Farewell Follies! — Page 2

Goodbye Follies. We will not see your like again, in my opinion. Lavish, lush and wonderful. I'm sorry but I just don't understand why it didn't do better in New York, when a show like Book of Mormon (which I did like) sells out every night. I feel this is the last time we'll see such a classy old school production with a huge cast and orchestra.

Thanks to Bernadette, Danny, Ron, Elaine, Victoria, Jan and Terri for making each of my 10 experiences seeing the show memorable. I will never ever forget this show.

I don't want to sound odd when I write this (certainly it will be very very self-indulgent), but this revival has been so exciting* for me. At first, I remember being slightly disappointed when Bernadette said while she would be interested in playing Lovett she really wanted to play Sally - at that time I was still 'coming off' the movie and didn't want to see her in any other roles. The awful OBC recording of FOLLIES, the Papermill recording and associated bootleg didn't exactly entice me..and as an 18 year old it probably didn't really affect me much (I am 21 now, and although it doesn't sound much older I think having some vs no life experiences makes all the difference..)

* I will overuse this word, sorry :P.

I remember the first posts on the forum when members here noticed on MTI that the Kennedy Center had FOLLIES in what was probably late 2009, and it felt like it was SO far away (it was; years away!). I knew based on the dates that unless they extended I'd never be able to see it because I live in Australia and had uni on, but didn't really think about it because I wasn't a massive fan of the show.

My obsession with SWEENEY was starting to wind down as (from working very hard) I was able to travel to NYC twice and see some other shows that I feel truly lucky to have seen today (e.g. THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, NEXT TO NORMAL, both CZJ and Bernadette in NIGHT MUSIC {I thought I could die happy knowing that I had seen Bernadette sing "Send in the Clowns" :P})...it's so funny I remember posting this thread starting discussion about the Menier NIGHT MUSIC and wondering whether it would be recorded:

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/printthread.php?thread=984692&boardid=0, so naive that one day I'd be seeing it in NYC, going to the signing, then seeing Bernadette etc…(this revival and the associated casting discussions, e.g. Kate Winlset>Mazzie>CZJ was another very exciting time on the forum. I love this place!)

Anyway, I was now 'hungry' to see new shows, especially Sondhiem shows. The Bernadette in FOLLIES rumours had begun and was of course exciting. My favourite comment from these early discussions was when Michael Bennett and Ljay had this discourse:

"Oh and she'd definitely be a Sally. I totally see it. She'd be able to bring the sardonic manipulative quality to the role thats often missing.

- That is such a good point. She wouldn't be the cute/harmless Sally. She would definitely show the character's manipulative side more than other actresses."

How very very accurate. My next favourite comment is when someone said they think she would be a better Phyllis, lol. It's so difficult for me to imagine her as Phyllis in hindsight - especially in this production considering Jan Maxwell's performance.

Because there were two Bernadette casting threads on the forum (Bernadette Peters as SALLY in FOLLIES? And my Bernadette Peters as Lovett - Will it EVER Happen? thread)..a number of other parody threads were also spawned that was pretty funny…I tried to bump the Bernadette Peters as SANDY in ANNIE? thread because of the upcoming revival but I can't seem to find it anymore, maybe it was deleted.

Assuming that I wouldn't be able to see FOLLIES in DC (at one point I even considered deferring uni (lol)), a good friend and I planned to go to NYC together in April 2011, we already had bought tickets for CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, NEXT TO NORMAL (the tour), COMPANY at the NYPhil and THE BOOK OF MORMON (front row Mezz at a discount of $89!! Those were the days)….unfortunately due to work reasons we had to postpone the trip to the summer and I was PISSED…we were easily able to sell the COMPANY tickets (and saw it later in cinemas), and BOOK OF MORMON so it wasn't too bad.

By now, performances in DC started, which was exciting for three reasons. First, the show was selling extremely well and basically was sold out for the entire run. Second, because of the relentless discussion of that ****ing red dress!!!! LOL GOD, someone needs to dramatise a parody video of this or SOMETHING. And third, because of that cute FOLLIES Pillow.

I'm sure we 'remember' PalJoey's dog's association with it.



At this point I had heard an audio of the show in DC and was floored with Bernadette's "IN BUDDY'S EYES", which I did not really get until then. I mean, I 'knew' the intention of the song - Sondheim was quite explicit about it in his book - but I never felt that the 'lying' part had come across well on recordings of the song…..Bernadette's vocal performance made it so clear that she was unhappy. I adored the slow tempo, her long sustained notes, slow vibrato, the texture of her voice when she sings "And all I ever dreamed I be…the best I'd ever be" - it was almost as perfect as her SEND IN THE CLOWNS and is probably now my favourite Sondheim song. I was desperate to see the show!

