Anyone seeing FOLLIES in LA tonight?- Page 13

[f13overture]

Posted: 5/11/12 at 11:35pm

I just saw Follies for the first time ever last night (Thurs, May 10)! I know there's been a lot of reviews, but if anyone's interested, here are some impressions I got.


• I laughed, I smiled, I cringed, I got misty-eyed, and I pondered my own life. All in all, I got swept up in a range of emotions and thought the whole show, cast, music, etc excellent and worthy of the hype.

• Did the audience applaud when Jan Maxwell, Danny Burstein, Ron Raines, and Bernadette made their first entrances in NYC? They got somewhat of an applause here - although the applause for Danny Burstein was kind of awkward(i.e. like 4 random claps) because his character is talking just as he's making his first appearance. Also, there were a couple people here who gave Terri White's number a standing O here. She really tore it up, though! I theorize LA is more of a "clapper town" than NY.

• Did Sally have red hair in any other productions of Follies? When I first saw Sally, I was struck by how much they made her look like Bernadette Peters. Young Sally also seemed Bernadette-like to me!!

• I was sitting in towards the back of the orchestra section. With the lighting from my angle, Sally's dress looked light blue. I thought it completely fit the character - I thought she was so "gosh darn cute" in it, and I also think it worked very well with how Buddy was describing her at the beginning.

• I thought the best voice of the evening was young Heidi - especially that last high note. Gorgeous.

• The actress who played older Heidi did a good job, but was too young looking…they could have at least aged her with make-up!! My friend didn't even realize Heidi was supposed to be the oldest former Weisman Girl.

• I had a hard time understanding some of Elaine Paige's lyrics in "I'm Still Here"

• The Clarinet player = Amazeballs! Entire orchestra sounded good. I thought the French Horn player rocked, too, but I'm a bit biased since I'm a horn player myself.

• Christian Delcroix is the man for writing "Go Steelers!" in his biography. Only a Pittsburgher Gotta point out he did a great job of making his Buddy's mannerisms similar to the Danny Burstein's.

• The first 30 min or so belonged to Jayne Houdyshell. Hilarious.

• Buddy's Blues is one song that's WAY better live than on youtube! It was excellent & one of the highlights of the show! Also Kudos to Burstein for the sudden dramatic shift in Buddy's mood/actions at the end of the show

• Is it scripted that Ben forgets the words in "Live, Laugh, Love" or did Ron Raines forget his line? I realize his character is falling apart, but I heard the conductor help him out.

• The curtain call! So cute! I noticed Danny Burstein & Jan Maxwell who were standing next to Victoria Clark visibly brighten up(e.g. the "beaming with pride" kind of look)for the warm reception Clark got! She deserved it. I never saw the show with Bernadette, but Clark seemed perfectly natural to me - like she's been there the whole time. Lovely voice, too.

• And because I seem to be mentioning Rebecca Luker in all my posts(haha I'm a fan, what can I say?): When there was talk of who was gonna replace Bernadette, some1 mentioned Luker's name (& it wasn't me! Tho, I seconded it.) There were a few times where I could definitely picture her. I couldn't help randomly wondering what this show would be like with a Sally whose voice is in the same upper echelon as Luker's.

• I'm probably gonna go again, but sit up in the Mezz (let's hear it for Hot Tix!!)…I would recommend to any1 in LA, "for $20 go see Follies: it's cheaper than therapy and you'll get the same results!" haha

• Lastly, JAN MAXWELL better win that TONY!!! She is freakin' hilarious!!! I think I used up my superlative quota in this review, but feel free to stuff them all in her bag here.

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 5/11/12 at 11:43pm

Yes, it's scripted that Ben forgets his lines and the conductor prompts him. Glad you had a great experience!

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 12:52am

I suggested Luker a few times mostly because it seemed natural for people to think of Danny's wife when taking him out of town.

Yes, "Ben" goes up on his lyrics, not Ron. It's meant to be confusing.

