FOLLIES

[scenicdesign71]

Jesse Green considers Follies on its approaching 50th anniversary:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/31/theater/follies-broadway-50-year-anniversary.html

Also, Ben Brantley recalls being thunderstruck, at 16, by the original 1971 production.

And Green and Scott Heller have fun dream-casting a hypothetical 2046 75th-anniversay revival, although, among their choices, only Justin Vivian Bond as Carlotta really excites me (and Bond, now 57, may be a bit too long in the tooth for the role by then; could someone please make this happen sooner?).

Speaking of which, I'm glad I'm not the only one to have wondered: is "I'm Still Here" really meant to be Carlotta's Follies number from back in the day, or is it more of a "book" song describing her life since then (and if the former, how is that even possible?)  Or is it somehow both?

[Bobster]

Carlotta's original number ("Can That Boy Foxtrot!") of course was her Follies number.

Yes, "I'm Still Here" is a book (non-diegetic) number.

For the London 1987 "Revisal" is was changed to a Follies number.

[scenicdesign71]

Oh boy, oh boy, can that boy foxtrot:

As SJS said of his homage, ultimately cut from Follies, this too is a single dirty joke spun out for three and a half minutes.  But out of context (with no larger story being interrupted, no star requiring a song she can make a fuller meal of), both "...Foxtrot" and this 1919 Irving Berlin bauble are delightful.

Eddie Cantor's original rendition (from Ziegfeld's Follies of 1919, in fact) and Marilyn Monroe's 1954 cover are worth a listen, but Madeleine Kahn -- whose charms as a singer have sometimes escaped me in other contexts -- is in this case my favorite.

[scenicdesign71]

NYT:  The Bathysphere Book chronicles the Depression-era ocean explorations of William Beebe


Heebie-jeebies sounds about right.

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(from Astra Publishing, 5/16/23)

[scenicdesign71]

Posted on YouTube about a month ago, and recently shared by Alan on the Facebook FTC group:

From the audio collection of production stage manager Craig Jacobs is this complete recording of Dorothy Collins Sings Sondheim. Preserved at Michael's Pub, 211 East 55th Street in Manhattan, on Tuesday, October 16, 1979, at 11:30 p.m., the cabaret gave Collins a chance to perform songs from Sondheim's career leading up to 1979, including "Not While I'm Around" and "Wait" from Sweeney Todd, which opened at New York City's Uris Theater six months prior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpxfPKWhiak
(60 min, audio only)

1. Medley: "Comedy Tonight," "Tonight" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses"
2. "Remember?" and "I Remember"
3. "Love Is in the Air"
4. "That'll Show Him"
5. "Sorry-Grateful"
6. "Could I Leave You?"
7. "Send in the Clowns"
8. "Uptown, Downtown"
9. "Not While I'm Around" and "Wait"
10. "Do I Hear a Waltz?"
11. "Broadway" and "Broadway Baby"
12.  Follies Reminiscences: "The Road You Didn't Take" and "Too Many Mornings"
13. "Losing My Mind"
14. "I'm Still Here"
15. "Being Alive"
16. "With So Little to Be Sure Of"

[scenicdesign71]

NYT:  David Edward Byrd, Whose Posters Captured Rock's Energy, Dies at 83
                              His designs for Jimi Hendrix, the Who and others embodied the spirit of the psychedelic era.
                                                       He also created images for stage shows like Godspell.

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[scenicdesign71]

Dept. of Roads Not Taken:  Jean Smart auditioned for Sondheim and was offered a role in Follies (I'm guessing the 2011 B'way revival?) — but turned it down.
She discusses it in this recent half-hour interview, starting at about 22:24...

I would assume she was probably up for Phyllis — and while, as a low-key Smart devotee of several decades, I have to respect her choice, it's hard not to wonder more than a little wistfully about the performance she might have given.  (Barring that, and as long as I'm fantasizing anyway: if the 2021 B'way Company had had the much longer run it deserved, I would have paid good money to see Ms. Smart as a star replacement for Patti LuPone's Joanne).

[KathyB]

Yesterday I saw Follies in Concert at the Vintage Theatre in Aurora, CO. This is one of the shows that I figured was going to be on my bucket list for the longest (along with Pacific Overtures).

I thought the entire thing was wonderful, exceeding my high expectations. The surprising highlight, for me, was "One More Kiss," which was sung by two singers with beautiful voices who sounded so good together. "Could I Leave You" was another strong song, as was "Ah, Paris!" But it's hard to pick favorites.  The one drawback of the show was my obstructed view.   I was in the front row, dead center, and there was a music stand in front of me, which partially blocked my view of some of the performers. It blocked my view of Sally's face during "Losing My Mind." 

I'm wondering what version of the book was used, as it seemed much shorter than the original (which, admittedly, is a long libretto). I'm guessing it was an abridged version of the original. 

The intermission was right after "I'm Still Here." 

The woman next to me (Roxanne) was quite talkative, mentioning how she had "Leap of Faith" season tickets (a promotion where Vintage Theatre offers season tickets before the season is announced, at a discount), among other things. She was unfamiliar with Follies, so I told her that the plot centered around a group of performers coming to a reunion as the theatre they performed at was about to be demolished. I said there was also a lot of wistful reflection. (Hoping my description did the show justice.) She mentioned how she liked singing and dancing, and we talked about the upcoming season, which has quite a bit of singing, but I'm not sure about dancing. We also discussed Guys and Dolls and one of the actors in the show.

Great show. "I'm so glad I came."