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Follies 1987 London Production (and general Follies thread =] )- Page 7
Follies 1987 London Production (and general Follies thread =] )
#150Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 2/17/10 at 2:59pm
"but Michael Bennett was insistant he change it"
That's interesting because I thought I'd read somewhere that Michael Bennett didn't want Uptown Downtown to be cut, because the title gave him something around which to build the choreography: the dancers would dance up the steps to "Uptown" and down the steps to "Downtown".
I don't have my theatre books to hand to check, but would guess it would either be in the Zadan or the Gottfried books on Sondheim.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#151Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 2/17/10 at 8:07pm
I think I read that detail about Uptown Downtown in Ken Mandelbaum's "A Chorus Line and the Musicals of Michael Bennett."
As for its accuracy, that I don't know. Like so much Follies minutiae, who knows what's apocryphal and what's not? I reread that book recently and I'm pretty sure in the Follies section Sondheim talks about how Michael Bennett wanted to avoid using songs that were written prior to his involvement (Bring on the Girls, etc).
#152Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 2/17/10 at 8:25pmI haven't been on here in a while, so I was really pleased to find that this thread got bumped!!
#154Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 3/7/10 at 4:32am
I remember reading that Bennett wanted to keep Uptown Downtown because he felt there was a visual hook in the lyric.
PJ I've just caught up with the whole thread. Those clips are stunning! 'Follies' London was the show of my '20s though and I have a lot of sentimental attachment to it. My God, it must be time for another full London revival!
#155Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 5/17/10 at 6:44am
In honor of the tribute to Michael Bennett tonight by the Dancers Over 40 organization, here are:
Follies in Miniature:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=M23T9W3A
...and Follies Dubbed Original Cast:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=86EMLTJZ
...and Follies Boston (LA?) Sound:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RUY9WFWG
#156Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 5/17/10 at 12:33pm
So glad to see this thread bumped!
The clips PalJoey posted are amazing and I highly recommend them to anyone who's loved Follies and anyone who's ever wondered why so many love Follies.
#157Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 5/17/10 at 2:03pm
They are going to be showing them tonight at Dancers over 40. It will be interesting to watch them with Bennett dancers who were in the original Follies, playing some of the younger ghosts.
Now, 30 years later, those dancers are the age of the older characters.
Marquise
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/1/04
#158Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 5/17/10 at 3:33pmThis thread was a very interesting read considering I could never quite get into FOLLIES for some reason. . .
#159Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 6/9/10 at 5:41pm
Bump, because Follies in Miniature has made its way onto YouTube, divided into two parts.
Which is distasteful to me, like putting an intermission in the middle of Follies.
But that's another discussion.
You can watch the whole 13-minute video here:
http://youtu.be/FQjULRtXp0U
BNN2
Swing Joined: 5/28/08
#160Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 6/9/10 at 6:03pmThat popped up on YouTube for me yesterday, it's nice to be able to watch it. I've had issues with downloading files so I say the more footage the better.
#161Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 6/9/10 at 6:11pmTry downloading the link 5 posts up. It's much better to see the 13-minutes piece with no break.
#162Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 6/10/10 at 7:34amI don't pretend to be knowledgeable about FOLLIES and frankly the minute details of this thread elude me. The only FOLLIES production that I know is the1987 London production starring Diana Rigg, Daniel Massey, Julia MacKenzie and the late Dennis Healy, with Dolores Gray, all of whom were superb. I loved the show. I guess ignorance is bliss, Mr. Sondheim and Pal Joey.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#164Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 6/15/10 at 10:10pmI saw the London FOLLIES when Eartha Kitt took over. All I really remember of it was the set that looked like a stack of pancakes and Kitt's incredible performance.
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
#165Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 6/16/10 at 10:28amThis was such an interesting read. I believe I've been convinced to buy the original, and maybe another one too.
#166Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 6/16/10 at 10:44am
No, no, not pancakes- a tiered wedding cake. That Loveland transition was incredible!
And don't forget the eerie murals- see left!
#167Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 6/22/10 at 11:29amPhoto updated- here is the loveland sequence! <-
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#168Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 6/22/10 at 11:39amDoes that showgirl have a cigarette in her hand?
#169Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 6/23/10 at 9:47am
The Loveland transition was stunning (and I think it's on YouTube) and right for the rewriteen book.
The rewritten book was just wrong, wrong wrong.
#170Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 6/23/10 at 10:28am
Does that showgirl have a cigarette in her hand?
Well, I often like a cigarette after I've "visited Loveland". (What a charming euphemism!)
Or as Sondheim would aver, it's symbolic of the malaise under the charming surface of love and happiness...
#171Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 7/13/10 at 7:59am
The 13-minute "Follies in Miniature" is too long to put up on YouTube in one piece, but you can watch it here without downloading it.
http://youtu.be/FQjULRtXp0U
#172Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 8/12/10 at 7:48am
The entire 90-minute David Frost show has Yvonne De Carlo doing an absolutely flawless "I'm Still Here."
Watch it here:
http://www.megavideo.com/?d=B220H5BO
Or download it here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B220H5BO
temms
Broadway Star Joined: 7/21/04
#174Follies: more on the London production
Posted: 8/12/10 at 12:07pm
Has it ever been determined where the "dress rehearsal" footage comes from? It's clearly not Boston because changes had been put in, but the question remains if it's New York or L.A., yes?
Because having watched it a million times over, I am convinced that the voice of the conductor who says "We have to stop" in "Waiting For The Girls" is Paul Gemignani. He has a very distinct, gruff tone and I swear that's him. I know he took over conducting at some point during the run, so he probably conducted the tour and thus this footage is L.A. From what I've heard of Harold Hastings' voice on the "Company" OBC documentary it doesn't sound like him. And it's quite clearly the conductor talking. I swear it's Gemignani.
Also - since I've been on a "Follies" kick of my own lately (I'm so geeky I threw all the FIMiniature clips along with the full numbers and the dress rehearsal footage into iMovie and watched it all in show order - practically an hour of the thing is filmed! It's incredible.) that I impulsively ordered a used copy of "The Theatre Art Of Boris Aronson" off Amazon. It arrived the other day and it is absolutely beautiful. The "Follies" photos are truly amazing - there is one of the finale where you see the entire stage and audience and if I had a scanner I'd share it but I don't - but the entire book is amazing. "Company", "Fiddler", and "Cabaret" are amazing to look at in such detail.
But to see the "Follies" set so specifically photographed and then to go watch the footage gives you even more appreciation, especially for those of us who didn't see the original and have only that footage to rely on.
