FOLLIES Comes to Leonia This Week

An ambitious production of Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies, with many choreographed numbers, opens in Leonia on May 6th for three weekends until May 22nd. Performed by members of the Players Guild of Leonia, New Jersey's oldest continuing community theater (103 years old), the show has a cast of 28 and nine musicians in the orchestra.

Follies first opened on Broadway on April 4, 1971 and was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, winning seven! Several of its songs have become standards, including "Broadway Baby," "I'm Still Here," "Too Many Mornings," "Could I Leave You?" and "Losing My Mind."

With a loving and brilliant score of show music from the '20s, '30s, and '40s, the storyline by James Goldman offers a glamorous and fascinating peek into a bygone era, and a clear-eyed look at the transformation of relationships over time.

Set in 1971, a group of actors and dancers reunite at the invitation of a Broadway impresario at a soon-to-be-demolished theater where they had performed in his Follies productions in the years between the World Wars. Unseen, ghostly apparitions and memories of their younger selves trail the partygoers as they reminisce, laugh, boast, express regrets, and perform the musical numbers which made them famous. Even a decades-old love quadrangle renews, when two dancers and their husbands-who used to hang around backstage, waiting for their girls-meet again. During that night old feelings are rekindled and the two crumbling thirty-year-long marriages are put to the test.

Directed by Vince Parrillo, with Martie Ohl as assistant director, music direction under Ed Feldman, and choreography by Marc Leland, Friday and Saturday performances are at 8pm and Sunday matinees begin at 3pm. The intimate Civil War Drill Hall Theater has a newly installed special ionization ventilation system to protect against viruses. It is located at 130 Grand Avenue, Leonia, and has no stairs to enter the theater. Attendees must wear masks.

Parking is available on nearby side streets or down Moore Avenue at the Leonia Municipal Pool parking lot. Reserved adult seat tickets ($25) and student/senior tickets ($22) may be ordered online at www.leoniaplayers.org.