Photos: FOLLIES at Chicago Shakespeare Theater - First Look!

[Jessica7]

Posted: 10/5/11 at 3:22pm

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-First-Look-at-FOLLIES-at-Chicago-Shakespeare-Theatre-20111005

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/11 at 3:47pm

I'm liking the clip of Lucy & Jessie rehearsal with Caroline O'Connor as Phyllis. I also like the choreography with the two male dancers behind her, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1mMZnkhCpNc

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 10/5/11 at 4:08pm

The costuming of Lucy and Jessie is intriguing. Certainly more dirty burlesque than 30s kick line; they are certainly making a statement about Phyllis's strong repressed sexuality. I do wonder if they are using the original book - most of that sexuality has been whittled from the current Broadway book.

[dreaming]

Posted: 10/5/11 at 4:17pm

Does anyone else think the choreography is rather in the style of Bob Fosse? (not necessarily a negative, just an observation) It looks very intriguing.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/5/11 at 5:02pm

It definitely has that feel for this number, but it sounds like the choreographer is using a variety of styles throughout the show (based on his interview).

[spike3]

Posted: 10/5/11 at 6:12pm

Alex was in Fosse on Broadway, so perhaps he was influenced just a bit

[TheHappyPhantom]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 2:20am

the costumes look really cheap to me. Maybe it's the photos.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 2:57am

That photo makes it look like Young Ben and Buddy are going off to war.

Updated On: 10/6/11 at 02:57 AM

[FrauleinKost]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 8:21am

That was my thought, too, oddly enough--but didn't Ben and Buddy actually fight in WWII?

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 9:09am

I don't think so--I don't remember ever hearing about Buddy going to war. Ben goes to war, but he doesn't actually fight. He says something along the lines of "lawyers don't get shot."

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 5:04pm

I just found a ton of new photos on the website:

http://www.chicagoshakes.com/main.taf?p=2,62,4,1,11

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 5:08pm

Buddy and Ben do both go off to war.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 5:12pm

For a small-scale staging, the production values look fantastic.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 5:16pm

I had a ticket for the first preview and I wasn't able to go. I don't think I'm going to make it back to Chicago at all during the run and it is is KILLING me!

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 5:23pm

I'm not impressed. And yes, you can call me biased, as I love the current Broadway revival.

I would definitely love to hear an audio of this production. Very curious to hear their version of the book.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 5:24pm

I stand corrected, thanks. The pictures make it look very period. I could do with a different dress for Phyllis, but other than that, it all looks very nice. I'm seeing it tomorrow night, and I'm very excited.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 5:39pm

I'm not impressed. And yes, you can call me biased, as I love the current Broadway revival.

I won't call you biased, but it is foolish to compare the production values of the Broadway staging--which has a much higher budget--to a production being presented by a relatively small company in a 500 seat theatre.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 5:58pm

^ What he said.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 6:05pm

I am not impressed at all by the design and color scheme of the showgirls' costumes or the young 4 costumes - they're very bright. Also not a fan of Resnik's dress. (This has nothing to do with being big-budget or not). Also not crazy about many of the hair styles for the women.

Interesting they're doing "Who's That Woman" with Stella, Sally, Phyllis, Solange, and Carlotta.

Is Chicago Shakes a thrust stage? It's hard to tell if its that or just a very deep, narrow stage.

Looks good aside from all that! Updated On: 10/6/11 at 06:05 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 6:09pm

It is a thrust stage. The director says he plans on focusing on the fact that it is a party and he wants the audience to feel part of it.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 6:54pm

OK - that works, I've seen it done on a thrust before.

But what does a party have to do with the costumes?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 7:16pm

She and the boys look great, and the moves definitely look Fosse-esque.

What the choreographer says is compelling, but I'm not sure how burlesque fits in to Follies.

Updated On: 10/6/11 at 07:16 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/6/11 at 9:55pm

I'd rather he speak for himself....
The "other" Follies

[rhumba]

Posted: 10/7/11 at 12:05am

I've been reading the boards for a long time. I Never felt truly compelled to post until now. I'm still pretty blown away from seeing tonights performance of Follies. I may post more later but for right now I wanted to just write one thing.

I remember during the early discussion of the Kennedy Center revivial, which I saw, that the most important thing to ask a director who wished to do Follies was whether or not he and by extension the characters believed in ghosts. Well Gary Griffins answer was yes. It was amazing.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 10/7/11 at 11:38pm

I'm on my phone right now so I can get into more detail when I get home, but here are my immediate thoughts:

I have no complaints. Well, I wish they kept the suicide line, but you can't have everything. The performances were great all around, especially Susan Moniz as Sally. There were many interactions with the ghosts that I loved, especially in Live, Laugh, Love. Everything was done as it should be. The final scene left me shivering, loveland put me in awe, and nearly every song was a show-stopper. The orchestra was a bit over amplified, but I'm sure that can be fixed. Il go into specifics later, but I was very pleased.

Ok, I'm back now, so I'm going to go into more specifics, which will probably include spoilers.

First of all, this was sung so well. Everybody was just so talented. First of all, Susan Moniz was a near perfect Sally in my opinion. Every little thing she did was perfect for the character and I understood every little choice, even when just interacting upstage. There was a moment in Too Many Mornings before the last verse when Ben was holding Sally and then she just leans back and stretches out her arms like she is ready to make love right there. Everything she did perfectly embodied Sally. I absolutely loved her.

Caroline O'Connor was a great Phyllis. I felt that you could really sympathize for her much more than the other characters. Could I Leave You was just stunning. Lucyy & Jesse was done very well and she was an amazing dancer.

Buddy and Ben were both very good, although they sort of faded into the background behind the other two amazing performances. I really believed they were their characters. Robert Petkoff danced The Right Girl fine, but his acting made it alive as you saw him searching for the girl. He landed that song so well. Brent Barret did a great job with his breakdown. In this moment, the showgirl comes down the aisle and he sees her, which makes him forget his lyric. As I said before, she represented the things left un-dealt with in the theatre, and she prompted Ben to face what he hadn't for so long. It worked very well.

Hollis Resnick looked stunning. She sang I'm Still Here very legato and different than most interpretations. There wasn't much flair to it but I think it still worked. All of her line readings were spot-on. All the rest of the performers were fantastic with their songs, my favorites being Broadway Baby, One More Kiss, and Who's That Woman.

The group breakdown was thrilling and the Loveland transition was quite effective. A huge blue drape came down with a framed curtain (you can see it in some of the pictures) and the showgirl was lowered down, sitting in a suspended hoop. They used the London version's couplets as each person carried a letter (no gigantic dresses) and the man behind me could not stop laughing at the irony of the moment.

In the vamp after the young ghosts leave in Waiting for the Girls, the four of them stared where the ghosts were with this look that said "what was that...?" which I loved. I felt that as the show progressed, the characters could see the ghosts more until they finally confront them in the breakdown. Who's That Woman was needed for the plot because it was the point at which their existence was accepted and they could move on to more complex interaction.

It was a stunning production. I didn't like the fact that there was an intermission, but the show was captivating enough that I wasn't completely out of the world for the intermission and it was able to pick up right where it left of for act two. Overall, it was a very strong production with not a single weak link in the cast. I would highly recommend it. Updated On: 10/8/11 at 11:38 PM