Because the show was selling so well I thought it might extend..I only needed one more week! So I wanted to book my trip in late June, which was making me feel better for having to postpone my April trip and missing out on Company etc..unfortunately (which turned out later to be fortunately), my friend couldn't travel then so we booked mid-July till late July. I just hoped that they'd record the show in DC..Tommy Krasker said publicly the show he most wanted to record was FOLLIES and this was his chance!!

So by now I had given up on the idea of ever seeing FOLLIES. The show didn't end up extending in DC at all, interestingly, so nothing would have happened if I went in June. A cast recording never happened. The buzz on the forum was that it was not going to transfer to Broadway. Felt pretty disappointed right about now.

Then out of *NO WHERE* they announced that it was transferring to Broadway in the summer. This is definitely one of the most shocking announcements I think we've had on the forum, there was no pre-rumour and it was so sudden. The response I think was of course positive, if a little annoyed at the 'inappropriate' modern theatre choice. I was excited and nervous because I knew I was returning back to Australia on July 31st because I started uni on August 1st. I was willing to skip a week of classes though and change my flights, but only one week (It's ALWAYS just ONE week isn't it?)…It was frustrating because Ron Raines tweeted performances would begin in July (IIRC), leading to much excitement, then we had claims that rehearsals would begin in AUGUST, leading to so much disappointment. This was quite upsetting to me….to miss the show by one week was probably more frustrating than missing in DC by a month. One particular facebook message about this bothered me so, so much (this is not the friend who I travelled with, who knew how much it meant to me) -



Maybe it's karma but when he went to see the show Elaine Paige, who he adored and was looking forward to seeing, was unfortunately giving that concert in Asia.

Finally, the first preview date was announced for August 7th and I was very excited because it would mean I could, if I had enough money, extend my trip for 10 days (funny considering it was only 14 days to begin with) to see FOLLIES. I borrowed some money off my Mum and bought tickets to the first preview + extended my flights. How lucky I was that I couldn't travel because of work in April, that my friend couldn't travel in late June, that FOLLIES started when it did (it was literally the last day possible I could have seen it - I was to arrive in Australia after a 22 hour flight or whatever, in the morning with classes that day). I would have never seen it otherwise.

You can imagine how exciting it was to see the marquee at the Marquis for the first time. I believe they had only just put it up there that very morning - our first day in NYC after coming back from Charlotte from a weekend of the N2N tour, so it was a nice welcome :P.



Being stupid with Bernadette



It was also exciting seeing the banners in the Subway etc..

The day of the first preview then finally came after three weeks or so of being in the US. It was the 25th show and last show we saw - such perfect timing. I thought it was such a perfect end to our holiday, the first performance of a major, lavish Sondheim revival (Sondheim shows are nostalgic to me - it was when we saw Assassins together once that I said to my friend he was one of my best friends, which meant a lot at the time) with Bernadette Peters - who we enjoyed together from watching the DVDs of INTO THE WOODS and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE in empty lecture theatres we 'borrowed' at our uni not long earlier. I almost felt like everything we had seen up until that point had led to this..

Obviously I went inside the hotel earlier that week just to check out the theatre..they still had all the Wonderland things there so it wasn't very interesting. I guess it made it more exciting on the day of the first preview when I went a few hours before to see the FOLLIES merchandise stand, and knew they would be selling the FOLLIES pillow again in a few hours (I think they had a list of merchandise, IIRC). The stack of fresh unused *colour* playbills in the corner was also exciting for me. The doors going inside the theatre were also open so I could grab a quick (unintelligible) glimpse at the set.

Took a quick visit to the TKTS booth to see FOLLIES….was proud that they weren't quite selling them at 50% off because it suggested it might be selling somewhat decently.



Back at the theatre. When we (the crowd of people standing outside the glass doors) were finally allowed in the theatre I excitedly bought my FOLLIES pillow among other things.

Walking into the theatre and being the first preview, you can imagine that it was exciting to see the drapes for the first time and thinking "ha ha, take that BWW skeptics". The show started and Bernadette made her entrance in her new dress, another extremely exciting moment for me! I may have had a tear during "Beautiful Girls" as the ladies walked down the staircase and later lined up on the stage singing. It felt so privileged to see the other changes for the first time, too. The "Trio" at the end of Broadway Baby, or Jane Houdyshell herself singing "Broadway Baby" - she played the role with such character….I assumed that BWW would be impressed with the changes. Bernadette was in perfect voice (faltering slightly at the end of "Too Many Mornings"), and it was thrilling to hear "In Buddy's Eyes" live. I loved the dramatic silence with the lute/guitar lead in to the last section of the song, where she would turn and stare in Ben's eyes and sing "In Buddy's Eyes". Just thrilling. Her performance was so sad and desperate. I also remember being particularly moved by "One More Kiss", I don't really know why - I wonder if it is the way it is set up with the dialogue beforehand. And who could forget Elaine Paige's odd performance of "I'm Still Here" :P, I guess she redeemed herself later in the run. I shouldn't go on about the show because you guys already know about it. But it was one of my favourite theatre experiences. It's interesting to think that people sitting next to me having no idea how long it took me to finally get there!!

