Follies Broadway return for summer season ?

[AnythingGoes2]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 7:14am

Acccording to a friend I have in the production, there are rumours that producers are being contacted to bring the show back to Broadway for a limited season from End of June to September. They are enthused that if they take home some Tomys and with Victoria Clark it could have an audience to fill up the theatres for a few months....

Updated On: 5/18/12 at 07:14 AM

[madbrian]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 8:01am

Big fan of Victoria Clark, but I don't see her selling any tickets. Tonys would help, though.

[dreaming]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 8:08am

I think it will win best revival and has a great shot at best actor for Danny Burstein. (Something tells me he has a better chance than the predictions indicate. He's a highly respected veteran turning in a brilliant performance.)

I would be very, very happy indeed if this were to return. (And think it could be feasible. There will be plenty of open theaters.)

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 8:27am

But it didn't do business last time!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 8:29am

I'd love the chance to see Clark do that role in a full production, so I'd be excited. However, I don't really see it being a box office bonanza, even if it wins the Best Revival Tony like I assume it will.

Updated On: 5/18/12 at 08:29 AM

[madbrian]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 8:29am

But with summer crowds and Tony wins, plus the closings, it MIGHT be able to do OK.

[CockeyedOptimist2]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 8:43am

That would be oh so lovely.

[broadwaybabytn]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 8:47am

Will they change Sally's dress again?
But honestly, I think it sounds lovely.

[theeatah]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 9:21am

I'd love for this to happen if only for the possibility that they might do a "Brooke Shields" and substitute Clark's vocals for Peters'. An EP would be great and could be packaged with the full cast recording as a "special edition". They could have Clark do "Losing My Mind" on one of the talk shows to promote it. Or perhaps "Too Many Mornings" would be a more likely choice, considering Raines' TV name status.

Actually, were there any TV performances of Follies numbers for this production? I can only recall Bernadette Peters singing a snippet of "In Buddy's Eyes" on The View. Compare that to "Anything Goes", which had both of Reno's showstoppers featured on the talk shows. If the producers are up for a return engagement, they should do something similar (I vote for "Who's That Woman?").

[SmooshRoomOccupant]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 9:34am

Could this go into the palace before annie moves in??

[kdogg36]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 9:53am

If they announced this before the Tonys, would it help their chances?

[dreaming]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 10:00am

Smoosh-I thought the Hirschfeld would be more appropriate, although the Palace has some advantages. (And I don't know if they're contracted to a Nederlander house.) The Palace could be neat with the transformation.

I hope this happens, because, frankly, there isn't all that much coming down the pike this summer.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 10:03am

Here we go again. OK, say it wins the Tony for Best Musical Revival and Danny Burstein wins for Best Actor in a Musical. They bring it back. Guess what? Follies' business was dropping off towards the end of its run in January and Danny Burstein doesn't have the kind of name recognition that attracts the tourist trade, fine performer though he may be. Once the Sondheim fanatics have had their fill, business will drop and a whole bunch of money will have been lost. I have nothing against Victoria Clark but, again, she's not a "name" and her presence would have little, if any, effect on box office receipts.

[dreaming]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 10:05am

Ed-The revival Tony would probably help it, as would the dearth of material arriving this summer.

Posted: 5/18/12 at 10:18am

They would really be missing the boat if they didn't bring in Ivy Lynn and Karen Cartwright to play young Phyllis and young Sally.

[macnyc]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 10:29am

I would love, love, LOVE to see Follies back in NYC this summer! One way to drum up business: I noticed last winter that often, at TKTS, the discount was only 40%, not 50%. The people behind me on line one day were from California, and they were interested in seeing Follies, but they wanted the "full discount," so they picked another show. Follies wasn't doing great business at that point, so I don't understand the reason for offering only 40% off.

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 11:24am

I can't even give this much thought. I'll get too excited.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 11:25am

^ Same... it would mean I would finally get to see this revival live onstage.

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 12:05pm

Your all delusional.......

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 12:07pm

^ LOL. Fail.

It's YOU'RE.

[lupone76]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 12:08pm

It would be great to see a Sally who can actually act and sing the role properly. No offense but Bernie totally butchered the role of Sally. To quote my mom, "I have never seen such a poor performance on Broadway". Would love to see Victoria's performance.

Updated On: 5/18/12 at 12:08 PM

[sallydurant]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 12:28pm

Sadly, this is just actors talking/wishing. This is not even on the short list for those on the money side of things.

[PianoMann]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 5:05pm

They would be very smart to announce (or to have announced) this before the Tony voting, because voters do like to give awards to running shows to support running productions, boost sales, etc.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 5:05pm

They should def. announce it before the Tonys. It's got a great chance to win the Tony.

I just wonder where it would go? The St. James is taken. Maybe the Hirschfeld for the summer?

[PianoMann]

Posted: 5/18/12 at 5:07pm

I think it still currently stands a great chance to win Revival; it's won the Outer Critics and Drama League already (for what they're worth...)

I think an announcement for a summer run would aid the actors; Burstein still seems in contention, but it looks like McDonald is pulling in front of Maxwell with each precursor.