Follies...Past and Present, Questions and Thoughts (LOOONG)

[LW2]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 1:15am

Yes, one more post about Follies, if you can stand it.

I've seen the current revival thrice and have been devouring all things Follies since. I have a hard time walking past the Marquis or the TKTS booth and not purchasing a ticket. I've seen the Roundabout revival and "seen" the Papermill revival, listen to all official recordings as well as any unofficial recordings that I can get my hands on, and I read all posts here and commentaries, etc on the show and have read "Everything Was Possible" multiple times. Like everyone else, I'm fascinated. So, I've got some questions and thoughts to share...

Encores: Garber and Baranski seemed perfection as Ben and Carlotta on paper, and on multiple listenings, I found them pretty wonderful, particular in the dialogue. Yes, Garber seemed to have pitch issues and Baranski's last few notes were...interesting, but overall I thought her interpretation of I'm Still Here was extremely effective. I've read here and elsewhere that she was a trainwreck in the show (same for Garber, but less so). What am I missing in the listening that caused such negative opinions? Also, DEAR GOD, what I'd give to see Vicki Clark in a full production with more than a week of rehearsal. The woman is incredible. Same for Donna Murphy. I was saying years ago that she is more than ideal for Phyllis.

Heidi and One More Kiss: One of my favorites in the score. Though I thought Joan Roberts was incandescent in the Roundabut revival, the staging, the moment, etc seemed a non-event, a throwaway. What is it about the current revival's staging of it that makes it such a HUGE moment? Every time I've seen it, it has gotten the same kind of wild applause that Who's That Woman and I'm Still Here received. Is it the staging? Is it the costume? Is it the more-than-able assistance of Leah Horowitz? I cant figure it out. Ms. Elias is in great vocal shape and has a tremendous voice, to be sure, but I can think of other Heidi's (and combinations of Heidi's) that my ears prefer (I go back and forth between Papermill--I cant recall the actresses names at present--and the 85 concert with Licia Albanese and Erie Mills as favorites...they are wildly different, with Papermill being delicate and lovely and Concert being a vocally POWERFUL). What makes this one so special?

Losing My Mind: Much has been made of Ms. Peters performance of this song, and justifiably so. I found myself holding my breath during the middle section of the song when it seemed as though she were about to come unhinged. Also I've read posts regarding Judith Ivey's take on the song, in which you really believed that she was indeed losing her mind. Both fascinaing performances. However, I recall from "seeing" the Papermill production that Donna McKechnie appeared in a black gown with a long train and merely sang the song as if it were a a torch song, without showing signs of losing her mind. Should this not be more the way the song should be performed, sans histrionics and hysterics? The songs in the Loveland sequence are the leads performing for us, the audience, as if in "The Follies." Hard to make my thoughts on this clear. It's no longer the character of Sally singing exactly, its "Sally in the Weissman Follies" singing a torch song. Buddy and Phyllis perform their numbers strictly as performance pieces, with little or no self-awareness, it seems. Ben's is the one that offers the breakdown that gets us back to reality. Gah, the more I type the less clear I feel I'm making myself.

Casting: Sure, it's easier and possibly more enticing to an actor of a certain age to commit to a concert performance than a full run, but I'm curious as to why we have not seen more of a "Who's Who" of the theater in more supporting roles in the past two revivals. Carol Channing as Hattie? (probably too fragile for the current revival, but in 01) Barbara Cook as Heidi? Chita Rivera? Sandy Duncan as Emily Whitman (isnt that her husband as Theodore? How adorable would that have been?) Stritch or Carol Burnett in a full production? Lansbury? Julie Andrews? Dick Van Dyke? Could Lupone fit into a production, Carlotta or Stella? The list goes on. This is to take nothing from (most) performers who have done the roles--I just expect that this is a show that could star cast every one of the small roles and that these older stars might clamor for the chance.

Future Productions: For the next revival in 10 years, I'd like to submit for your approval: Audra as Sally (yes, not a frumpy bone in her body, as someone else suggested, but bitch can act her face off...she can make it work), Norbert as Buddy, Marin and Jason as Phyllis and Ben. Then for the next revival 15 years later, Audra can come back as Heidi (or Chenoweth, if we want it to be a comedy number), Laura Benanti will also de-glam and get tepid reviews as Sally due to comparisions to the definitive Sally of Audra, but still sing it gloriously (this is after she plays Fosca and proves that she can be something other than unbelievably gorgeous), and Sutton, jaded and sans perkiness and fresh off of a 3rd Tony win for playing Rose, will play Phyllis.

There is so so so much more to be said and more thoughts, but this is enough for now.


Updated On: 9/29/11 at 01:15 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 1:26am

^
|
|

Sounds just like me,
in October 1971,
after seeing Follies for the 6th time.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 1:43am

Though many complain about Goldman's book, he and Sondheim created four fascinating characters. I know many who disagree, but I think they are Goldmines for good actors/singers. The beauty is seeing how each interprets their role. Bernsie's breakdown is shocking, choosing how much to match the Follies numbers to reflect their current situations lends itself to many wonderous results.

As for Elias, there is something wonderfully strange about her performance, she appears alone as if in a trance and delivers, and young Heidi, who seems to be wandering around lost the whole show finally meets and conjoins with her later self in a musical dream. And the melody and counterpoint are exquisite.

[LW2]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 1:55am

LOL, PalJoey. Sorry. Too much? Too scattered? I've long been a fan of the show, but after seeing this production, especially the second viewing (the third was almost a letdown, except for Paige's power outage-inducing I'm Still Here), I've become incredibly fascinated to a ridiculous degree.