I saw this once in DC and 3 times in New York and yes, all four leads ALWAYS got entrance applause, Jan and Bernadette especially. Almost every woman got some smattering applause upon entrance at least when I saw it in previews. They all even got applause again during "Beautiful Girls." General applause and excitement died down later in the run.

So glad you loved Clark. I find her to be perfection in everything and am jealous you get to experience her Sally. It's nice to know the other actors seem happy and proud of her since I heard stories of no one really jelling with La Bernie backstage.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 1:04am

I laughed, I smiled, I cringed, I got misty-eyed, and I pondered my own life. All in all, I got swept up in a range of emotions and thought the whole show, cast, music, etc excellent and worthy of the hype.

That's exactly how I felt as a 15-year-old in April 1971, having just seen the original production for my first time...

Hey, up there!
Way up there?
Whaddya say up there..."

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 2:17am

f13, That summed the show up perfectly, the only thing is I was in the front row on Tuesday night and understood everything Ms Paige sang during "I'm Still Here".

Try for the 49 buck discount tickets at the box office ( use code word SALLY ) it will put you in the Orch about four rows from the front.

Tossing up if I need to see Follies again next Thursday or head to San Deigo and see Scotsbourgh Boys?

[theeatah]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 6:45am

Thanks for the review, f13overture.

I'm a little confused by your "upper echelon" comment re: Luker. Do Luke and Clark not have the same voice type? Are they different types of soprano?

By the way, can anyone tell me the exact difference (a step? half-step?)
between Clark's current "Losing My Ming" key and the original key?
Updated On: 5/12/12 at 06:45 AM

[HorseTears]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 7:20am

Mental health advocate Cloris Leachman and I agree -- keep the reviews coming, people. Whether it's your first time or your 10th, I love hearing about your experiences. I don't think anyone posted this, but Center Theatre Group posted a really fun (and nicely shot) backstage video from Follies (YouTube link below...)






Follies - Before the curtain goes up Updated On: 5/12/12 at 07:20 AM

[matineeidol2013]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 7:25am

i can help you out theeatah!

the original 'losing my mind' (the key dorothy collins sang the song in) begins on a C (the word 'the' in 'the sun comes up')

for bernie, they raised the song a half step ('the' starts on a C sharp)

for victoria clark, 'the' begins on an E. so the song was raised two whole steps for victoria clark.

[theeatah]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 8:00am

Thanks, matineeidol2013!

That's quite a difference. I just checked out Clark's ENCORES! performance, and there is readily apparent. She handled the original key really well, I thought, apart from the dodgy belted "MEEEEEEE!" (or "MAAAAAY!"). I guess she/they wanted to show off her head voice more, and perhaps those reports about her trouble with the Sister Act Mother Superior keys were true.

Updated On: 5/12/12 at 08:00 AM

[HorseTears]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 10:06am

I just don't understand this decision. She sounded fantastic at Encores. She looked ridiculous, but she sounded great.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 11:37am

What key did Barbara Cook sing it in for Follies In Concert?

[SingOutLouise2]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 1:27pm

During previews the dress was blue green. It's now light blue.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 1:30pm

Poor lizabombs must have had a conniption when he heard the news.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 4:22pm

My husband tells me the SALLY promotion code only worked for previews and when he tried using it yesterday, it froze the Ahmanson site. Neither of us is the most computer-savvy ticket buyer, so maybe the fault was his; but since the code was mentioned again, I thought I should say something.

I'm glad you enjoyed the show, f13.

I was pleasantly surprised at how often the audience laughed at jokes in the lyrics. Pleasantly surprised because (a) it's almost always hard to get laughs with witty lyrics; (b) it meant people were paying close attention; and (c) it suggested the audience did not consist of only those who have memorized the score.

[matineeidol2013]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 4:22pm

best12:

just listened to barbra cook's 'losing my mind.' her starting note is an F, meaning they raised the song two and a half steps for her in the lincoln center concert!

