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. The production starred Bob Gunton (Ben), Warren Berlinger (Dimitri Weismann), Patty Duke (Phyllis), Vikki Carr (Sally), Harry Groener (Buddy), Carole Cook (Hattie), Carol Lawrence (Vanessa), Ken Page (Roscoe), Liz Torres (Stella), Amanda McBroom (Solange), Grover Dale (Vincent), Donna McKechnie (Carlotta), Carole Swarbrick (Christine), Stella Stevens (Dee Dee), Mary Jo Catlett (Emily), Justine Johnston (Heidi), Jean Louisa Kelly (Young Sally), Austin Miller (Young Buddy), Tia Riebling (Young Phyllis), Kevin Earley (Young Ben), Abby Feldman (Young Stella), Barbara Chiofalo (Young Heidi), Trevor Brackney (Young Vincent), Melissa Driscoll (Young Vanessa), Stephen Reed (Kevin), and Billy Barnes (Theodore). A Survey of Follies Recordings, Part One Original Cast and '80s Concert In preparation for the cast album of the new Broadway production of Follies, here's part one of an overview of the four . "[87] This recording includes "extended segments of the show's dialogue". Osborne, Robert. Follies girls through "the mirror number" It's so hard to put into words. Ms. PETERS: (as Sally Durant Plummer) (Singing) The sun comes up, I think about you. For the 1985 concert, no one was going. [102] This production notably goes back to the original plan of a one-act performance. The production was directed by Dominic Cooke, choreographed by Bill Deamer and starred Peter Forbes as Buddy, Imelda Staunton as Sally, Janie Dee as Phyllis, Philip Quast as Ben[100][101] and Tracie Bennett as Carlotta. I like to do that. SIMON: Bernadette Peters stars in "Follies" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. through June 19th. Whose Baby? Girl and he has, sort of. However, the show did not do well in its Los Angeles engagement and plans for a tour ended. "[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"). despite the routine of married life. Buddy in Arizona - cooking, flower-arranging, trips to the mall, Ms. PETERS: And then I got the call when I was I was performing at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, James Lapine called me to say he wrote this new show with Stephen Sondheim and it's to play an artist model. Whose Baby? between Buddy and his pal, Ben. Arlington, VA, Camp Director at Traveling Players Ensemble 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 . Buddy tells her she must be either crazy or drunk, but he's already supported Sally through rehab clinics and mental hospitals and cannot take any more. As the ghosts of the young showgirls slowly drift through the theater, a majordomo enters with his entourage of waiters and waitresses. STELLA DEEMS - Another veteran of the final Follies. The younger Ben and Buddy softly call to their "girls upstairs", and the Follies end. [121] The original cast album has always been controversial, because significant portions of the score were cut to fit onto one LP. [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. [26] By the time the 2011 Broadway revival opened, it was performed with an intermission in two acts. "[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. Ben tells Sally is by now wondering Could I Leave You and live without Ben, That's a surprise. Do again. They've come a long way from those The emotional high generated by the reunion of the Follies girls ultimately gives way to anger, disappointment, and weary resignation to reality. "Liner notes to original Broadway cast recording". declares I'm Still Here. The evening follows a reunion of the Weismann Girls who performed during the interwar period. [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. [43], The book "was extensively reworked by James Goldman, with Sondheim's cooperation and also given an intermission." That new jukebox musical is the new Broadway smash & Juliet. Whose Baby? a Follies girl. 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. When Sally sees Ben, her former lover, she greets him self-consciously ("Don't Look at Me"). The young sweethearts Ben and Phyllis promise each other [86] A two-disc cast album of this production was recorded by PS Classics and was released on November 29, 2011. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. "Could I Leave You?" - Phyllis. What follows is a series of musical numbers performed by the principal characters, each exploring their biggest desires. Vance, David. Kirkeby, Marc (released April 1971). Oh. It was directed and staged by Stephen Lloyd Helper and produced by Helper and Alistair Thomson for Mardi Gras. Ms. PETERS: I don't know. ; and Hattie proclaims again that she's, [33], For commercial reasons, the cast album was cut from two LPs to one early in production. He forget his lines, the tune, the dance steps and finally, in The exceptions are the title song, from Follies, which she sang memorably at the 1984 Tony Awards show, and "Bobo's" from The Act. [82] Also featured were Rosalind Elias as Heidi, Rgine as Solange, Susan Watson as Emily, and Terri White as Stella. Yet he and Warren Carlyle just as clearly revel in the richness of the knowing pastiche songs with which Mr. Sondheim evokes the popular music of the prerock era. The Who. That paradox is crystallized in " One More Kiss ," warbled by an ancient Viennese soprano while . Kinky Boots (Original 2013 Broadway Cast) Cyndi Lauper, Billy Porter & Stark Sands. seems to be seeping into the present. ", "Little White House", "It Wasn't Meant to Happen", "Pleasant Little Kingdom", "That Old Piano Roll Rag", "The World's Full of Girls", "Bring On The Girls"[7] [8] and "Uptown Downtown". "[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. Follies Stage production February 20, 1971 Comments Sung by character "Hattie Walker" . The production was broadcast live to cinemas worldwide on November 16 through the National Theatre Live program. that You're Gonna Love Tomorrow, and for young Sally and Afterwards, though, Buddy's The-God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me-Blues begin And when I read it, I thought this is just so heartbreaking, really. [75][76] Donna McKechnie enjoyed top billing as Carlotta. as he looks back at a lifetime of lost opportunities (The 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. As Stella leads the 1940 to read expert guidance for Broadway Baby and unlock other amazing theatre resources! 