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indestructibly, a Broadway Baby. [62][63] It followed a similar presentation at the 1995 Melbourne Festival of Arts with a different cast and orchestra. Sally is bitter, having never been happy with Buddy, although he has always adored her. [128], In November 2019, it was announced that Dominic Cooke will adapt the screenplay as well as direct, following the successful 2017 National Theatre revival in London, which returned in 2019 due to popular demand.[129]. [49], Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT) was the first major American opera company to present Follies as part of their main stage repertoire, running from October 21, 1988, through November 6. The show and the score have a double vision: simultaneously squinting at the messes people make of their lives and wide-eyed at the lingering grace and lift of the music they want to hear. As Roscoe Ben confides to Sally that his life is empty. Against this volatile atmosphere of drunken remembrances, a decades-old love quadrangle receives a revival when Follies dancers Sally and Phyllis, and their respective husbands, Buddy and Ben -- who used to hang around backstage, waiting for their girls -- meet again. They've come a long way from those Inspired by a New York Times article about a gathering of former Ziegfeld Girls, they decided upon a story about ex-showgirls. Book by James Goldman. ", and "Losing My Mind". Olivier Winner Philip Quast on Why - Broadway.com PHYLLIS ROGERS STONE - Ben's 50-year old society wife, smart, tart, vicious The younger Ben and Buddy softly call to their "girls upstairs", and the Follies end. 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." an eerie operetta waltz, all dreams are a sweet mistake and eventually Follies - Everything Sondheim [43], The book "was extensively reworked by James Goldman, with Sondheim's cooperation and also given an intermission." It starred Alexis Smith (Phyllis), John McMartin (Ben), Dorothy Collins (Sally), Gene Nelson (Buddy), along with several veterans of the Broadway and vaudeville stage. [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 London production had new songs and dialogue. Former MGM and onetime Broadway star Betty Garrett, best known to younger audiences for her television work, played Hattie. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Solange purrs her way through the fake Gallic sophistication It also highlights that the Follies were such an incredible mix of high art and low art. Follies girls through "the mirror number" DIMITRI WEISMANN - An impresario who flourished between the wars and Phyllis kisses a waiter and confesses to him that she had always wanted a son. The youthful ghosts of the four leads are winning portrayed by Erin Dilly, Richard Roland, Joey Sorge and Lauren Ward. Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. Follies set, a fabulous wedding cake reaching for the stars, an There were only four showgirls in this version, and each one carried a shepherd's crook with a letter of the alphabet on it."[22]. However, the show did not do well in its Los Angeles engagement and plans for a tour ended. I'm Scott Simon. The original Broadway production, directed by Harold Prince and Michael Bennett, with choreography by Bennett, opened April 4, 1971. Elsewhere, Willy Wheeler (portly, in his sixties) cartwheels for a photographer. Only Carlotta seems I had always was aware of his shows but I never thought I'd ever be in any of his shows. The Paper Mill Playhouse production used some elements from London but stayed close to the original. He predicted that the show eventually would achieve recognition as a Broadway classic. The 2017 production was nominated for 10 Laurence Olivier Awards and won 2 for Best Musical Revival and Best Costume Design (by Vicki Mortimer). It originally was performed in one act. [38] The production was the premiere attraction at the newly constructed 1,800-seat theater, which, coincidentally, was itself razed thirty years later (in 2002, in order to build a new office building), thus mirroring the Follies plot line upon which the musical is based. That paradox is crystallized in " One More Kiss ," warbled by an ancient Viennese soprano while . years ago". [103], The production returned to the Olivier Theatre on February 14, 2019, playing until May 11. Don't panic. Some productions substitute "Ah, but Underneath" when the actress portraying Phyllis is not primarily a dancer. Young Daisy Eagan sings "Broadway Baby" from Sondheim's "Follies."This video is an excerpt from the highly recommended 1992 concert DVD "Sondheim: A Celebrat. She made her Broadway debut in 1967 in "How Now, Dow Jones" and went on to play roles in "Promises, Promises" and "Applause." Portions of the concert were seen by audiences worldwide in the televised documentary about the making of the concert, also released on videotape and DVD, of 'Follies' in Concert. reduced to mother r6Ies, but still hanging in there. ", "Who Could Be Blue? New York, NY, SM for Poor Yella Rednecks Playing Hattie who sings "Broadway Baby" is Patti Davis Suarez. Join the StageAgent community you can't turn the clock back: as Heidi Schiller reminds us in Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. "[15] Some of the Follies numbers imitate the style of particular composers of the early 20th century: "Losing My Mind" is in the style of a George Gershwin ballad "The Man I Love". explains: "Today, Follies is rarely performed twice in exactly the same version. "[11], Joanne Gordon, author and chair and artistic director, Theatre, at California State University, Long Beach,[12][13] wrote "Follies is in part an affectionate look at the American musical theatre between the two World Wars and provides Sondheim with an opportunity to use the traditional conventions of the genre to reveal the hollowness and falsity of his characters' dreams and illusions. The net result was four new songs For reasons which I've forgotten, I rewrote "Loveland" for the London production. Washington, DC, Auditons for AMDA (Washington) "Liner notes to original Broadway cast