FOLLIES, Los Angeles Engagement

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:07pm

http://www.centertheatregroup.org/uploadedFiles/Plays_and_Tickets/Productions/2012/Follies/files/Follies-Program.pdf

Here's the Playbill for the LA production at the Ahmanson. I had a question, I was looking at the list of musical numbers and isn't the interval usually after "Who's That Woman" or is it just what I heard from other sources?

Who's going to the first preview on May 3rd?

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:09pm

FOLLIES was written to be performed without an intermission. Most productions put the intermission at the end of "Too Many Mornings," as this one does.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:11pm

Okay. I knew that much for sure, but was the interval im the same place when it was in New York this fall? That's probably where I heard it was after "Who's That Woman".

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:14pm

This production has always placed the intermission after "Too Many Mornings," with the exception of the few performances without an intermission.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:18pm

ACL is correct. I think the reason you may be thinking that is that this production's cast recording is divided into two discs and the first disc ends after "Who's that Woman."

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:18pm

The 2011 New Broadway Cast Recording of FOLLIES is the first complete cast recording and the ONLY one that showcases the musical numbers as they are performed in the actual show -- with the dialogue that occurs between verses, etc.

In order to accomplish this, the producers of the cast recording chose not to limit or abridge sections in order to keep each disc an act (example: Disc 1 as Act 1 and Disc 2 as Act 2), therefore Act 1 continues on Disc 2 which has many unfamiliar with the show assuming that Act 1 ends with "Who's that Woman" since this is the last track on Disc 1 of this new cast recording.

As stated above, though FOLLIES was written and intended as a musical with no intermission, many productions, including this 2011 revival, chose to add one. The intermission, as stated above, comes right after "Too Many Mornings" making "The Right Girl" the first song in Act 2.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:23pm

^That's exactly what I think the poster assumed, BrodyFosse. I saw the first preview sans intermission and then a later performance toward the end of the run and I must say I think the show works better without an intermission. "Too Many Mornings" I guess is as logical place as any in this show for an intermission but it completely derails a lot of the tension and much of the second act is spent, on the audience's part, working up the interest and intrigue that was so abruptly interrupted at the end of Act 1.

Updated On: 4/29/12 at 04:23 PM

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:28pm

Yes... That's where I gt that from. I guess for most two-disc recordings I am so accustomed to one act per disc. Thanks for clearing this up. Any of y'all seeing the show in Los Angeles?

[broadwaybabytn]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:37pm

I wish I were seeing it... I wonder how different Victoria Clark's performance will be from her Encores run.

[brettarnett]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:54pm

I'll be going a few times. I was so bummed that I missed the production in NY but excited to see it out here. I am a tad bit disappointed that Bernadette won't be with the production but from what I have heard on here that may be a good thing. Although I saw her in concert a month or two ago and her songs from Follies were incredible. I hope Victoria Clark does well as Sally!

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:56pm

The show did have an intermission right after "Who's That Woman?" at one time...though it was only for a few performances. In the original run of the show (in Boston and in Broadway previews), they tried putting an intermission in. There were a couple of different spots they tried, including right after "Who's That Woman?" and also right after "Too Many Mornings" (where it was in this production), before ultimately deciding it would be intermissionless. But I'm sure there are others on this board who could explain it better than I.

(Also, slightly tangential, but I saw one of the intermissionless previews of the recent revival, and I honestly think it works the best that way. I wish they'd kept the intermission out.)

Updated On: 4/29/12 at 04:56 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 5:56pm

Maybe the OP is remembering the discussion on the thread when this revival opened in New York.

As a longtime Follies fanatic, I suggested in that thread that IF there were going to be an intermission (and I think it works better without one), it should be at the triumphant end of "Who's That Woman," with the second-act opening being "I'm Still Here."

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 6:00pm

That would actually be beautiful, especially with Elaine Paige bringing down the house with the Act 2 opening song. Putting it right after "Too Many Mornings" just feels very disruptive and almost inserted like an afterthought (and since it wasn't supposed to be there, it really is an afterthought!)

[binau]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 7:00pm

I was thinking about that discussion PalJoey. Although the cast recording is split over 2 CDs for technical limitations, I think the producer did make an artistic choice to end disc 1 with "Who's That Woman". "I'm Still Here', "Too Many Mornings" etc. would still have fit on disc 1 (assuming the limit is about 80 minutes).

I think it's a good idea. When I saw the show I felt a little underwhelmed with "The Right Girl" and in hindsight I think it was because the tension had been lost during intermission. I like how it plays on the cast recording.

[Wicked Fanatic]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 7:47pm

Sorry to hear they're having an intermission but no surprise to me since the Ahmanson season subscribers being older just won't be able to sit through it without one. The long rows at the Ahmanson would invite countless people to get up to head for the toilets ultimately disrupting the show for those like me still seated. Probably for the best but I still don't like it. I'll be seeing it on May 13th but may go earlier if I can get a last minute ticket.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 9:56pm

I'd seen the revival closing weekend in DC, with an intermission, but was fortunate to see it in New York the third week of August, when for three performances (maybe 4?) they removed it. I was there the Tuesday evening of that week. We had a program insert, and assumed it was a permanent change. Alas, no; the intermission was back at least as early as Saturday afternoon, probably Friday night, too. To me, it worked as it did in the original. I still prefer it without a break. I think starting act 2 with "The Right Girl" is wrong, and unfair to the Buddys everywhere, especially Danny B., who had to play to a sea of people returning to their seats. Absolutely tragic, to this FOLLIES devotee.

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 10:05pm

I was also at one of the performances with no intermission. When I saw it again in November, the intermission just didn't work. I found transition to Loveland more powerful when we hadn't had a break. You could feel the tension building until it finally exploded.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 10:07pm

Alas, I agree. FOLLIES in 1971 without an intermission built the dramatic tension until I had trouble breathing during the astonishing Loveland sequence.

But FOLLIES with an intermission is still better than no FOLLIES at all. My tickets are for May 8th and I'll admit I've been counting the days for some time...

[Wicked Fanatic]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 10:39pm

Couldn't wait till the 13th so I just bought a ticket for May 3rd. I'll be there for the 1st preview. Thursday can't come soon enough for me!

Updated On: 4/30/12 at 10:39 PM

[RemlapLBC]

Posted: 4/30/12 at 12:43am

I always assumed that they will always try to have an intermission to sell overpriced drinks.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 4/30/12 at 1:06am

Though it may be dramatically more affective without an intermission, it is a LONG show when they do not have an intermission.