Follies: Your favorite diphthong

Posted: 10/28/11 at 10:28am

We've discussed Follies so much but somehow we've not mentioned our favorite diphthongs. With lyrics this good, there are some pretty spectacular gliding vowels- here's your chance to pick a favorite!

(PLEASE, let's not discuss cut songs- pondering the loss of "can That Boy Foxtrot" fills me with diphthong-longing.)

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 10:37am

If only Reba were playing Sally ... we'd have Dipthong-apalooza!

Or is she more of a Phyllis?

Posted: 10/28/11 at 10:39am

She's a Sally, definitely.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 10:55am

Why not? "Diadem", from "Beautiful Girls" ("Each a gem, a beautiful diadem...")

Posted: 10/28/11 at 11:18am

You know, when Follies debuted in 1971, "diadems" shocked the uptight society audience- it was as if Queen Elizabeth squatted down, pinched a loaf in Trafalgar Square and then rolled in her feces. Audience members frequently fainted when Michael Bartlet pronounced the word.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 11:32am

Joe, I don't think that's right. By the early 70s, most Americans (at least the only Americans that count, the New Yorkers) had been trough so much tumult in the 60s with the specter of the war, the sexual and cultural revolution, as well as the lesser known "Monarchy Revolution" in which men and women were feeling compelled to adorn themselves with jewels in the manner of a royal, whilst simultaneously proclaiming their love for the represenative democracy of the United States. A strange and heady dichtomy to be sure, but it's because of this very dichomatey that the mere suggestion that the "diadem moment" in Follies (as it as has famously come to be called) would be even remotely shocking to the learned and distinguished audiences that poured into the theatre on a nightly basis.

When you also consider the fact that in just five years we'd be celebrating the 200 hundredth anniversary of our independence from England (and more specifically, England's diadem-adorned monarch), I think it's foolish - even reckless - to suggest that the good people of the United States (I mean, the good people of New York City) would have been ignorant to the myriad negativities associated with the crown and with the word "diadem" itself. In fact, the still-popular slogan, "Long Live the Diademocracy!" was already well known and oft repeated by this time.

It should be also noted that 1970 (the year the lyrics to Beautiful Girls were written) was the year that Dana Owens was born. Dana would eventually be coronated under the moniker Queen Latifah. This cannot be coincidence.
Updated On: 10/28/11 at 11:32 AM

[Frank thebellhop]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 11:37am

Threads like this make me hate this board. Some ppl want to discuss Follies to death. If you don't like it don't read them instead of starting smartallecy threads.

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 11:44am

I believe the "ia" in "diadem" is a hiatus, not a diphthong.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 11:46am

I thought diadems were a girl's best friend.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 11:48am

Posters like Frankthebellhop make me love this board. Infrequent posters demanding others do the opposite of what they themselves are doing are what make this board great!

[tazber]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 12:04pm

And of course frank could always practice what he preaches and not read this thread.....

Posted: 10/28/11 at 12:04pm

I was in the audience in 1971 Phyllis, don't tell me what did or didn't happen. I remember distinctly- Roscoe said "diadem,' the woman in row H gasped and went white as a sheet and Arthur Laurents turned to me and said "Christ, now nothing will ever be the same. Go get me some coffee."

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 12:10pm

Joe, I was not there, but that doesn't make your tale anything but anecdotal. Let's recap, shall we?

Words, play names, more words, long lists of names, more names, names, titles, words, names and titles. Also titles, names, some names, more names, some more names, S'more names (not to be confused with comedienne Sommore, which is her name), words, words, and words.

As you can see, there is absolutely no way anyone (NOT ANYONE) could have found themselves gasping at Roscoe's mention of the word "diadem."

And Arthur NEVER drank coffee during a show. He didn't like any liquids after 6:30 on show nights. Tiny bladder and all. Tiny, DEMONIC bladder!

Posted: 10/28/11 at 12:24pm

Phyllis, I toured Cambodia in a drag show in 1987 under the name Tiny Demonic Bladder! Thanks for the memories.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 12:37pm

Sorry to have threadjacked. My favorite hiatus in Follies is "diadem". Not sure about my favorite diphthong yet; I'll have to think about it.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 1:33pm

Does anyone know what dipthongs were changed during the original preview period? There have been so many stories and rumors it's almost impossible to tell what is true and what has become urban legend. Except DeCarlo's "here" in the second line of the fourth verse of I'm Still Here, but that's been discussed to death.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 2:33pm

PLUS





EQUALS


DIPTHONG

[FrauleinKost]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 3:25pm

it's threads like these that make me LOVE this board--and I say that as one of the Follies obsessed nutjobs, who may or may not at this moment be wearing a pair of Bernadette's "Sally" earrings. Don't judge.

I'm still laughing at "my favorite characters are Kevin the waiter, Dee Dee West and Max Deems". That whole thread made my week.

[FrauleinKost]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 3:38pm

my favorite PHRASE, for the record, is "this is how Samson was shorn/each in her style a Delilah reborn/each a gem, a beautiful diadem"

oooh that "style a Delilah reborn" is (literally and figuaratively) music to my ears.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 3:54pm

Joe and Phyllis, love it!!!!

My favorite dipthong in Follies is "Hoo-oo-oo-ver!"

[kdogg36]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 4:51pm

I believe the "ia" in "diadem" is a hiatus, not a diphthong.

Well, the first syllable has a diphthong in it, at least as it's normally pronounced. Then there is indeed hiatus with the next syllable (which is just a schwa): [?da?.?.?d?m].

EDIT: Oops - the preview led me to believe the IPA would display properly. :) Anyhow, the first syllable (sounding like the word "die") has a diphthong in it by itself.

Sorry I had to interject my nerdy nonsense. Now you can get back to talking intelligently about shows.
Updated On: 10/28/11 at 04:51 PM

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 5:05pm

"Hoo-oo-oo-ver" has no diphthong.

Mine would be the word "how" in "how I planned what I'd wear tonight" because for once, nobody I have heard has closed to this diphthong early as they usually do. Yes, I actually care about these things.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 5:35pm

As one of the targets of satire in this thread, I think I'm supposed to post something pithy and funny to show I get the joke.

Alas, nothing occurs to me, but I swear I get the joke! Maybe it will suffice to say I agree with henrikegerman...

[Emmaloucbway]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 5:56pm

wait... ANOTHER follies thread? Can't we just have a master thread of all follies crap like fave diphthongs or roscoes?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 5:57pm

No.