recording". Follies review - a stupendous Sondheim revival - The Guardian Sondheim. SIMON: And from the performer's point of view, what makes him a genius by such universal acclaim? Laurence Olivier Award for Musical of the Year, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical, "Bernadette Peters on 'Follies' and Puppies", "Faculty, Theatre Arts, California State University, Long Beach", "Song list and acts, 2005 Barrington Stage", "2001 Broadway revival song list and acts", "By the Book: Broadway Revival of 'Follies' Performed Without Intermission Aug. 23", "Kennedy Center 'Follies' Steps onto Broadway", "Abstract-'Follies' musical opens at Colonial", "Stage View; Sondheim's 'Follies' Evokes Old Broadway", "Loss of Shubert Alters Face of L.A. Theater", "Follies at the Forum Theatre, Wythenshawe, partial listing", "Concert Performances of Sondheim's Follies Win Sydney Raves", "Roundabout's Revival of Follies Starts Previews at Belasco, March 8", "Peters Withdraws from London Follies; Casting Almost Complete", "What Follies! [81] The cast starred Bernadette Peters as Sally, Jan Maxwell as Phyllis, Elaine Paige as Carlotta, Linda Lavin as Hattie, Ron Raines as Ben and Danny Burstein as Buddy. Broadway Baby - Daisy Eagan - Follies - YouTube Buddy then appears, dressed in "plaid baggy pants, garish jacket, and a shiny derby hat", and performs a high-energy vaudeville routine depicting how he is caught between his love for Sally and Margie's love for him[4] ("The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues"). times, she's grateful just to have got through it, and confidently Were Still Here! And this is a very interesting character, probably unlike any other character I've ever played really. 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 . HEIDI SCHILLER - A 90-year old Broadway legend, whose ringing soprano The reason the final curtain came down Saturday was that being a production by the Roundabout Theatre Company a subscription-based 'not-for-profit' theater company it was presented under special Equity terms, with its actors paid a minimal fee. YOUNG STELLA - The singer and dancer as she was in 1940. [89], The Broadway production won the Drama League Award, Distinguished Production of a Musical Revival for 2011-2012[90] and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Burstein) and Outstanding Costume Design (Barnes). Heidi Schiller, joined by her younger counterpart, performs "One More Kiss", her aged voice a stark contrast to the sparkling coloratura of her younger self. "[44] Sondheim wrote four new songs: "Country House" (replacing "The Road You Didn't Take"), "Loveland" (replacing the song of the same title), "Ah, But Underneath" (replacing "The Story of Lucy and Jessie", for the non-dancer Diana Rigg), and "Make the Most of Your Music" (replacing "Live, Laugh, Love"). He is a salesman, in his early 50s, appealing and lively,[4] whose smiles cover inner disappointment. wife, kids - and a mistress. "Loveland" has dissolved back into the reality of the crumbling and half-demolished theater; dawn is approaching. "[46], This production was also recorded on two CDs and was the first full recording. Phyllis Rogers Stone, a stylish and elegant woman,[4] arrives with her husband Ben, a renowned philanthropist and politician. Phyllis, both now married to their respective stage-door Johnnies, That, if I'm good enough for you, you're not good enough SIMON: When did the relationship with Stephen Sondheim begin - looking back on it? That new jukebox musical is the new Broadway smash & Juliet. Julia McKenzie and David Healy. [64] It was significantly stripped down (earlier productions had featured extravagant sets and costumes) and was not a success critically. Sondheim Guide / Follies (Recordings) Story of Lucy and Jessie (Lucy being Phyllis and Jessie being It's so hard to put into words. At first too weary to stand, and wearing clunky spectacles, she is incongruously dowdy - comic and poignant. "[65], Theater writer and historian John Kenrick wrote "the bad news is that this Follies is a dramatic and conceptual failure. She shakes loose from the memory and begins to dance with Ben, who is touched by the memory of the Sally he once cast aside. Whose Baby? - Wikipedia Afterwards, though, Buddy's The-God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me-Blues begin hours after the show Waiting for the Girls Upstairs in (Soundbite of song, "The God Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues"). [93][94] Other new cast members included Carol Neblett as Heidi, Sammy Williams as Theodore and Obba Babatunde as Max. the resurrection of their distant pasts only serves to point 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. Like an actor turns himself into another character. [77], New York City Center's Encores! The exceptions are the title song, from Follies, which she sang memorably at the 1984 Tony Awards show, and "Bobo's" from The Act. a Follies girl. As Stella leads the 1940 Smith (Phyllis), John McMartin (Ben), Dorothy Collins (Sally) and Whose Baby? This show features the wistful torch song Losing My Mind, the wry showstopper Im Still Here, and Broadway Baby, that determined ode to making it in show business. are gleefully dusting off their old acts: Theodore and Emily The musical was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won seven. Read is the book writer, writing a new ending to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, alongside a score comprising the pop music of Grammy . between Buddy and his pal, Ben. Produced at the Winter Garden, New York, 4 April 1971 with Alexis Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists, See more songs from Ms. PETERS: You know, when I was a little girl, they said I had a funny voice because I actually had a deep voice and that's because my mother didn't speak correctly. The musical numbers "Ah, but Underneath" (replacing "The Story of Lucy and Jessie"), "Country House", "Make the Most of Your Music" (replacing "Live, Laugh, Love"), "Social Dancing" and a new version of "Loveland" have been incorporated into various productions.