JV92 Sees Follies- Saturday Afternoon

I'm not in the mood to go into a long review, but I will say that Encores' production of Follies was nothing short of spectacular with a few misses, one being a major one. Christine Baranski is an actress I've always been a fan of, but her "I'm Still Here" was not a particularly appearling performance. She souned as if she was trying to be drunk and funny, which ruined the song. Her Patinkin-esque screams in the song were scary. In her dialouge scenes, she was quite good though. Ah Paris was not sung correctly. It sounded like a strange talk-singing orgasm. I would have prefered Lilliane any day.
Onto the good- Victoria Clark. My God. This performance proves she is the best actress working in musical theater today. She was heartbreaking, stunning and beautiful as Sally. Victor Garber was a fine Ben. His breakdown was haunting. Donna Murphy brought warmth to the ice queen named Phyllis and she is thanked for that. I went out for the first time in my life really liking that character. She sang and acted very well. Michael McGrath played my least favorite character Buddy well. I enjoyed him.
Mimi Himes, Joanne Worley and Arthur Rubin were soild and the team of Brown and Fitch were charming in Rain on the Roof. Phillip Bosco was stellar.
The design was effective and the orchestra, beautiful. Eric Stern did a fabulous job.
I was in the cheap seats, so I decided not to sit another 40 minutes for the talkback and suffer vertigo, but when I peeked my head in to see Sondheim there, I almost slapped myself. I didn't expect him.
Would I transfer this production if I had millions of dollars and a theatre? Probably. It was brilliantly staged by Casey Nicholaw and brilliantly performed with Clark as the standout. I would replace Ms. Baranski, or send her to someone to teach her to sing "I'm Still Here" as it is supposed to be sung.
And now as I finish my so called "brief" review, I realize it isn't at all. Sorry.

Wow, you guys took the words out of my mouth. I was there tonight. I loved the production minus Baranski and Constant. Although their acting was fine the singing (or in Constant's case, lack of signing was disappointing.

Victoria Clark = Wow! Absolutely fantastic!

PS I loved Casey Nicholas' choreography! Dang it I pretty much loved the whole show (except for the above mentioned)
The cast is huge, which could make a Broadway transfer difficult, but if they kept the paired-down costumes and set (which totally worked by the way) it might be a possibility. Hey, a girl can dream!

Updated On: 2/11/07 at 01:21 AM

If I could afford it I'd see it again on Monday night...just because I may not be able to see such a good production of Follies again.

nevermind.

Updated On: 2/11/07 at 02:23 AM

I was there in the last row of the entire theatre. SO i moved down for the talk, and I am glad i did. I agree with what you said about this show. Vicki was great and all, but Donna Murphy is a god. Litterly, at curtian call I consittered bowing down to her. Also, did V. G. actually forget his lyrics, or was that a character thing. I hated Christine, I thought she was very unplesant. However it was very enjoyable.

Donna was indeed very gracious and humble when I met her after the show. And yes, she is a goddess.
PalJoey, not even a short review?

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Updated On: 2/11/07 at 10:31 AM

Just a guess... "I'm Still Here?"

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I was at the evening performance last night and it blew me away. I never saw the original production, but I did see the 1985 Philharmonic Concert, the London production and that production that shall not be named. I've always been moved by the show, but never as much as what I saw last night. For me, this was the most beautifully realized FOLLIES I've ever had the pleasure to witness.

Baranski - she had me all the way up to that final note in I'M STILL HERE, but then, well... but her overall performance was stellar nonetheless. The rest of the cast was brilliant, (loved Mimi Hines and Joanne Worley) and then there were Donna Murphy and Victoria Clark. Two powerhouse women giving, IMHO, the definitive performances of
these roles.

It really is a pity it wont/can't be extended, transferred, preserved. But at least "I was there" (as were most of us) and I will always be thrilled by the memory of this beautiful, haunting production.

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JV92: I didn't see Dorothy Collins, unfortunately. I was 10 years old and living in Florida. I remember seeing the poster for the original FOLLIES at Miami Airport and being fascinated by it. On one of our trips up to NY (I was born here) I begged my mother to get tickets, but typically, she wasn't interested.

