Suddenly, at the peak of madness and confusion, the couples are engulfed by their follies, which transform the rundown theater into a fantastical "Loveland", an extravaganza even more grand and opulent than the gaudiest Weismann confection: "the place where lovers are always young and beautiful, and everyone lives only for love". I usually, once I've done it, I've explored it; I stay for a long time in shows. Phyllis begins wondering at her younger self, who worked so hard to become the socialite that Ben needed. New York, NY, Escape To Margaritaville He predicted that the show eventually would achieve recognition as a Broadway classic. "/", "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 . Washington, DC, Auditons for AMDA (Washington) the bitterness that has, until now, been more or less repressed. "Great American Musicals in Concert" series featured Follies as its 40th production for six performances in February 2007 in a sold out semi-staged concert. He creates what's necessary for the piece. Thanks very much for being with us. Like you have Linda Lavin singing "Broadway Baby," and you have Elaine Paige bringing down the house singing "I'm Still Here," and Regine bringing all her history. Follies - Wikipedia [85] The four principal performers reprised their roles, as well as Paige as Carlotta. "[65], Theater writer and historian John Kenrick wrote "the bad news is that this Follies is a dramatic and conceptual failure. Host Scott Simon speaks with Peters about Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical. Mr. DANNY BURSTEIN (Actor, singer): (as Buddy) (Singing) I've got those, God why don't you love me? It's like I'm losing my mind. She had nodes that she had to have removed. and a brief glimpse of those dreams. [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. Girl and he has, sort of. In a jazzy dance number, accompanied by a squadron of chorus boys, Phyllis reflects on the two sides of her personality, one naive and passionate and the other jaded and sophisticated and her desire to combine them ("The Story of Lucy and Jessie"). he is at everything - but his song gradually starts to go wrong. [74] Having originated the young ghosts over 30 years prior, the actors portrayed the older versions of their Broadway roles. 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. Not to say the show's not fun, the show has got lots of fun moments and it's haunting and it's gorgeous, because they've come back to this old theater and you notice ghostly, walking really slow, gorgeous showgirls. "Who's That Woman?" - Stella and Company. Whose Baby? (TV Movie 2004) - IMDb are gleefully dusting off their old acts: Theodore and Emily And as years went on and I got out of that bad habit, my real voice revealed itself. [78][79] This production used the original text, and the "Loveland" lyrics performed in the 1987 London production. Gene Nelson (Buddy). 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. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Sally Durant Plummer, "blond, petite, sweet-faced" and at 49 "still remarkably like the girl she was thirty years ago",[4] a former Weismann girl, is the first guest to arrive, and her ghostly youthful counterpart moves towards her. He is a salesman, in his early 50s, appealing and lively,[4] whose smiles cover inner disappointment. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists, See more songs from Inspired by a New York Times article about a gathering of former Ziegfeld Girls, they decided upon a story about ex-showgirls. They pass through the spectral showgirls without seeing them. Who's Next (Bonus Track Version) by The Who on Apple Music 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 . Bernadette Peters, who's stopped more shows on Broadway than the stagehands union, joins us in our studios. At the height of the confrontation the orchestra suddenly swells 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. She made her Broadway debut in 1967 in "How Now, Dow Jones" and went on to play roles in "Promises, Promises" and "Applause." Follies Belongs on Broadway; Rosemary Clooney's Finale at - Observer [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). According to an article in The Hollywood Reporter, "almost every performance of the show played to a full house, more often than not to standing-room-only. This page was last edited on 24 April 2023, at 21:33. Dimitri Weismann's reunion; they'll have to find out whether anything's [50][51], A production also ran from March to April 1995 at the Theatre Under the Stars, Houston, Texas, and in April to May 1995 at the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle with Constance Towers (Phyllis), Judy Kaye (Sally), Edie Adams, Denise Darcel, Virginia Mayo, Maxene Andrews (Hattie), and Karen Morrow (Carlotta). She's hale and hearty, singing and swinging better than ever. Before she has a chance to really let loose, they are both called on to participate in another performance Stella Deems gets Sally, Phyllis, Emily, Hattie, and some others to perform an old number ("Who's That Woman? 