FOLLIES performed with no intermission tonight!- Page 5

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 10:21pm

JustOldBill: Your post above about the original Follies, especially the second paragraph, is so well crafted and heartfelt. Unfortunately, I am not a "survivor," but you gave me a glimpse of what made the original so unique. Glad you're still here.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 10:28pm

I saw the original without an intermission and it seemed
interminable. I thought I'd never escape that seat. Nothing worse than feeling trapped in a seat for 2 and one half hours.

I have seen the show with an intermission in London and in Washington. The audience needs the breather. It works a lot better.

If all you can think of is getting up out of your seat during an intermissionless show....that is all you will remember.

People on here love Follies, love the score but you are not the average theatregoer. For most people, including myself, not having an intermission is in my opinion a mistake.

Having people squirming in their seats and exiting during Loveland is not the way to go.

Just an opinion.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 11:39pm

The problem is that there really just isn't a good place for an intermission. There's not a good point to stop the show. It is like A Chorus Line. There just is not a good point to break the show into two acts without awkwardly stopping the action that is meant to seamlessly flow from beginning to end.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 11:53pm

saw the show last week before they cut the intermission. I had no problem with the intermission. I plan to see it again so will see what I think without it.

[TheHappyPhantom]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 12:45am

If all you're thinking about is getting out of your seat, there's something wrong with the production. As others have said, if people can watch Avatar, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings etc, they can watch a live show that long. It's not the show's responsibility to make up for shallow audiences with the attention spans of toddlers. What is the shows responsibility is making the writer's intention come to fruition and maintaining artistic integrity above a couple of traditionalist busy bodies.

[bk]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 12:52am

"I saw the original without an intermission and it seemed
interminable. I thought I'd never escape that seat. Nothing worse than feeling trapped in a seat for 2 and one half hours."

If you saw the original you were only trapped in your seat for two hours and ten minutes. And why would the show seem any less interminable to you even with an intermission - interminable is interminable.

This show cannot have an intermission. It's really that simple. Inserting one is harmful and ruins the forward momentum of the show and anyone who doesn't see that does not really understand the show. And by this logic, let's put an intermission into A Chorus Line (I saw one production that did so - it was a four-star disaster) and Pippin (also a four-star disaster).

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 3:15am

The more I've had time to think about it since seeing it again, the happier I am that it has no intermission anymore.

And, WAT, I hope you get to see the show a dozen more times and come on here to "brag" about it. You're lucky that you're able to!

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 7:32am

"If all you're thinking about is getting out of your seat, there's something wrong with the production. "

It might be the fault of the show itself, not the production. As I noted previously, in the original production of Follies, lavish, spectacular, and which many feel has not been equaled since, people were still getting out of thir seats during Loveland.

"It's not the show's responsibility to make up for shallow audiences with the attention spans of toddlers"

It's the show's responsibility to be good, good enough to hold an audience's attention. And don't belittle those who don't like this show. I know plenty of educated, cultured people who don't.

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 8:27am

...and sometimes you just gotta pee

[TheHappyPhantom]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 3:52pm

"It might be the fault of the show itself, not the production. As I noted previously, in the original production of Follies, lavish, spectacular, and which many feel has not been equaled since, people were still getting out of thir seats during Loveland."

Then let them! Some people have to get up even if warned about no intermission. Some shows (as noted previously) go almost this long with only act one. Preserve the integrity of the show.


"It's the show's responsibility to be good, good enough to hold an audience's attention. And don't belittle those who don't like this show. I know plenty of educated, cultured people who don't."

Exactly. And given that this production is good, no intermission should not be a problem. I'm not belittling those who don't like the show, I'm saying they shouldn't cater to people who "figit" around cause they can't sit for two hours like a small child.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 8:04pm

I cna never take back that I wrote my negative review (PM me for a copy if you'd like)... But I realized tonight that I'd rather be active in countering within my own work what I saw Wednesday night than just talking about it on a message board...

Updated On: 8/26/11 at 08:04 PM

[TheHappyPhantom]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 12:21pm

????????????

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 12:39pm

Lesson: Never post drunk.