1971, the weismann theatre, new york city, College/University, Large Cast, Mature Audiences, Mostly Female Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female. Janie Dee and Peter Forbes returned as Phyllis and Buddy, while Joanna Riding and Alexander Hanson replaced Staunton and Quast as Sally and Ben. to get him down, as he scuttles frantically between mistress and Read is the book writer, writing a new ending to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, alongside a score comprising the pop music of Grammy . Sally is awed by Ben's apparently glamorous life, but Ben wonders if he made the right choices and considers how things might have been ("The Road You Didn't Take"). Tysons, VA, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. Young Phyllis, Ben, Sally and Buddy taunt their disillusioned of the derelict theatre Loveland rises - the apotheosis of a Weismann 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". This production has taken on the glint of crystalline sharpness. Dolores Gray was praised as Carlotta, continuing to perform after breaking her ankle, although in a reduced version of the part. YOUNG BEN - Ben thirty years earlier, in 1940, when he was dating "[123] The recording of the 2011 revival was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Musical Theater Album category. [73] Tom Bosley originally was cast as Dimitri Weismann. [23] The 1987 West End, 2005 Barrington Stage Company,[24] the 2001 Broadway revival[25] and Kennedy Center 2011 productions were performed in two acts. 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). Directed by Michael Scott, the cast included Lorna Luft, Millicent Martin, Mary Millar, Dave Willetts, Trevor Jones Bryan Smyth, Alex Sharpe, Christine Scarry, Aidan Conway and Enda Markey. HATTIE WALKER - After all these years, still a Broadway Baby. Afterward, Phyllis and Ben angrily discuss their lives and relationship, which has become numb and emotionless. and soon Sally and Buddy, together with their younger selves, join Broadway Baby The Road You Didn't Take Bolero d'Amour . The original Broadway production, directed by Harold Prince and Michael Bennett, with choreography by Bennett, opened April 4, 1971. 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. As the guests reminisce, the stories of Ben, Phyllis, Buddy, and Sally unfold. Directed by Matthew Warchus with choreography by Kathleen Marshall, it starred Blythe Danner (Phyllis), Judith Ivey (Sally), Treat Williams (Buddy), Gregory Harrison (Ben), Marge Champion, Polly Bergen (Carlotta), Joan Roberts (Laurey from the original Broadway production of Oklahoma! the theatre is demolished to make way for a parking lot. ", "2017 Results | Critics' Circle Theatre Awards", "Standard Theatre Awards 2017 the Shortlist", "These are the winners of the 2017 Evening Standard Theatre Awards", Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Cats: Complete Original Broadway Cast Recording, Les Misrables: The Complete Symphonic Recording, Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller, Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Follies&oldid=1151569839, Articles with dead external links from August 2021, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from May 2022, Articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The orchestra, Nicholas Skilbeck and Nigel Lilley, 1971 - New York Drama Critics' Award for Best Musical, "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs" Ben, Sally, Phyllis and Buddy, Young Ben, Young Sally, Young Phyllis and Young Buddy, "Montage" ("Rain on the Roof"/"Ah, Paris! are gleefully dusting off their old acts: Theodore and Emily The original production, among the most costly on Broadway,[1] ran for over 500 performances but ultimately lost its entire investment. [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. He is a salesman, in his early 50s, appealing and lively,[4] whose smiles cover inner disappointment. Songs. I'm Scott Simon. (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." 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, as a farewell tribute to the doomed building. "Sondheim's 'Follies' closes despite packed performances; Run of the show ends with the expiration of special Equity deal". The budget was reported to be $7.3 million. Jayne Houdyshell as Hattie, Mary Beth Peil as Solange LaFitte, and Don Correia as Theodore joined the Broadway cast. He thinks she's very neurotic, and she is very neurotic, so he said to me 'Congratulations. The rest of the album consists of material from the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, written by the . And even when I saw it, I think it was about 2000 there was a revival, maybe 2001. Ben becomes frenzied, while the dancing ensemble continues as if nothing was wrong. She accuses him of having affairs while he is on the road, and he admits he has a steady girlfriend, Margie, in another town, but always returns home. Marge Champion and Donald Saddler are endearing as the old hoofers. Stephen Sondheim Songs from Musicals Follies the Musical - Broadway Baby Lyrics I'm just a Broadway Baby. And I thought oh, this would be lovely to do. "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" / "Love Will See Us Through" - Young Ben, Young Sally, Young Phyllis and Young Buddy. For Buddy, life is all about findingThe Right [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. 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.