FOLLIES in Concert at the RAH- Page 2

[theeatah]

Posted: 4/29/15 at 4:07pm

Yikes. Sounds like some of my fears were confirmed, particularly re. Buckley and Henshall.

Anita Dobson seems to have been quite the success. Was the dancing in Who's That Woman well choreographed and executed?

I don't think I'd have minded a less passionate Phyllis, though. As entertaining as Jan Maxwell was, she was too warm and likeable as Phyllis - more of a screwball comedy heroine than the character should be, I think. It made Ron Raines' Ben seem like an utter bastard. Alexis Smith is still the gold standard in that role.

Who replaced Jennifer Coolidge? I can't remember if her character name was announced.

[HannahFan1]

Posted: 4/29/15 at 5:34pm

Anita Dobson was utterly charming, the dancing was reasonably well done but it was clear to watch her she'd just learned to tap dance and that was responsible for most of the uproar that followed.

As far as a less passionate Phyllis, I did like Baranski's icy demeanour, but she lost me with her flippant and bemused delivery of 'guess' at the end of 'Could I Leave you'. I'd also have rather she did more of the dancing in Lucy and Jessie rather than sitting on an audience member's lap and taking a selfie, but it was hysterical.

Jennifer Coolidge was replaced by Lorna Luft as Hattie, who gave a great Broadway Baby.

[bob8rich]

Posted: 4/29/15 at 6:28pm

Obviously, it's all down to personal taste - but I could not disagree more with the criticisms lol

I have seen 10 different productions of Follies, including two on Broadway, in the West End, at Leicester and a wonderful production at the Landor Theatre. This was my favourite of all the productions I've seen.  (And Follies is my all time favourite musical.)

[lotiloti]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 7:06am

Whilst I can say, I enjoyed the evening. I was far from blown away. For anyone who doesn't know the show, the interval placing made no sense at all. Having been in seventh heaven, after 'Sweeney'  at the ENO a couple of weeks before. This came across as somewhat, 'second division'.

[bob8rich]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 8:13am

The placement of the interval in Follies has always been a matter of contention. It was originally conceived and written to be performed without an interval and it certainly works far more seamlessly that way. The problem is that 2 hours 15 minutes without an interval is a trifle long for most audiences.

Placing the interval after Too Many Mornings and the dramatic catharsis of Buddy seeing Sally with Ben usually works pretty well - but even that causes the action to "freeze" and is not totally satisfactory. I can see why Craig chose to move it to the segue into the surreal "Follies" section. It divides the show into almost two distinct concepts - act one being "reality" and act two basically "un-real". It worked for me - but I can see why it did not work for some other people.

In a sense there is no perfect or ideal place for the interval in Follies. It only really works 100% perfectly without one.

 

Updated On: 4/30/15 at 08:13 AM

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 4:24pm

Does anyone know if this was recorded? It may work well as an audio release...

[spotlight_smasher]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 6:53pm

bob8rich - Do you remember who was in the cast of the Leicester production you saw? Was that in 1994 with Mary Millar as Sally?

Also a 1987 Follies question for anyone who can help me with the answer! - Various mentions and articles and posts online say that Julia McKenzie "returned" to the role of Sally for the final four performances of the West End production - does anyone know who played the role prior to this? Was there ever another actress as Sally Durant?

[kp]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 7:41pm

Jill Martin played the last few weeks as Sally apart from the last few performances when Julia McKenzie returned. I remember being at the last performance where they made the announcement "at tonights performance the role of Sally Plummer will be played by Julia McKenzie". Jill Martin had been her understudy I think form the beginning of the run. ps Sondheim was in the audience for the last performance and received a huge ovation before the show started.

[bob8rich]

Posted: 4/30/15 at 7:48pm

yes, Spotlight-smasher -  I saw Paul Kerryson's Leicester Haymarket production with the wonderful Mary Millar as Sally - still one of my absolute favourite Sallys (along with Claire Moore at the Landor and Bernadette Peters on Broadway). I saw both Julia Mackenzie and Jill Martin on the two occasions I saw the West End production.

[theeatah]

Posted: 5/1/15 at 8:26am

Speaking of recording it, I'd love to see a Follies Prom on the Beeb. I'd kill to see Angela Lansbury do Broadway Baby - or Julia McKenzie or Cleo Laine, though Cleo is probably the only real possibility among the three. I don't think McKenzie or Lansbury sing anymore.