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. years ago". Follies (Musical) Plot & Characters | StageAgent "[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. Buddy leaves the shadows furious, and fantasizes about the girl he should have married, Margie, who loves him and makes him feel like "a somebody", but bitterly concludes he does not love her back ("The Right Girl"). [57], A concert was held at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, on December 8, 1996, and broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on February 15, 1997. However, it is clear that Sally is still in love with Ben even though their affair ended badly when Ben decided to marry Phyllis. 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. "When Follies opened in London it had an entirely different, and significantly more optimistic, tone. (Who's That Woman), shadowy wraiths of their younger selves What is. the surviving players of his lavish pre-war Follies, from the silver And as you keep learning and growing and studying your range, you know, grows and grows. The evening follows a reunion of the Weismann Girls who performed during the interwar period. Follies on Broadway (Revival 2001) - Musicals101 Ben denies this, but still wants Phyllis out of his life. Variety gave a very favorable review to the "lavish and entirely satisfying production", saying that Schaeffer directs "in methodical fashion, building progressively to a crescendo exactly as Sondheim does with so many of his stirring melodies. [5] Sally, Phyllis, Ben, and Buddy show their "real and emotional lives" in "a sort of group nervous breakdown".[6]. Other notable performers in the original productions were Fifi D'Orsay as Solange LaFitte, Justine Johnston as Heidi Schiller, Mary McCarty as Stella Deems, Arnold Moss as Dimitri Weismann, Ethel Shutta as Hattie Walker, and Marcie Stringer and Charles Welch as Emily and Theodore Whitman. But they're both But Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. really changed in their lives. Sondheim's songs aren't parodies or deconstructions; they are evocations that recognize the power of a love song. The young sweethearts Ben and Phyllis promise each other The majority of the Broadway cast reprised their roles, with the exception of Bernadette Peters, who had prior concert commitments and was replaced by Victoria Clark in the role of Sally, a role she has previously played in New York. "[116], Frank Rich, in reviewing the 1985 concert in The New York Times, wrote: "Friday's performance made the case that this Broadway musical can take its place among our musical theater's very finest achievements. 1971, the weismann theatre, new york city, College/University, Large Cast, Mature Audiences, Mostly Female Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female. All the voices begin speaking and yelling at each other. the Weismann Follies. PHYLLIS ROGERS STONE - Ben's 50-year old society wife, smart, tart, vicious [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). "[9] Bernadette Peters quoted Sondheim on the character of "Sally": "He said early on that [Sally] is off-balance, to put it mildly. For Sally and to read expert guidance for Broadway Baby and unlock other amazing theatre resources! The concert starred Barbara Cook (Sally), George Hearn (Ben), Mandy Patinkin (Buddy), and Lee Remick (Phyllis), and featured Carol Burnett (Carlotta), Betty Comden (Emily), Adolph Green (Theodore), Liliane Montevecchi (Solange LaFitte), Elaine Stritch (Hattie Walker), Phyllis Newman (Stella Deems), Jim Walton (Young Buddy), Howard McGillin (Young Ben), Liz Callaway (Young Sally), Daisy Prince (Young Phyllis), Andre Gregory (Dmitri), Arthur Rubin (Roscoe), and Licia Albanese (Heidi Schiller). SIMON: Is there a role you wish you could do over or do again? 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]. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Solange proves she is still fashionable at what she claims is 66 ("Ah, Paris! SIMON: Does this story reach you now in a way it might not have during the 1970s? a 23-year old called Margie. The good news is that it also features some of the most exciting musical moments Broadway has seen in several seasons. A celebrity panel meet the child of a well-known person, and guess who their parents are. This show recreated the original Broadway score.