National Theatre: Follies- Page 11

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 9/14/17 at 9:30am

djoko84 said: "I was looking for info about the National's Follies because I'm seeing it in December so I went to the WEST END board. Not sure why this is here."

Because no one uses the West End board

[Valentina3]

Posted: 9/14/17 at 10:49am

http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/63102-follies

 

This is interesting. NTLive took away the Follies page (or it's just down, but I don't see why). Fathom Events has still not picked up the show.

[Cora Hoover Hooper]

Posted: 9/14/17 at 2:57pm

Thanks a lot for the article, broadwaybaby!  I had forgotten some of the details over the years.

Updated On: 9/14/17 at 02:57 PM

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 9/14/17 at 3:10pm

With all due respect, Queen Alice, the costumes were cheap. The Loveland was cheap. The "showgirls" in Loveland clearly got the short end of the stick compared to the Cavaliers, who had probably the nicest costumes on that stage. Phyllis' dress was a nice design, but compared to Zuber's breathtaking work in War Paint, which I saw again last night, I can't help but be disappointed. 

I understand that the National Theatre doesn't have unlimited funds and they employed a large orchestra and cast for this production, but that shouldn't stop me from wishing they had forgone the turntable and distracting brick walls for better scrims (with a red velvet curtain laughably painted on it) and chandeliers that didn't seem to be obviously MADE of plastic in Loveland. At least the 2011 revival could afford a real curtain. And i don't care how much money they actually spent on the show, they could have spent a million dollars, but the result is that it LOOKS cheap. And that's what matters.

Jewishboy, what I got during both performances last Saturday re: Losing My Mind, was Imedla being sad, and then by the orcestral swell in the middle of the song through the end, her being MAD because she was sad. It doesn't help that she can't really hit the high notes of the final "you said you loved me!", so she kinda yells it.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 9/17/17 at 11:15pm

Not to beat a dead horse, and maybe it's just me, but doesn't Dorothy Collins kinda "yell" the end of Losing My Mind? She certainly belts it, and I didn't think Imelda couldn't hit those ending notes, they sounded great! 

[Cora Hoover Hooper]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 5:12pm

Not on the OBC recording. She belts the last high note, but the song ends quietly.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 5:56pm

Dorothy Collins was a recording artist. She was given "Losing My Mind" because of her torchy voice and trained technique. Originally, Alexis Smith was to sing it with Dorothy as a duet, then Alexis was to have it as a solo, but Alexis knew Dorothy would sing it much better and asked for a leggy dance number, so Sally has the most famous number from the show.

All this is to say, Dorothy was from the time period where theatre actors wanted to sing the music as written. The exception is for big stars who came to theatre later or actors who made a career off of their distinct "speak singing", such as Rex Harrison in the former category and Robert Preston in the latter. Today, it is much more in vogue for actors - even ones with gorgeous voices - to "act" by speaking a line here, back phrasing, or the dreaded "yell a word for emphasis". Dorothy was a singer, and she could act the entire score while hitting every note and matching the rhythms Sondheim wrote.

This brings me back to a conversation we had during the last revival of Follies - the actual purpose of the Follies sequence. It is my belief, and the belief of many others, that Sally is not Sally from the Sondheim musical Follies when she sings "Losing My Mind", but instead a torch singer in a metaphysical Follies. With that information, Sally should not be yelling and weeping as she sings the song. She should carry that torch through this plaintive Gershwin-esque ballad expressing her desire and pain. Dorothy lets you feel the emotion she is carrying with the way she caresses each phrase. Bernadette was odd, because some nights she would sing the song straightforward, but other times she would have a breakdown during the number (you can see one of these on youtube where she grabs her neck and shakes her head). Bernadette also loved to cry - or, to be honest, tear up, during the number, which a lot of people (myself included) weren't a fan of. Obviously, if you are a touch singer, you are not going to cry during your song. And you cannot actually sing when you cry, so it's an acting choice, not genuine emotion.

Imelda, like Bernadette on her worse nights, has carried the character of Sally to her Follies number, and, to me, that is a fatal error. Of course, I don't believe her voice is strong enough to make a case for the straightforward stand and deliver approach the song calls for (and she obviously doesn't have the top notes), so maybe this is a distraction technique. Whatever the reason, it's misguided and ineffective.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 9:11pm

Well my biggest takeaway is that two people can see the same performance and have two totally different views. I 100% agree with your assessment of the number and the style.

However, I must just hear both Staunton and Collins differently. I do not hear amazing technique when I listen to Dorothy Collins, especially on recordings made after Follies. I think her version of Too Many Mornings on Sondheims scrabble concert recording is THE DEFINITIVE version. But, not because she sounds pretty. And from Into The Woods to Sweeney Todd to now Follies, I think Imelda has proven she actually does have the requisite "top notes."

Also, when I was referring to Collins "kinda yells the final notes" I meant of "you said you loved me." I think her and Staunton sing it similarly. Maybe she's changed her interpretation, but while it wasn't a "stand and deliver" it did remind me of a number of torch song numbers from old Hollywood movies, with touches of real Sally breaking through (but, definitely not to the point Bernadette brought it to).

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 9:18pm

I can only speak for the performance I saw, and maybe Imelda was in fantastic voice at the first preview, but she actually yelled "Loved" at the 2 performances I saw.