And though she's not a "star" in the household name sense, Kim Criswell could knock "I'm Still Here" out of the park, as she did in the 2007 concert. I don't think the key change has ever sounded more thrilling or roof-raising than when Criswell sang it.

Could Barbara Cook still sing Heidi?

[Posner11]

Posted: 5/1/15 at 7:02pm

Like several others I found it an enjoyable matinee performance but not one that set any new standards for the show APART from the sheer power and joy of hearing that music power driven by Gareth Valentine via the the City of London Philharmonic Orchestra   - Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick.

That was the star of the show for me hearing the sweep of the melodies with the strings and the wonderful force when Peter Polycarpou sang "the right girl" lyric and you had the blast of brass to punch the line home. 

Performance wise Lorna Luft broadway baby was for me the star turn and the only one who made a song her own that Afternoon - Anita Dobson turn has been rightly praised but I still have memories of Lynda Barrons turn as the Mirror Girl from the UK stage version and while clever choreography by Andrew Wright it lacked the polish to have make it a standout number. 

I did find Alistair Brammer far more engaging in his role as young Ben than I did in the whole of his Miss Saigon performance and I am very happy to have finally seen "Mrs Hart"  Stefanie Powers giving a very slinky and tuneful performance as Solange Lafitte. 

It was very clear that there was a lot of love for Follies in the hall before the first note and providing people remembered their lines and were still standing by the end it was going to get a strong response. But considering the high cost of tickets it should have been a tighter and more rehearsed show.

Did anyone see both performances and see any changes/improvements - seems like Craig and the creative team popped up for the bows in the evening and all the main cast got roses - at the matinée the bows seems to have been an afterthought and muddled but we did get Alistair Brammer the young Ben saying happy birthday to Big/older Ben Alex Hanson and everyone sang Happy Birthday and a cake was brought on . 

 

[TBFL]

Posted: 5/1/15 at 7:20pm

The production at the Landor was probably my favourite. To be that close and hear great voices sing the score unmiked was thrilling - though Claire Moore played Sally's Losing My Mind too literally. I was in the front row when the guy playing Roscoe cracked badly on his one big note in beautiful girls. Its kind of awkward when you're that close.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/2/15 at 10:15am

As far as the intermission/interval goes, as someone who saw the original Broadway production five times, I say it works better without one, because the pressure-cooker-like build-up of tension is meant to be released by the onslaught of Loveland. It is only dissipated by a bathroom-drinks-and-discussion timeout. 

That said (and I'm in the minority here), if there must be a break, I think it would work the best, thematically speaking, to end the first half with "Who's That Woman"--a rousing number that, especially as staged by Michael Bennett, incorporates the young ghosts into the efforts of the older women a coup de théâtre.

Then, the second part could begin with Carlotta's "I'm Still Here," which would bring the audience back in on a high.

Both numbers underscore the overall theme of the evening, which is the way our pasts inform our presents, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 5/2/15 at 11:42am

This concert had the worst possible direction, it was really awful. And it's a shame, because Christine Baranski would have been way better with a good director... And Betty Buckley deserved a better blocking for her stunning "I'm Still Here". Anyway, the orchestra made the evening very enjoyable.

[bob8rich]

Posted: 5/2/15 at 2:56pm

Christine Baranski did not have a good director - she had a GREAT director. I've worked with Craig and he has an astonishing eye for detail, an incredible insight into the guts and minutest nuances of text and an amazing rapport with actors. His Martin Guerre at the Watermill is one of the most brilliantly directed shows I've ever seen. And, for me, he worked wonders with the staging of Follies within the restrictions of a concert presentation .  Could I Leave You in particular was pretty much the best I have ever seen or heard it performed .

 

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 3:15pm

I've never seen anything else done by Craig before, so I can't judge, but the blocking for Follies was rather bad... having two showgirls around the stage during Losing My Mind was annoying, the four mirrors were pathetic and apparently taken from an high school production... and I wouldn't call Christine taking selfies with the audience during "Jessie and Lucy" an inspired choice.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 5:18pm

His taste is dubious/ verging on tacky most of the time.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 5/8/15 at 4:27pm

The only wow-factor about this production of Follies is that it has brought PJ to post on the West End board!

If you want to see a decent production of the show watch the footage of the OBC posted on the Broadway board recently.