evening. That, long as you ignore me, you're the only thing that matters, feeling. It's quite an interesting beautiful show with some rip-roaring numbers. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! Radiantly optimistic and more than a little sexy, they turned "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" into one of the highlights of the evening. This page was last edited on 24 April 2023, at 21:33. Kiss Me, Kate! Follies girls through "the mirror number" the bitterness that has, until now, been more or less repressed. For the 1985 concert, no one was going. Resplendent in top hat and tails, Ben begins to offer his devil-may-care philosophy ("Live, Laugh, Love"), but stumbles and anxiously calls to the conductor for the lyrics, as he frantically tries to keep going. HATTIE WALKER - After all these years, still a Broadway Baby. The younger Ben and Buddy softly call to their "girls upstairs", and the Follies end. Follies is a blend of both, and the new production is rounded out with production numbers celebrating love's simple hope for young lovers, its extravagant fantasies for Ziegfeld aficionados, and its fresh lesson for the graying principals. And, in the haze of nostalgia, the past Broadway impresario Dimitri Weismann arranges a reunion of the actors, singers, dancers, and personalities who peopled his famous Follies in the years between the World Wars . "/", "Bolero d'Amour" Danced by Vincent and Vanessa , "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" / "Love Will See Us Through" Young Ben, Young Sally, Young Phyllis and Young Buddy, "The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues" Buddy, "Margie", "Sally", "The Story of Lucy and Jessie" Phyllis and backup male dancers . This English-language production, using the full original orchestration, was directed by Olivier Bnzech and conducted by David Charles Abell. "[19][84], The production transferred to Broadway at the Marquis Theatre in a limited engagement starting previews on August 7, 2011, with the official opening on September 12, and closing on January 22, 2012, after 151 performances and 38 previews. Girl and he has, sort of. [48], Follies was voted ninth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the UK's "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals". indestructibly, a Broadway Baby. Inspired by a New York Times article about a gathering of former Ziegfeld Girls, they decided upon a story about ex-showgirls. Ms. BERNADETTE PETERS (Actress; Singer): (as Sally Durant Plummer) (Singing) I'm just a Broadway baby walking SIMON: A huge, rich revival of "Follies" has opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with the original orchestrations. But they're both Emily and Theodore Whitman, ex-vaudevillians in their seventies, perform an old routine ("The Rain on the Roof"). in one terrifying mass. seems to be seeping into the present. What is. The musical was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won seven. The song was "One More Kiss", and the compromise was that if there was time, it would be recorded, even if Jones couldn't promise it would end up on the album. out the inadequacies of their marriages. ROSCOE - The Follies' famous tenor whose golden tones saluted Whose Baby? "[14] "Follies contains two scores: the Follies pastiche numbers and the book numbers. With Andrew Lincoln, Sophie Okonedo, Esther Coles, Darren Tighe. [80], The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts production at the Eisenhower Theater started previews on May 7, 2011, with an official opening on May 21, and closed on June 19, 2011. He creates what's necessary for the piece. Janie Dee and Peter Forbes returned as Phyllis and Buddy, while Joanna Riding and Alexander Hanson replaced Staunton and Quast as Sally and Ben. Amidst a deafening discord, Ben screams at all the figures from his past and collapses as he cries out for Phyllis. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Sally appears next, dressed as a torch singer, singing of her passion for Ben from the past - and her obsession with him now ("Losing My Mind"). With the endless variety of Stephen Sondheims score, a loving and brilliant pastiche of show music from the 20s, 30s, and 40s, and the time-travel trickery of James Goldmans book, Follies is a glamorous and fascinating peek into a bygone era, and a clear-eyed look at the transformation of relationships over time. Ben, goaded, starts to argue with Phyllis, RCA VICTOR RD 87128 - Concert recording In the foreword to "Everything Was Possible", Frank Rich wrote: "From the start, critics have been divided about Follies, passionately pro or con but rarely on the fence Is it really a great musical, or merely the greatest of all cult musicals?" [93][94] Other new cast members included Carol Neblett as Heidi, Sammy Williams as Theodore and Obba Babatunde as Max. "Review: Musical Theatre 1998 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival". '"[10] Martin Gottfried wrote: "The concept behind Follies is theatre nostalgia, representing the rose-colored glasses through which we face the fact of age the show is conceived in ghostliness. A celebrity panel meet the child of a well-known