Of all the Sally's I've seen, Clark's was by far the most beautifully realized.

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Updated On: 2/11/07 at 11:38 AM

The Arlen homage is "Losing My Mind," a great Arlen-like torcher in the tradition of "The Man That Got Away" and "Stormy Weather."

I too was disappointed in Baranski, but what are you gonna do? She's perfect in everything else. LOVED Mimi Hines and Joanne Worley. LOVED the young Buddy/Sally/Phyllis/Ben.

Loved the choreography. Missed Michael Bennett's touches and missed Michael and Hal's ghosts. My friends at drinks afterward made a drinking game: Each time I referred to the original production, they took a sip. They got plastered.

But I loved what Donna Murphy did--for the first time, you could see how much Older Phyllis still loves Ben. Every Phyllis previously has allowed Young Phyllis to show the loving part. That's a extraordinary achievement on Murphy's part, and she rose in my estimation because of it.

What Victoria Clark did with Sally was kind of the opposite--and even more brilliant: She was NOT the willowy victim Sally wants everyone to think she is. Clark took her cues from Buddy's lines that she "fights with everyone" and that her two sons in San Francisco hate her.

Clark played Sally as a manipulative bitch who had slept with her best friend's fiance, married a man she didn't love and made him miserable, drank like a fish instead of tending the flowers and painting for "umpteen" hours, laid around a messy house for days without getting out of bed--and then left the dishes in the sink and flew to New York with the bat-**** crazy idea of stealing Ben back from Phyllis.

In this production, Carlotta and Phyllis were not the bitches: Sally was. And it was brilliant.

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Updated On: 2/11/07 at 12:15 PM

Well, like I said, I missed some of the talkback, and I'll remember bits and pieces...maybe someone can expand on what I do remember, so here's the best I can do:

When I walked in, I think Sondheim was finishing up discussing the different songs that someone previously mentioned. He was saying something about Dorothy in the original, I think some song was written specifically for her, or her voice, or something.

Umm, he talked about the original production--how some people went, thinking they were actually seeing like Ziegfeld Follies and were disappointed/upset.

They discussed Barnes' review of this production and Sondheim pointed out he's pretty consistent, he didn't like the show originally either.

Someone asked why they changed the Lucy and Jessie song in a London production, and Sondheim said the chick coudln't dance.

Someone asked about loveland, he said in certain places they needed more time to change sets and costumes during the number, so it just had to be longer

Someone asked if this would be recorded, and Sondheim replied only illegally. Then he later explained that it's really expensive to record shows, and there's not too many companies who record cast albums anymore. He said if someone approached them about it offering money, then they'd be happy to record it, and who knows maybe it will happen after the run.

Let's see...the actors spoke. Victoria talked about how nice it was to create a character in such a short period, in contrast to the character that she had been working on for 3 1/2 years. She said in her rendition of Losing My Mind, her main character motivation was fear.

Christine talked about how a piece like Follies is so revered that sometimes the fun is taken out of it, so in approaching I'm Still Here, she saw it as a comic piece, approaching each part as another funny part.

Donna spoke quite a bit though--I'm not sure I can really remember what she said. I know she said she really loved doing this, and loved the cast, everyone raved about the cast, especially the "kids."

They also highly praised Casey Nicholaw for what he was able to create in this small space.

Oh, Sondheim also spoke about the original production with Hal--how they had compromised that they'd do Company first...I think he also talked about Hal and Michael co-directing or something?

Alright, that's all i can remember. Anyone else who was there feel free to add or elaborate on what I remembered--I would have known a bit more if I was a little more familiar with the show. I apologize. Still, what a wonderful surprise to sit down and see this talkback, especially Sondheim speaking right in front of me. A treasured experience.

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PalJoey, that story made my eyes tear up. That was beautiful.

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The clues are right there in the script. But she's always played as apple-pie sweetness and woe-is-me girl-done-wrong. I've always thought Buddy was making those things up and complaining--after all, he's the once cheating--but they're right there in the script: she drinks too much, she stays in bed all day, the house is a mess, she fights with everyone and her children hate her.

And Vicki Clark confronted all that.

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