"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Regarding the size of the orchestra, that number is about what would be expected from a show like this. We aren't lucky enough here to have shows with big enough budgets for orchestras double that size, although we are lucky enough to have ticket prices half of those on Broadway. A few months ago, I saw a production of Merrily We Roll Along in a very tiny theatre with an orchestra of four people. While it's nice to have a big orchestra, an orchestra of 12 is serviceable with a moderate budget. Perhaps it's just because I've become used to it, but I really don't notice when there is an orchestra this size, assuming every musician is good.
Without DeeDee and Sandra, Hattie and Solange will have to dance "Who's That Woman?" - which is kind of ridiculous. Unless, they just plan on doing the number with Stella, Sally, Phyllis, Carlotta, and Emily.
I think what's the most important thing to remember is not that size of the orchestra, the casting, how big the cast is, etc...
but really, the big deal that one of the most revered and beloved pieces of the musical theatre is getting large-scale revivals simutaneously in two major theatrical communities...when for years, it seemed something lost to the air, and impossible to produce due to its grandeur. Just that is reason to be happy. Good for today's producers, and good for Mr. Sondheim's lovely piece. I hope that we, from here on, try to embrace each production of "Follies" that comes our way as something special - a rare candy, and enjoy it while we can.
There's a photo of Barrett and O'Connor in costume on Brent's Facebook page. They certainly look every inch of a Ben and Phyllis!
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
You'll have to upload it to an image hosting site (like tinypic).
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
The size of the orchestra is about right for that space, which simply doesn't have the room for a large orchestra unless it's a concert with no staging at all. This isn't a huge theatre. I have no idea what the pit is like, but unless it's the size of the entire thrust, which I doubt, you'd be hard-pressed to fit much more than 12.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Mister Matt, the Shakespeare has no pit--they're putting the orchestra on the stage. But still, for a 550 seat theatre, an orchestra of 12 is a good number. People seem to be forgetting (or not knowing) that the theatre is quite small. According to the website, "only nine rows separate the most distant seat from the actors on stage, and the gallery is suspended just 20 feet above the action." It's a very intimate space, and 28 musicians like they have on Broadway would just be too much.
On the Chicago Shakes facebook page, they recently posted a couple of Follies-related pictures from their season preview event:
A costume from the show
and a picture of Hollis Resnik singing I'm Still Here
"Clearly, you are an aficionado and I am happy to report that our production remains faithful to the original—with the approved Sondheim score and book by Goldman that also just received a new Broadway production. It is not the London production version."
So I'm not sure if that means the original book or the Broadway/Encores book.
"the big deal that one of the most revered and beloved pieces of the musical theatre is getting large-scale revivals simutaneously in two major theatrical communities...when for years, it seemed something lost to the air, and impossible to produce due to its grandeur."
The show received a good many regional productions during the '80s and '90s. I knew about some of them, but I wasn't aware of just how many there were until I was doing some research recently. Some of them were more or less the same production, remounted with casting variations, but the show was done a lot.
Here's a list of one that I know about:
Pittsburgh CLO, 1983, directed by Susan Schulman, with Kathryn Hays, Ross Petty, SuEllen Estey, Russ Tamblyn
San Jose Civic Light Opera, 1987, directed by Dianna Shuster, with Gretchen Wyler, Sam Stoneburner, Teri Ralston, Harvey Evans, Sheila Smith
Theatre Under the Stars, Houston, 1987, directed by Charles Abbott, with Juliet Prowse, John Cullum, Marilyn Maye, Harvey Evans, Patrice Munsel
Candelight Dinner Theatre, Chicago, 1988, directed by William Pullinsi
Michigan Opera Theatre, 1988, directed by Charles Abbott, with Juliet Prowse, Ron Raines, Nancy Dussault, John-Charles Kelly, Edie Adams
Long Beach Civic Light Opera, 1990, directed by Fran Soeder, with Juliet Prowse, Ed Evanko, Shani Wallis, Harvey Evans, Karen Morrow
Starlight Musical Theatre, San Diego, 1990, directed by William Pullinsi, with Ami Silvestre, Dennis Kelly, Teri Ralston, Ron Beattie, Marilyn Maye (as Carlotta this time)
Houston Theatre Under the Stars and Seattle's Fifth Avenue Theatre, 1995, directed by Charles Abbott, with Constance Towers, Walter Charles, Judy Kaye, John-Charles Kelly, Karen Morrow
Then there was Paper Mill in 1998 and Signature in 2003, and various concert versions, including the one with Virginia Sandifur, Kurt Peterson, Marti Rolph, and Harvey Evans, and the Reprise production with Patty Duke, Bob Gunton, Vicki Carr and Harry Groener.
So while it's unusual to have two major productions simultaneously, the show wasn't all that lost.
Yes, that was a concert version for which, it seems, Cariou was underprepared, though apparently in good voice. I do wish it had been him rather than Hearn in the New York Philharmonic concert.
Thanks for posting photos. Ms. O'Connor, at least in that photo, reminds me of Bebe Neuwirth, and dear sweet baby Jesus, Brent Barrett is a gorgeous GORGEOUS man. Be still my loins.
"Yes, that was a concert version for which, it seems, Cariou was underprepared, though apparently in good voice. I do wish it had been him rather than Hearn in the New York Philharmonic concert."
I actually know the fella who music-directed it.
Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you.
--Cartman: South Park
ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."