person, and guess who their parents are. It's so hard to put into words. Solange proves she is still fashionable at what she claims is 66 ("Ah, Paris! Panic-stricken, he rushes off, screaming [67][68][69] This production conducted by Julian Kelly featured the original Broadway score. Vance, David. years ago". Were Still Here! To extend the show, it would have been necessary to negotiate new contracts with the entire company because of the Belasco's limited seating, it wasn't deemed financially feasible to do so. Lastly Ben takes the stage "[87] This recording includes "extended segments of the show's dialogue". The four characters are "whisked into a dream show in which each acts out his or her own principal 'folly'". Phyllis interrupts this tender moment and has a biting encounter with Sally. The reunion, if it reunifies one couple, destroys another. "[114] On the other hand, Martin Gottfried wrote: "Follies is truly awesome and, if it is not consistently good, it is always great. HEIDI SCHILLER - A 90-year old Broadway legend, whose ringing soprano Sondheim's songs aren't parodies or deconstructions; they are evocations that recognize the power of a love song. The Company of our. In the London production the characters come to understand each other." A rich, new production of Follies has opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with the original orchestrations. Cast. SIMON: All the featured roles you've played on Broadway, including several obviously noteworthy Sondheim roles, I mean: "Annie Oakley," Mama Rose in "Gypsy," Witch in "Into the Woods," where does Sally Durant Plummer fit in? This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. ; and Hattie proclaims again that she's, After the failure of Do I Hear a Waltz? DIMITRI WEISMANN - An impresario who flourished between the wars and Ms. PETERS: As a little girl, yeah. The clarion-voiced Philip Quast has three Olivier Awards to his name and is bound to be considered for a fourth in due course for his soul-stirring performance as Ben Stone in the National Theatre . Solange purrs her way through the fake Gallic sophistication the giddy hopefuls of 1940. "[19] "Loveland" features a string of vaudeville-style numbers, reflecting the leading characters' emotional problems, before returning to the theater for the end of the reunion party. SIMON: Is there a role you wish you could do over or do again? [92], The 2011 Broadway and Kennedy Center production transferred to the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, California, in a limited engagement, from May 3, 2012, through June 9. Mr. Weismann's exquisite taste in feminine pulchritude. And then as a teenager, I started singing soprano and I went, well, I can sing soprano. Although many of the album's most enduring highlights capitalize on the unhinged genius of drummer Keith Moon ("Won't Get Fooled Again," "Baba O'Riley"), the gorgeous ballads . HATTIE WALKER - After all these years, still a Broadway Baby. Music and lyrics If you don't The evening follows a reunion of the Weismann Girls who performed during the interwar period. Ms. PETERS: Oh, it's my pleasure to be here again. Bobby Vernon; Gloria Swanson; Jay Dwiggins; Martha Trick; Robert Milliken; Fritz Schade; Juanita Hansen; Sylvia Ashton; Helen Bray; Florence Clark; Phyllis Haver; William Irving; Edgar Kennedy; Myrtle Lind; The producer was Cameron Mackintosh, the direction was by Mike Ockrent, with choreography by Bob Avian and design by Maria Bjrnson. Ms. Peters plays Sally Durant Plummer, a one-time showgirl who attends a bittersweet reunion with her fellow performers, in a cast that includes Elaine Paige, Linda Lavin, and Regine. Goldman's revised book offered some small improvements over the original. Prince made a mistake by giving the recording rights of Follies to Capitol Records, which in order to squeeze the unusually long score onto one disc, mutilated the songs by condensing some and omitting others. And as years went on and I got out of that bad habit, my real voice revealed itself. Julia McKenzie returned to the production for the final four performances. Arlington, VA, Camp Director at Traveling Players Ensemble [52] The 1998 Paper Mill Playhouse production (Millburn, New Jersey) was directed by Robert Johanson with choreography by Jerry Mitchell and starred Donna McKechnie (Sally), Dee Hoty (Phyllis), Laurence Guittard (Ben), Tony Roberts (Buddy), Kaye Ballard (Hattie ), Eddie Bracken (Weismann), and Ann Miller (Carlotta). She's crazy. The emotional high generated by the reunion of the Follies girls ultimately gives way to anger, disappointment, and weary resignation to reality. On the drab stage (Soundbite of song, "A Little Night Music"). The Who's fifth studio effort is an exhilarating rock 'n' roll masterpiece stacked with killer songs that made it a staple of '70s rock radio. SIMON: And you were talking like this or something? He had agreed to work on The Girls Upstairs if Sondheim agreed to work on Company; Michael Bennett, the young choreographer of Company, was also brought onto the project. "[46], This production was also recorded on two CDs and was the first full recording.

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