Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES — Page 2

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#26

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/28/12 at 6:30pm

If you watch the 90-minute David Frost show featuring the cast of the original Follies plus Hal and Steve, you'll see how she was the heart and soul of the show many thought was heartless and soulless.

Her appreciation for the writing and staging--and the talents of the other stars like Alexis and Yvonne--is so sweet, more like a gushing fan than a co-star.

Between Your Hit Parade and Candid Camera and the summer stock tours she did, she was very well known to middle-aged theatergoers in 1971. But she wasknown as a television star, not a movie star, like Alexis, Yvonne and Gene, so she seems like a nobody in 2012.

I love watching her shine in the Hit Parade clips. The songs are sometimes good/sometimes awful, and the makeshift sets and costumes are sometimes pathetically silly, but she rises above them and gets at the heart of the song.

#27

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/28/12 at 6:45pm

As I recall, in the book EVERYTHING WAS POSSIBLE it describes a period of uncertainty as to whether Dorothy Collins or Alexis Smith would end up with "Losing My Mind" and that Smith had doubts about whether or not she could sing it. When it went to Collins and she finally sang it in front of the company everyone, including Smith, was overwhelmed by her performance.

Back in 1971, old movies with Alexis Smith were still shown regularly on TV (I knew who she was as a kid) but she wasn't known for musicals, so her work in "Follies" surprised people and, along with her movie star status, caught the media attention in a way that Collins didn't. And since Phyllis is a flashier role, it helped with the Tonys. Anything I've read retrospectively about the show gives Dorothy Collins just as much credit as Alexis Smith for the making the show a memorable experience.

#28

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/28/12 at 7:46pm

I vaguely remembered Dorothy Collins from TV, but after seeing her in FOLLIES (the first month of its run), I'll never forgot her. Her big song, "Losing MY Mind", is indelibly imprinted on my brain. It was unforgettable. At times her vulnerability reminded me of the moment a deer is caught in the headlights. Of course, she didn't scamper off to the left or right, but the conflict within her was just so subtly disturbing (in a good, dramatic way). She sang so effortlessly and the mood created was perfect. Long and leggy, Alexis Smith was a vision in that red dress! I still have the TIME magazine cover (somewhere) on which she appeared, but somehow the Playbill got lost in one of my moves. I think Alexis Smith garnered attention, too, since her husband Craig Stevens was a very popular TV star (PETER GUNN)...

Updated On: 1/28/12 at 07:46 PM

#29

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/28/12 at 8:23pm

Having seen FOLLIES a dozen times, including its pre-Broadway Boston tryout and the opening and closing night in New York, I can tell you that she was remarkable. And as Steve Sondheim said at the time, her "singing" performance was one the best and most moving he had ever seen. No one (Julia McKenzie in London was a close second) has ever been a better Sally (and this comes from a devoted Alexis fan, as photo might suggest).

#30

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/28/12 at 8:43pm

In this video, it actually looks as though she has a misaligned jaw (and, subsequently, a sibilant s).

Which in no way impedes her gorgeous, gorgeous singing.

Loosing My Mind

Updated On: 1/28/12 at 08:43 PM

#31

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/28/12 at 9:37pm

Joey: Dare I hope we can get access to the David Frost show you mention anywhere online?

#32

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/29/12 at 12:13am

So glad to see that so many of the responders here remember Ms.Collins in the show. I agree that she was brilliant -- my favorite moment is still her lines about "what it meant to be a Weismann girl" as "her" ghost suddenly looked up, saw it was her older self, and performed "correctly" the little step that Sally was showing-off with. The tenderness, excitement, desperation, and hope all got delivered in about 10 seconds. Throughout the rest of the show, she just went deeper and deeper into the heart of what is a very tricky character to illuminate, and to sing. And meeting her afterwards was a delight. The first time I saw the show, she was a bit hoarse, and winked and said, "You ARE going to come back again, aren't you?" I, with a 21-year-old-starry-eyed gulp, indicated I would, of COURSE. The most interesting thing about her Sally, to me, is that she (as did McMartin and Nelson) embodied how SCARY this material is...deeply spooky -- especially in the original staging and direction. Ms.Smith ... well, she could sure kick and bitch. Onstage and off.

#33

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/29/12 at 1:38am

I'm 23 and love her like friends my age love Katy Perry. she never leaves my iPod. Her Losing My My Mind is my #1 favorite recording of all time. I suggest finding her songs Seven Days and Mr. Flattop. On a side note is anyone else surprised there isn't a Your Hit Parade ripoff on tv now? It seems like it could be done on the cheap and thecross promotional synergy would be an executives wet dream. Not that I think its a good idea but its just unoriginal enough to be an NBC flagship

#34

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/29/12 at 10:27am

Check back later today.