Yes, CPD. "Wonderfully strange" is exactly how I'd describe Elias's performance and the moment of that song. Maybe it is Young Heidi finally ceasing her restlessness and connecting. Maybe it has something to do with all of the other ghosts stopping and watching and listening for the first time all evening. It's powerful stuff. Someone did their job correctly for that moment. Her backlit entrance, costume slightly blowing in the wind, looking around as if searching for...what? Then this gorgeous song. It's unbelieveably magical and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Maybe we should not question magical things and just let them live, but the "why does this work so brilliantly??" has been in the front of my brain since the first time I saw it.

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 2:08am

I was at Saturday evenings performance, it was my first time back since 8/31. For those who care, more work has been done to the book since 8/31. A few original 1971 lines are back, and there a few brand new lines, likely written by Bobby Goldman. I am on a tablet right now, and its not easy to type on, once I get on on an actual computer, I can go into more details about the updates.

Also, BP's performance has changed yet again. She keeps evolving and evolving. She is now more energetic and bubbly for the first half of act 1. She doesn't play it as mopey and depressed. And she has added some movement to LMM, nothing major though.

Updated On: 9/29/11 at 02:08 AM

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 5:13am

LW2: Good Grief. I get out of breath reading your long posts, although I can see how attached you are to FOLLIES. I hope I can enjoy it half as much as you when I see it in December. I am one person who loved the London FOLLIES back in 1987--the 4 principals were wonderful: Julia McKenzie as Sally, the late Dennis Heally as Buddy, Dianna Rigg as Phyllis and Daniel Massey as Ben, and the great Dolores Gray as Carlotta. Now there's a cast!

[After Eight]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 8:23am

Gypsy9,

I too liked the London Follies. In fact, I found it the most palatable of all the productions I've seen of this show.

And I found Daniel Massey to be the best Ben. Perhaps it was his innate charm as an actor that helped make this selfish cold fish of a character less offputting.

[FrauleinKost]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 8:42am

I will say this--man, you guys ruined the Mirror number for me, LOL! I saw the show 6 times in DC and now twice on Broadway, and honestly NEVER noticed that Lora Lee Gayer wasn't mirroring BP in the number! After it was mentioned on the other thread, it was all I could notice last weekend My question is WHY did they pick one of the taller girls in the chorus to mirror BP? The girl towered over her!

And, I'm nitpicking, but it bothered me that Sally now makes her entrance wearing that little shrug, but then we never see it again. When she leaves the theatre at the end, she has the scarf wrapped around her shoulders. Did she lose the shrug? Where did it go?

Also, one change I did notice--during I'm Still Here, when Young Carlotta makes her entrance and is watching Elaine Paige, she now has a big old proud grin on her face...she used to have a horrified expression. For some reason I think at the early previews in DC she wasn't even on stage, but I'd have to consult the video and check...perhaps I just didn't notice. But I do like the change in expression, because she SHOULD be proud! It's a triumphant song about moving on and moving up. It's like "Everybody Says Don't" meets "Ladies Who Lunch" LOL (not really, but you know what I mean....yada yada yada we have intrepreted this song to death).

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 8:49am

No, LW2, not too much and no, not too scattered. (Well, maybe a little scattered). Loving Follies is like getting religion.

Just make sure you've read the holy texts:

* Ted Chapin's "Everything Was Possible"
* Craig Zadan's Sondheim & Co.
* Hal Prince's out-of-print "Contradictions" (if you can find it)

And make sure that you've watched all the "holy relics"--the "extant" videos from the original production:

* the 13-minute Follies in Miniature
* the 29:33 Follies Original Cast Dubbed
* the 28:55 Follies Boston Sound (actually Los Angeles)
* the 90-minute David Frost show with Sondheim, Prince, Alexis, Dorothy, Yvonne and the original Young Buddy/Sally/Phyllis/Ben.

as well as all the individual videos that have been extracted from those videos:

* Alexis doing "Lucy/Jessie"
* Alexis doing "Could I Leave You?" (10 years later)
* Mary McCarty and the girls doing "Who's That Woman?"
* Yvonne doing "I'm Still Here" (Hollywood Bowl)
* Yvonne doing "I'm Still Here" (David Frost)
* Dorothy doing "Losing My Mind (David Frost)
* Gene doing "The Right Girl"
* Gene doing "Buddy's Blues"
* Sondheim doing "Boy, Can That Boy Foxtrot" (David Frost)
* Harvey Evans/Virginia Sandifur/Marti Rolph/Kurt Peterson doing "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow"/"Love Will See Us Through" (David Frost)
* The extant Loveland footage

Links available, if you haven't!

[AC126748]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 9:02am

For those interested, there are copies of CONTRADICTIONS available on Amazon from $10. It's a great read.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 9/29/11 at 9:05am

What did Goldman contribute to what makes the four principles fascinating?

[justoldbill]

Posted: 9/30/11 at 9:40pm

I always loved the fact that in the original production there was no "Young Carlotta" (except, by default, as a dancer in the Mirror Number). Carlotta doesn't live in the past for a moment. The only hint of a past was one dimly-lit showgirl observer far upstage on an upper level watching "I'm Still Here", but she was no "Young Carlotta". Prince and Bennett were masters.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 9/30/11 at 10:08pm

yes, I just purchased "Contradictions" online for $15 including shipping! Look forward to reading it.

Has anyone read "Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre: Expanded Edition" by Foster Hirsch? Any good?