FOLLIES- National Theatre Live

Posted: 11/15/17 at 1:02pm

Who's going tomorrow?!  I am ...  

Post reviews here! 

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 11/15/17 at 1:08pm

I will be there! Tomorrow's my birthday and Follies is my favorite musical... utter perfection.

Updated On: 11/15/17 at 01:08 PM

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 11/15/17 at 1:10pm

seeing it on Monday at NYU

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 11/15/17 at 1:13pm

I'm still surprised Fathom Events didn't pick this up.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 11/15/17 at 1:52pm

QueenAlice said: "I'm still surprised Fathom Events didn't pick this up."

Me too. Have to wait until mid-December and travel 90 miles to see this show. It's a 10am showing too which absolutely sucks.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 11/15/17 at 2:08pm

I’ll be there tomorrow as well as Monday. I’m so looking forward to this.

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 11/15/17 at 2:12pm

For folks in NYC-  I have 1 ticket to the Monday night screening at NYU Skirball that I won't be able to use.  PM me if you're interested in buying.  $25

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 11/15/17 at 3:12pm

excited to see
have to wait to december
cant believe its not playing in san francisco anywhere tomorrow night
for a sondheim classic

[ggersten]

Posted: 11/15/17 at 3:41pm

I'll have to wait till December.  Sigh.

[Tking0012]

Posted: 11/15/17 at 9:13pm

Any chance of this being release anywhere in Suffolk county? 

[15minutecall]

Posted: 11/15/17 at 10:07pm

Updated On: 11/15/17 at 10:07 PM

[CoercedBull]

Posted: 11/15/17 at 11:04pm

So jealous. It isn't coming to Chicago until December 11th, and I cannot wait.

[Luscious]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 8:17am

What is the possibility of this being picked-up by Broadway HD or being released on DVD once it concludes its theatrical run? Also very interested in the upcoming NTL presentation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Sienna Miller.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 8:34am

Broadway HD unlikely, DVD impossible

[stage-n-screen]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 10:00am

I have 3 tickets for tonight (7:00 pm) at Kew Gardens Cinemas in Queens that I can't use - happy for someone to use these - no charge (I was able to get tix to see it at the Beekman on the 30th).  PM me if interested.

Posted: 11/16/17 at 10:20am

I don't understand why the National Theatre wont release these treasures as DVD's?  I would LOVE to see Frankenstein again! 

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 11:28am

Deena Jones said: "I don't understand why the National Theatre wont release these treasures as DVD's? I would LOVE to see Frankenstein again!"

It mostly has to do with the initial contracts being set up as certain number or broadcasts. They'd have to keep paying everyone involved in perpetuity and that's not financially prudent. Also, there's a larger discussion of if people know they can get it streaming/dvd/whatever then why go see anything live. 

[SueBee06]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 4:01pm

I have 2 tix for The Beekman tonight that I won't be able to use. Send me a message if you're interested.

[BroadwayBrat]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 5:17pm

I have to wait until November 30 in Boston,   Very excited!!!

[threecustom]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 6:15pm

Updated On: 11/16/17 at 06:15 PM

Posted: 11/16/17 at 6:33pm

I just got back and need to say GO!! GET A TICKET Lots to talk about....  Im just going to put this into pros and cons 

PROS-

Firstly... Imelda was just astonishing.  I had my doubts she could sing this but she not only hit all the notes in original keys but acted the sh*t out of Sally.  She was tough as nails, brutal, delusional, lost, angry, vulnerable... she blew me away!  A totally different interpretation of the scores of versions of Follies i have seen... and I have seen them all.  Her Losing My Mind was incredible.  I won't spoil it but watch her... a master class in acting a song!!!!

Janie Dee- another winner with a different interpretation of Phyllis.  It took time for me to warm up to her but, wow, once she did, she won me over.

Philip Quast- jut amazing as usual

Peter Forbes as Buddy was terrific.  Never heard of him nor seen any of his other work but he was terrific as well.  

Tracie Bennett- as Carlotta was a little too Judy Garland  (a la End of the Rainbow and also channeling Elaine Paige a lot) but she nailed I'm Still Here vocally.  She looks terrific too

Heidi's- One More Kiss was stunning!

Younger selves- great job in casting.  Quite often the ghosts look nothing like the leads but here you can really see and feel the likenesses

What an amazing orchestra.  Sometimes it drowned out some of the singing but being this was live, Its really not a complaint since  I know every word.

 

CONS

I know this is a limited run but some of the costumes looked cheap especially during Loveland as well as some ill fitting ones... especially Janie's.  

Ghosting-  There was a little took much of the leads actually interacting with their ghosts for my taste.  I see that was a directorial choice but it kind of pulled focus.  

Sets-  I loved the revolve work and I know whats been said about the ripoff of the Ziegfeld slogan - glorifying the American Girl but I didn't really have a problem with it.  The set worked perfectly for me EXCEPT when they went into Loveland ... looked cheap, flat and plastic.  

Closeups- The filming was flawless but there were a lot of closeups which pulled focus a bit.  it makes stage acting look like over acting especially Imelda who has amazing facial expressions.

I will post more later!

 

 
 

[Tony2600]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 8:04pm

Thought it was a lovely production with the exception of Imelda Staunton. She seemed overly caffeinated and quite delusional from the moment she walked on stage. She’s probably the least sympathetic Sally I’ve ever seen. The rest of the cast was spot on.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 8:12pm

Unfortunately I won't be able to see it in theatres, but if anyone knows of a place where I can watch this online, I would appreciate it.

[ukpuppetboy]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 8:17pm

Just back from waching the taping live from the Olivier tonight and the atmosphere in the audience was absolutely electric. I really hope the screening manages to capture adequately just how magnificent the performances were (some significantly better even than press night) - though I'm afraid you may miss some of the fantastic "off beat" expressions and subtleties during the dialogue transitions in the first half of the show - even with the best screen direction in the world. I was sat there wondering what I would choose to cut away from. However judging by how much I agree with Deena Jones' review I presume that they did a stellar job all round.

Vocally Imelda was leaps above where she was at the beginning of the run when she wasn't in full voice. Her acting of the role was always beyond any doubt but I felt like tonight she had command the entire role and was no longer overshadowed by some of the other (magnificant) performances on that stage. And yes, the last line of Loosing My Mind a masterstroke in acting a musical theatre song. Was "Too Many Mornings" in it's original key though?

Janie Dee has wowed me in everything I've seen her in since her NT debut as Carrie in the Nicholas Hytner Carousel, but her sharp wit and dance skills were new to me. 

On a stage of that size the use of ghosts never felt excessive to me. I can only assume that on film the camera angles were so tight to feature them within the same frame that they seemed overbearing. Loveland sets/costumes DO look cheap compared to the rest of the production though, it's true. And the LED and aryclic chanderliers are some of the most offensive things I've ever seen on stage! 

Interesting that the drag Margie/Sally in Buddy's Blues have been replaced by actresses recently - at Sondheim's request.

Updated On: 11/16/17 at 08:17 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 11/16/17 at 8:38pm

broadwaysfguy said: "excited to see
have to wait to december
cant believe its not playing in san francisco anywhere tomorrow night
for a sondheim classic"

I'm in SoCal (Palm Springs) and it doesn't seem to be screening live here either. We have to wait for "encore" broadcasts in early December. Perhaps it was decided the live screening would start too early in the Pacific time zone (an odd decision here in Palm Springs, where the entire town closes by 9pm).