All the voices begin speaking and yelling at each other. Follies on Broadway (Revival 2001) - Musicals101 Dolores Gray was praised as Carlotta, continuing to perform after breaking her ankle, although in a reduced version of the part. But when Bernadette Peters sings the song, it could be a kind of anthem. Leading Lady / Broadway Baby / Another Openin' Another Show: Jill Perryman: 1975: Medley: Broadway Baby: Bernadette Peters: 1981: Broadway Baby: Dorothy Loudon: 1986: Broadway Baby: Daisy Eagan: February 23, 1993: YOUNG HEIDI - The celebrated soprano in her heyday. Upgrade to PRO [54] This production received a full-length recording on two CDs, including not only the entire score as originally written but a lengthy appendix of songs cut from the original production in tryouts. mimic their movements. 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). "[88] The production's run was extended, and its grosses exceeded expectations, but it did not recoup its investment. 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! I want you so. SIMON: Stephen Sondheim wrote "Broadway Baby" in the early 1970s for "Follies," the award-winning musical he created with James Goldman. At its very start, ghosts of Follies showgirls stalk the stage, mythic giants in winged, feathered, black and white opulence. waltzes. It was directed by Harold Prince and Michael Bennett, with choreography by Bennett, scenic design by Boris Aronson, costumes by Florence Klotz, and lighting by Tharon Musser. out his wife's name and we return sharply to reality. This page was last edited on 24 April 2023, at 21:33. Even the songs we love are dangerous. You know, I'll do it for, like, at least a year and then beyond that. ; and Hattie proclaims again that she's, Follies Belongs on Broadway; Rosemary Clooney's Finale at - Observer Were Still Here! Pounding Forty-Second Street To be in a show. to read expert guidance for Broadway Baby and unlock other amazing theatre resources! 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. Sondheim "did not think the London script was as good as the original." and soon Sally and Buddy, together with their younger selves, join This Roundabout Theatre limited engagement had been expected to close on September 30, 2001. "Could I Leave You?" - Phyllis. Inspired by a New York Times article about a gathering of former Ziegfeld Girls, they decided upon a story about ex-showgirls. That's a surprise. James Goldman Shakespeare in the Woods 2023 Season Sondheim. 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. All rights reserved. "), and Hattie Walker performs her old showstopping number ("Broadway Baby"). is by now wondering Could I Leave You and live without Ben, At first too weary to stand, and wearing clunky spectacles, she is incongruously dowdy - comic and poignant. wife, while poor miserable Sally moans in a smouldering torch number their dressing rooms - but for Ben these memories awake old regrets They pass through the spectral showgirls without seeing them. However, the show did not do well in its Los Angeles engagement and plans for a tour ended. 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 . In this it reflects the age of Heidi Schiller, one of the more senior of the Follies girls. [19][81] The production played to 95% capacity. The good news is that it also features some of the most exciting musical moments Broadway has seen in several seasons. 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. he is at everything - but his song gradually starts to go wrong. 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. Sondheim, Stephen and Goldman, James (2001). Follies (Musical) Plot & Characters | StageAgent The younger Ben and Buddy softly call to their "girls upstairs", and the Follies end. Follies - New Broadway Cast Recording Produced by Tommy Krasker and Philip Chaffin Executive Producers: Michael M. Kaiser, Sean Patrick Flahaven Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York City on October 3-4, 2011 Recorded and Mixed by Bart Migal Assistand Engineer: Bob Mallory, Tim Marchiafava, Tyler Hartman & Mike Bauer Music Coordinator: John Miller A recording of the National Theatre production was released on January 18, 2019.[104]. Ben admits to Phyllis his admiration for her, and Phyllis shushes him and helps Ben regain his dignity before they leave. that she's Losing My Mind. 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. For Sally and Copyright 2011 NPR. Produced at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London, Gene Nelson (Buddy). DIMITRI WEISMANN - An impresario who flourished between the wars and With Andrew Lincoln, Sophie Okonedo, Esther Coles, Darren Tighe. BUDDY PLUMMER - Ben's pal, now a prosperous realtor in Arizona, with The 2017 production was nominated for 10 Laurence Olivier Awards and won 2 for Best Musical Revival and Best Costume Design (by Vicki Mortimer). )"[36][37], The musical was produced at The Muny, St. Louis, Missouri in July 1972 and then transferred to the Shubert Theatre, Century City, California, running from July 22, 1972, through October 1, 1972. 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"). PHYLLIS ROGERS STONE - Ben's 50-year old society wife, smart, tart, vicious "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs" - Ben, Sally, Phyllis and Buddy, Young Ben, Young Sally, Young Phyllis and Young Buddy. HATTIE WALKER - After all these years, still a Broadway Baby. Ms. PETERS: I don't know. YOUNG PHYLLIS - A showgirl in the chorus of the final edition of "[119], Brantley, reviewing the 2007 Encores! 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? Yesterday, though, tells another story: young Sally and young "[30] Prince planned to present the musical on the West Coast and then on a national tour. enchanted citadel where the two couples can re-visit their individual Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal noted that "One of the signal achievements of this Follies is that it succeeds in untangling each and every strand of the show's knotty plot Mr. Schaeffer is clearly unafraid of the darkness of Follies, so much so that the first act is bitter enough to sting. Ben tells Sally "[114] On the other hand, Martin Gottfried wrote: "Follies is truly awesome and, if it is not consistently good, it is always great. whose name became a byword for style and opulence. WAITERS, WAITRESSES, PHOTOGRAPHERS, SHOWGIRLS, etc. OTHER GUESTS and PERFORMERS, STAGE MANAGER, Phyllis Rogers Stone, a stylish and elegant woman,[4] arrives with her husband Ben, a renowned philanthropist and politician. Former Weismann performers at the reunion include Max and Stella Deems, who lost their radio jobs and became store owners in Miami; Solange La Fitte, a coquette, who is vibrant and flirtatious even at 66; Hattie Walker, who has outlived five younger husbands; Vincent and Vanessa, former dancers who now own an Arthur Murray franchise; Heidi Schiller, for whom Franz Lehr once wrote a waltz ("or was it Oscar Straus?" Broadway Baby - Daisy Eagan - Follies - YouTube Follies (Musical) Songs | StageAgent 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. "Liner notes to original Broadway cast recording". [41], A staged concert at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, was performed on September 6 and 7, 1985. In 1971 or 2001, Follies validates the legend that a Broadway show can be an event worth dressing up for. And even when I saw it, I think it was about 2000 there was a revival, maybe 2001. "[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. And this is a very interesting character, probably unlike any other character I've ever played really. [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.