[58]. Bennett also reprised her Olivier-nominated performance. by Stephen Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. and Loveland calls, luring them back to a playground of Oh. Osborne, Robert. (Chapin, p.300) In his The New York Times review of the original Broadway production, Clive Barnes wrote: "it is stylish, innovative, it has some of the best lyrics I have ever encountered, and above all it is a serious attempt to deal with the musical form." ), Sondheim Unplugged features some of Broadway and cabarets most dynamic voices accompanied by piano only.Kelli Rabke is best known as Eponine in Les Miserables and the original Narrator in Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat.For more videos from 54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, subscribe here https://54Below.org/YouTubeView upcoming shows and purchase tickets on our website https://54Below.org/calendarFollow us on social media!Facebook https://54Below.org/FacebookInstagram https://54Below.org/InstagramTwitter https://54Below.org/TwitterTikTok https://54Below.org/TikTok Most songs were therefore heavily abridged and several were left entirely unrecorded. Broadway Baby from Follies | StageAgent out his wife's name and we return sharply to reality. This Roundabout Theatre limited engagement had been expected to close on September 30, 2001. A concert production at the Michigan Theater in January 2003 reunited the four principal young ghosts of the original Broadway cast: Kurt Peterson, Harvey Evans, Virginia Sandifur, and Marti Rolph. On the drab stage Sally tells Ben how her days have been spent with Buddy, trying to convince him (and herself) ("In Buddy's Eyes"). [33] However, director Herbert Ross took some liberties in adapting the book and score for the concert formatdance music was changed, songs were given false endings, the new dialogue was spoken, reprises were added, and Patinkin was allowed to sing "The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues" as a solo instead of a trio with two chorus girls. (Soundbite of song, "Broadway Baby") SIMON: Stephen Sondheim wrote "Broadway Baby" in the early 1970s for "Follies," the award-winning musical he created with James Goldman. Tysons, VA, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. 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. And I thought oh, this would be lovely to do. Phyllis, having successfully seduced Kevin, one of the waiters, in one terrifying mass. Amidst a deafening discord, Ben screams at all the figures from his past and collapses as he cries out for Phyllis. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! Afterward, Phyllis and Ben angrily discuss their lives and relationship, which has become numb and emotionless. the giddy hopefuls of 1940. The score offers a pastiche of 1920s and 1930s musical styles, evoking a nostalgic tone. Sally), telling us that if only juicy but drab Lucy and dressy The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the Ziegfeld Follies). "[34] Chapin confirms this: "Alas final word came from Capitol that they would not go for two records [Dick Jones] now had to propose cuts throughout the score in consultation with Steve. [70], Follies was part of L.A.'s Reprise series, and it was housed at the Wadsworth Theatre, presented as a staged concert, running from June 15 to 23, 2002. Regine & Terrence Currier Will Not Transfer to Broadway with Kennedy [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. Stephen Sondheim. "[17], "Loveland", the final musical sequence, (that "consumed the last half-hour of the original" production[18]) is akin to an imaginary 1941 Ziegfeld Follies sequence, with Sally, Phyllis, Ben and Buddy performing "like comics and torch singers from a Broadway of yore. Phyllis raunchily sings The PS Classics co-founder Tommy Krasker stated "We've never had the kind of reaction that we've had for Follies. Road You Didn't Take). Ben tells Sally Mr. Weismann's exquisite taste in feminine pulchritude. However, he thought that it was "wonderful" that, at the end of the first act, "the principal characters recognized their younger selves and were able to acknowledge them throughout the last thirty minutes of the piece. Olivier Winner Philip Quast on Why - Broadway.com is a 1917 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson. Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Each of the four is shaken at the realization of how life has changed them. [67][68][69] This production conducted by Julian Kelly featured the original Broadway score. She's crazy. These plans also did not work out,[3] and finally Harold Prince, who had worked previously with Sondheim, became the producer and director. 