Re: Collins, she gets loud and emotional, but it's sung. And believable in the torch song style. There was no trace of singing when I saw Imelda last week during "you said you loved me". 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 7:09pm

Here's a clip the young couples singing their duets at an awards benefits. They seem to be fighting the pianist's leisurely tempo.

https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2017/watch-now-follies-cast-perform-stage-debut-awards/

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 9/29/17 at 9:03am

Sorry for not posting this until now but i was in Paris for a week after seeing FOLLIES at the National Theatre in London!...

I thought this production was brilliant in every way...now let me remind you that i saw the original Broadway production of Follies in 1971, and while my memories of that production have faded over the years, i still have certain memories of seeing FOLLIES in 1971, and this new production has helped revive some of those fading memories...

First off let me start with IMELDA...and some of you are going to not like this but she was Brilliant in every way...her LOSING MY MIND, IMHO,  was better than Peters was in the youtube filming of the Kennedy Center revival i have seen...the night i saw this, Imelda did not yell  'Loved" as some have seen but she acted the last part of that number so well she did not need to yell it...it is called acting for a reason...

The production values of this particular staging were impressive to say the least, and the direction could not have been better...there was such a crispness to the dialogue that i haven't seen in a Sondheim musical in years!...the dialogue for the party scenes went at such a brisk pace,  it was as if we were catching each bon mot while it was happening live rather than stilted as i have seen these scenes play out in other productions...

All the actors were very good and sold their souls for these parts...while some of the voices were not up to my memories of the original, their acting chops made us fall for them as if they were the only actors to have played all the roles...

The sold out theatre rose as one in a standing ovation deservedly so at the finale and it renewed my love for this show even more...try try try to get tickets for the remainder of this run, or for sure see it performed on screen in Nov...i will try to catch it again!

Updated On: 10/30/17 at 09:03 AM

[Valentina3]

Posted: 10/4/17 at 11:06am

I can't believe I just gave a standing ovation in my office to a 1:15 minute trailer. This looks glorious! I want it on DVD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUgzg4SdjP8

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 10/4/17 at 11:11am

Valentina3 said: "I can't believe I just gave a standing ovation in my office to a 1:15 minute trailer. This looks glorious! I want it on DVD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUgzg4SdjP8"

I had to remind myself that this trailer was beautifully filmed *in advance* to the live broadcast. Hopefully it all works out and the broadcast looks just as good as this trailer.

 

[Jshan05]

Posted: 10/4/17 at 11:24am

Lovely trailer! Most of NT Live's broadcasts have been beautifully shot so I have high hopes for this one!

[TheSassySam]

Posted: 10/4/17 at 11:33am

I am still curious as to why there's not a lot of movie theaters putting this on. 

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 10/4/17 at 11:38am

TheSassySam said: "I am still curious as to why there's not a lot of movie theaters putting this on."

Do you mean theatres that normally show NTLive are scheduling this one? I've noticed a lot more here, but I'm in the city.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 10/4/17 at 12:14pm

TheSassySam said: "I am still curious as to why there's not a lot of movie theaters putting this on."

I think it's because their primary US distributor in the past, Fathom Events, did not pick this one up for whatever reason. I emailed my local cinema which does Fathom shows and they said it wasn't picked but they don't know why. I emailed Fathom and they said "hold tight, we don't know yet" so... *shrug*

I'm probably travelling 1.5 hours just to see this show.

[lotiloti]

Posted: 10/5/17 at 4:32am

Trailer

https://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay/VIDEO-First-Look-Trailer-for-National-Theatres-Live-Broadcast-of-FOLLIES-20171004

[Alessio2]

Posted: 10/5/17 at 6:26am

I can't find any information whatsoever as to where and when this might be playing in Los Angeles...anyone have any info or a link they'd like to include?? Would love to buy my tickets. Thanks in advance!

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 10/5/17 at 7:59am

 The NT live website does not list any showings in Los Angeles on November 16. It is currently scheduled to play in Irvine and at UCLA in early December. My guess is that additional theaters will be added for this and very likely fathom events will pick it up. I also think They will add additional screenings in New York City as most currently appear to be sold out.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 10/5/17 at 9:12am

it is also playing in Palm Desert near Palm Springs on those December dates...it is worth the wait...TRUST ME!

[Scripps2]

Posted: 10/5/17 at 6:07pm

I've watched that trailer four times in a row and am now extremely excited to see this in three weeks time.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 10/5/17 at 6:23pm

My only concern is that the performances will not be toned down for the screen version. The Olivier Theater is HUGE and it requires the performances to be as well. I loved Imelda in the role more than I did Bernadette and Victoria but I suspect that she will appear larger than life in the screening as she did in Gypsy. 

[justoldbill]

Posted: 10/6/17 at 12:49pm

One of the posters above mentions how the actors "sold their soles" for these parts.  That's easy- you can always buy new shoes.  What's risky is selling your "soul"- look at DAMN YANKEES.

There will be a showing of the NT production in Charleston, SC on Sunday, December 10th sponsored by Thirty-Four West Theatre Company- TWO great reasons to visit Charleston!

Updated On: 10/6/17 at 12:49 PM

[Miss Jezebel DuPree2]

Posted: 10/6/17 at 12:58pm

Imelda Staunton as a 49yr old Sally?  No.