[f13overture]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 7:39pm

I'm glad you guys liked my review!
BroadwayFan12, thanks for clearing up the part when Ben messes up his line. That's actually pretty funny now that I realize it's in the script.
Nasty_khakis, actually you're right - I think that's why I originally thought of Luker for the role too. Victoria Clark was lovely, though!
PalJoey, thanks for sharing the memory. Hopefully I'll get to see many more shows in the future that will sweep me away!
Rosscoe(au), glad to hear that the lyrics for I'm Still Here were clearer in other parts of the theater. For the record, I thought Elaine Paige's acting was fabulous.
Theeatah- I was having a hard time wording what I wanted to say which probably led to the confusion It's probably a preference thing, but I meant I would put Rebecca Luker in the group of Broadway's best sopranos (i.e. Barbara Cook, Julie Andrews, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth). It'd be interesting to see(& hear) one of them in the role. Clark was definitely above average, but I reserve my personal "Legendary Voice" category for an elite few.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 8:08pm

That's interesting that Cook started the song on F. Thing with her, though, is that she is capable of singing so nakedly, openly, emotionally in her upper register whereas Clark's upper notes sound lovely, but a bit formal. Oh well, it is what it is.

Gaveston2 - it's not just you guys. That code was good through May 11th, I believe. When you input it, it locks out all other dates and the only way to get back to a default where all the dates are visible is to clear your cache/delete internet history. (Or switch to a different browser). GoldStar still has tickets available for performances through mid May and I'm sure that they'll release a new block of tickets for the second half of the run soon. I can't imagine that they wouldn't. Each performance I window-shopped still had 100+ seats available in each section.

Pre-sale hot tix, however, are now sold out. However, if you live close by, they are still selling day of show $20 hot tix starting at 12noon every day. You might want to check the stock online before venturing out for that in person.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 8:08pm

That's interesting that Cook started the song on F. Thing with her, though, is that she is capable of singing so nakedly, openly, emotionally in her upper register whereas Clark's upper notes sound lovely, but a bit formal. Oh well, it is what it is.

Gaveston2 - it's not just you guys. That code was good through May 11th, I believe. When you input it, it locks out all other dates and the only way to get back to a default where all the dates are visible is to clear your cache/delete internet history. (Or switch to a different browser). GoldStar still has tickets available for performances through mid May and I'm sure that they'll release a new block of tickets for the second half of the run soon. I can't imagine that they wouldn't. Each performance I window-shopped still had 100+ seats available in each section.

Pre-sale hot tix, however, are now sold out. However, if you live close by, they are still selling day of show $20 hot tix starting at 12noon every day. You might want to check the stock online before venturing out for that in person.

[binau]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 8:15pm

http://youregonnalovetomorrow.tumblr.com/post/22813444990/victoria-clark-sings-in-buddys-eyes-in-l-a

http://youregonnalovetomorrow.tumblr.com/post/22847842023/ron-raines-victoria-clark-sing-too-many


I preferred how Bernadette sustained the notes for longer throughout "In Buddy's Eyes"

Updated On: 5/12/12 at 08:15 PM

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 8:24pm

Thank you, HorseTears. We live 2 1/2 hours away and don't have unlimited funds. So we're still debating what to do...

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 8:34pm

Whoops didn't know the SALLY code was limited, thanks for the updated info. When we saw the show on Tuesday night they still had hot tix for that evening. Gav I believe you can call them on the day at the box office to ask?

[lizabombs]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 8:35pm

Poor lizabombs must have had a conniption when he heard the news.

I think we can all agree green is a disastrous choice of color for Sally's dress, for obvious reasons.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 9:50pm

"During previews the dress was blue green. It's now light blue. "


No, it's the same dress.

[matineeidol2013]

Posted: 5/12/12 at 10:22pm

clark sounds lovely, i just cant stand her scooping into every note!

[TheHappyPhantom]

Posted: 5/13/12 at 3:06pm

This LA mount was proof as to why Terri was so ridiculously robbed from a Tony nod. She stopped the house at the opening preview, just like she did every night in NY. As for Clark, neither she nor Peters really found the role. I'm not sure who she is, and I've now seen two people play her. More than anything Clark feels like an understudy, not a replacement. She feels like she's been directed to give the Peters performance, not find her own. The rest of the show was as amazing as it was in NY.