Even after the show, I still followed the show quite obsessively..literally every day I would be looking at the advance sales for the next day and in the future on ticketmaster. Seeing the colour of the diagram become the lightest blue because it was sold out on ticketmaster, and then seeing it become the highest weekly gross of a Sondheim show on Broadway ever was nice. The extension, the rumours about evicting EVITA or transferring theatres were also nice.

And then we had the cast recording, which I feel will be looked at in hindsight as one of the great cast recordings.

Seeing the theatre diagram become the darkest blue on ticketmaster because it was only 50% sold and watching the grosses slip the next week and then basically remain half sold for the rest of the run was a little sad. As was hearing that Bernadette wouldn't make it to LA (but was happy that Clark could have a second go because I love her voice). As was watching Bernadette's performance being snubbed live on the Tony nominations web stream after it was rumoured she would be nominated (after it was previously rumoured she would be snubbed). LOVE my post:

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1033881&dt=22&boardid=1&mobile=on

"Bernadette will obviously be nominated". lol.


I loved the discussion of the brief 'competition' from the Chicago FOLLIES….I loved the stories people would share of seeing the original production of FOLLIES or revisiting the show after many years…the controversy of Bernadette's voice, the confusion when they didn't release discount codes until like the day before of a 50% sold performance…the constant reference to "The Widow Goldman" and her antics such as blocking the Kennedy Center archive video and 'updates' to the libretto….I loved the buzz on the forum when they briefly removed the intermission.

I feel that it is going to be a long time before an 'event' like this happens on the forums again, or for the show to be revived again at this scale. It's not truly over yet because we still have the Tonys tonight! And maybe some act of God will have them temporarily remount the production on Broadway after the Tony wins and for them to film it or something (doubtful!), or a London production etc. but still. This could be the end. Goodbye FOLLIES!!

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Updated On: 6/26/13 at 07:56 AM

Thank you qolbinau for the insight into your experience. These are memories for a lifetime. I remember having a similar detailed "obsession" at 18 with the original production of A Chorus Line. The thought of it still thrills me!

The first London FOLLIES also did it for me!

Thank you again.

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Loved the original & loved this production. Will always adore FOLLIES!

Here's some nice footage of Terri White being interviewed and also her younger self:

http://www.younghollywood.com/videos/lifestyle/lifestyle-events/follies-brings-old-school-broadway-glamour-to-los-angeles.html

Is any show more deeply loved than Follies?

I just wish that the one off Australian production had been recorded, that was a stunning night of theatre. A who's who of Australian theatre.

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Thats insane. Feels like yesterday.

"It's been over two years since the first preview of FOLLIES "

How interesting.

It's been over 45 years since the first performance of Darling of the Day.
It's been over 53 years since the first performance of A Distant Bell.
It's been over 63 years since the first performance of Design for a Stained Glass Window....

Ok so since this thread was brought back I dot feel as bad posting in it, but I am extremely sad that I never got a chance to see this show. I am 18, so 17 when it was around. I had known very little about what the storyline or music was. I was in the library, saw the cd and thought I'd take it. So I put it in my computer and sat down to draw. I couldn't draw, I just sat there and listened to it. It is a beautiful piece, and I love feeling the connection of the characters in the story to the real life actors onstage.
I went through an absolutely horrible time at home when I came out to my parents. It was 8 months of hell, and then when things were finally picking up I was dumped. I called my voice teacher and drove to his house and I told him to get his Follies score and I sang through "Could I leave you?" "One more kiss" and "losing my mind". Never before had music been so healing to me and I thank Sondheim for writing those songs. I love how he writes songs that a person can relate to.
Naturally when they announced it was closing I was going to with my family to visit my sister who had recently moved to the city. They told me I could go. They changed their mind and I ended up "shopping" (bag holding) in Soho. I hope one day I can see this show. But this production is one of my favorite shows.
Rant done, I hope it wasn't a waste of time :p

Oh, how I wish this production had toured. You guys who live in big theatre cities like NYC, Los Angeles, and D.C. have no clue how lucky you really are. I would have killed to have seen this show. At least I got a 'mini' version with Bernadette singing "In Buddy's Eyes" and hearing the overture at her concert in February. And I got to buy a shirt and magnet from playbill.com (but not one of those awesome pillows).

Watch this carefully and imagine the original.
Follies, 1971 'Lucy and Jessie'

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