Updated On: 1/29/12 at 10:27 AM

#35

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/29/12 at 11:22am

"For a decade that prided itself on its own dullness"

What utter guff.

As for Dorothy Collins in Follies, she was out-and-out terrific. I would even call her performance triumphant, because while the authors' made her character a ludicrous object of derision, she invested it with a dignity and warmth that made you care. So bravos to her. She remains the best Sally I have seen.

#36

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/29/12 at 4:00pm

In regards to the David Frost show, it's on megavideo. I think it was linked here in the "Follies/Merrily original footage thread" a while back. I could be wrong though. But I would much rather hear the infamous soundboard recording of the original Follies, but that's just me... any help? :)

I'll try and search for the david frost link now.

EDIT: Well I was half right.

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1031838

*Thanks so much to PalJoey for accumulating all the links.

Updated On: 1/29/12 at 04:00 PM

#37

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/29/12 at 4:43pm

"For a decade that prided itself on its own dullness"

What utter guff.

I didn't say the 1950s WERE dull, I said they strove to be. Electing Eisenhower twice should be a clue. Hit songs like "The Little Cloud that Cried" should be another.

Even today, when folks get nostalgic about the "good old days" of white, Christian, heterosexual normativity and conformity, they are really remembering the 50s.

Of course there were red scares and Elvis and public battles over putting fluoride in the water supply, but I am speaking in general, obviously.

None of this is some secret opinion of mine. And I could go on at some length concerning the reasons why people strove to be quiet and "normal" in the 1950s, but it's obvious you have once again posted something argumentative without really thinking.

#38

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/29/12 at 4:50pm

On a side note is anyone else surprised there isn't a Your Hit Parade ripoff on tv now? It seems like it could be done on the cheap and thecross promotional synergy would be an executives wet dream.

They tried to revive it a couple of times in the 1960s and 1970s, without much success. I remember a late-60s incarnation (that was not call "Your Hit Parade" but used a similar format) and it quickly got ridiculous as the producers tried to find new ways to do the same songs week after week. The climax of silliness was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the Archies' "Sugar, Sugar."

Nowadays, the charts seem to change faster, so that would be a plus. But at the same time, music audiences are so fragmented that not even recording companies can figure out how to find enough buyers to make a consistent profit. That wouldn't bode well for a TV show looking for a mass audience.

GLEE and AI are exceptions, of course, but the former has its soap opera stories and the latter has the contest element. Maybe the kids would get behind HIT PARADE revival if somehow their votes determined which songs were in the Top Ten.

#39

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/29/12 at 7:09pm

"I didn't say the 1950s WERE dull, I said they strove to be."

Nope. You said the decade "prided itself on its own dullness."

"And I could go on at some length concerning the reasons why people strove to be quiet and "normal" in the 1950s,"

Thanks, but really, no thanks.

And incidentally, quiet and "normal" do not necessarily equate to dullness. In fact I've been to quiet suburban dinner parties that were far less dull than many a noisy, "cutting-edge" piece of junk I've endured on the stage.

#40

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/29/12 at 8:25pm

Due to the unfortunate passing of megaupload those files are no longer available - I'm taking the liberty of posting an alternate link to the Frost program for those interested. Enjoy!
Follies OBC David Frost Program

"...ah, gays and their wit. Hell must be a laugh a minute!" -Evie Harris

#41

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/29/12 at 9:15pm

With all due respect, After Eight, you are an idiot.

Were it a congenital disability, I would be too polite to mention it, but idiocy is something for which you strive and on which you pride yourself, the two phrases conveying rather similar notions.

But we seem to agree about Dorothy Collins, so I am now reconsidering my judgment.

Updated On: 1/29/12 at 09:15 PM

#42

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/30/12 at 12:08am

Thanks, Caroline! It was taking forever for me to upload them to Rapidshare. Do you like Filesmonster?

#43

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/30/12 at 12:28am

You are most welcome. I like filesmonster primarily for the free 5 Gb upload limit. The premium rates aren't terrible either. Easy payment with one-click paypal or amazon.

"...ah, gays and their wit. Hell must be a laugh a minute!" -Evie Harris

#44

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/31/12 at 12:48pm

In honor of today's weather in New York, Dorothy Collins singing "It Might As Well Be Spring":

http://youtu.be/kNCaFwTZGIw

#45

Dorothy Collins before FOLLIES

Posted: 1/31/12 at 4:48pm

Thank you, payjoey! One of R&H's best songs and the perfect meeting of song and singer.

(Though I have to wonder what the set designer was thinking. Having "spring fever" in the late summer/early fall (as in the film) is one thing. Wondering why you're longing for spring in the dead of winter is kind of, um, not bright.)

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