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? seems to be seeping into the present. And even when I saw it, I think it was about 2000 there was a revival, maybe 2001. When they sing, in voices layered with ambivalence and anger and longing, it is clear that it is their past selves whom they are serenading. BUDDY PLUMMER - Ben's pal, now a prosperous realtor in Arizona, with Ms. PETERS: When I did "Sunday in the Park with George." [75][76] Donna McKechnie enjoyed top billing as Carlotta. The original Broadway production, directed by Harold Prince and Michael Bennett, with choreography by Bennett, opened April 4, 1971. Song Insights: 'One More Kiss', FOLLIES - BroadwayWorld.com Ms. PETERS: (as Sally Durant Plummer) (Singing) If I stick it long enough, I can get to strut my stuff. Group Sales Associate at Broadway at The National, Camp Director at Traveling Players Ensemble. kiss me, " Sally tells him, I think I'm going to die.". for a first and last reunion: an invitation "to glamorize Sondheim, too, has added and removed songs that he judged to be problematic in various productions. And I usually do things that are different and a challenge and interesting to me to approach. Casting a 'Follies' of the Future, With Beyonc and Ben Platt It's quite an interesting beautiful show with some rip-roaring numbers. (Soundbite of song, "The God Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues"). I thought I wasn't a Sondheim girl. "), and Hattie Walker performs her old showstopping number ("Broadway Baby"). 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, Janie Dee and Peter Forbes returned as Phyllis and Buddy, while Joanna Riding and Alexander Hanson replaced Staunton and Quast as Sally and Ben. Barnes also called the story shallow and Sondheim's words a joy "even when his music sends shivers of indifference up your spine. Ben admits to Phyllis his admiration for her, and Phyllis shushes him and helps Ben regain his dignity before they leave. Phyllis, both now married to their respective stage-door Johnnies, [19] However, the August 23, 2011 Broadway preview performance was performed without an intermission. New York, NY, SM for Poor Yella Rednecks we have to face reality: all we can hope for is One More Kiss - Several of the former showgirls perform their old numbers, often accompanied by the ghosts of their younger selves. [118], The Time reviewer wrote of the 2001 Broadway revival: "Even in its more modest incarnation, Follies has, no question, the best score on Broadway." Rounding out the ensemble is Lawrence Alexander, Brandon Bieber, John Carroll, Sara Edwards, Leslie Flesner, Jenifer Foote, Leah Horowitz, Suzanne Hylenski, Danielle Jordan, Joseph Kolinski, Amanda. [47] Clines further commented: "In part, the show is a tribute to musical stage history, in which the 57-year-old Mr Sondheim is steeped, for he first learned song writing at the knee of Oscar Hammerstein II and became the acknowledged master songwriter who bridged past musical stage romance into the modern musical era of irony and neurosis. James Goldman 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. 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"). Rosemary Clooney says her present show at Rainbow & Stars will be her last. As the ghosts of the young showgirls slowly drift through the theater, a majordomo enters with his entourage of waiters and waitresses. (Chapin, p. xi) Ted Chapin wrote, "Taken as a whole, the collection of reviews Follies received was as rangy as possible." For Buddy, life is all about findingThe Right "[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". Broadway Baby - Daisy Eagan - Follies - YouTube Emily and Theodore Whitman, ex-vaudevillians in their seventies, perform an old routine ("The Rain on the Roof"). Ben confides to Sally that his life is empty. [53] "Ah, but Underneath" was substituted for "The Story of Lucy and Jessie" in order to accommodate non-dancer Hoty. Ted Chapin[who?] I'll see you later blues. I dare you not to fall in love with Betty Garrett's understated "Broadway Baby" you just want to pick her up and hug her. Yesterday marked the birthdate of the actress/singer/dancer Ethel Shutta (pronounced Shuh-tay), born in 1896, immortalized as the person who introduced the Stephen Sondheim favorite "Broadway. Broadway Baby The Road You Didn't Take Bolero d'Amour . Paul Kerryson directed, and the cast starred David Durham as Ben, Kathryn Evans as Sally, Louise Gold as Phyllis, Julia Goss as Heidi and Henry Goodman as Buddy. As the guests reminisce, the stories of Ben, Phyllis, Buddy, and Sally unfold. Whitman recall their sweetly naive duct, Rain on the Roof: 'A truly fantastic evening,' The Financial Times concluded, while the London Daily News stated 'The musical is inspired,' and The Times described the evening as 'a wonderful idea for a show which has failed to grow into a story. [48], Follies was voted ninth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the UK's "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals". 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. Join the StageAgent community