The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread- Page 16
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#375
Posted: 5/21/11 at 3:04pm
If I were going to see an old lover after decades, and I looked like Bernadette Peters, I'd wear the red dress.
if I looked like Dorothy Collins, I'd wear what she wore.
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#376
Posted: 5/21/11 at 3:23pmThe red dress brings up the question: do the costumes stay true to 1971 for the REST of the cast? Is it clear that the reunion is happening 40 years ago or does it sort of look like it could be happening today? (If they fail to put you in 1971, I'd judge that a major failing of the production: if you sacrifice the idea that the girls were performing in the Weisman Follies back in the early 40's, you make mincemeat of the chronology of the rest of the characters, not to mention the legitimacy of the Follies shows themselves.)
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#377
Posted: 5/21/11 at 3:29pm
I'm with Pal Joey - not convinced at ALL. This show is not about Bernadette Peters reclaiming someone, it's about Sally Durant Plummer and Sally Durant Plummer, at least as conceived in the original production, has not been living a glamorous life and would not have such a dress - what would she need it for? Nor would she go out and buy such a dress. She would choose the nicest of her middle-aged outfits from her closet. Florence Klotz understood this perfectly.
If this production transfers, whoever is producing will be looking for a nice, big tax write-off because even if they had the chutzpah (which most producers do today, ego-wise) to keep it open long after it's expire date, it would lose every penny of its investment. A limited run with a somewhat starry cast, sure, it will sell out to the Sondheads alone. After that, no.
And after having read the word "revelation" again, isn't there some other word besides that now-hoary cliche? Danny Burstein was a REVELATION? Why? He's a terrific actor and I'm sure he's doing a great job. What's the REVELATION?
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/7/04
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#378
Posted: 5/21/11 at 3:59pm
The red dress Bernadette wears looks like one of hundreds I've seen on the clearance rack at TJ Maxx under the heading "Evening Dresses." It would cost about 40 bucks, if that.
The fact that it is such a bright, tacky and unflattering color assures its spot on the clearance rack every time. Sally would have gone to TJ Maxx to buy a "new" dress for the occasion and seen this neon "evening dress" with a tag that read, "Compare at 295.00" and thought she was dressing "up."
Believe me, I know my clearance racks.
http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html
**********
"If any relationship involves a flow chart, get out of it...FAST!"
~ Best12Bars
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#379
Posted: 5/21/11 at 4:00pmI don't know. Sally is half mad. She did try to kill herself. And she thinks/wishes/whatever that Ben will take her away. If that's what she wants, she'd wear that dress. It's not like it's covered in jewels or anything, though perhaps it looks far more glamorous close-up. It's a fancy dress to show herself off. And if she's going to reclaim and old lover, why not?
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#380
Posted: 5/21/11 at 4:06pm
Miss P. Did you shop at TJMax in 1971?
Maybe JCPenny?
Snagged the last seat for the weekend of June 4th, seems the show is a big hit (sales-wise). Are there that many Sondheads in the Capital.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/7/04
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#381
Posted: 5/21/11 at 4:12pm
CPD, I am very eager to see what you think of the show!
It's funny but I just realized that Phyllis's dress looks like one I bought at Marshall's for a formal event in 1998. The cost: "39.99." (I'm not kidding.)
Bernadette's dress is plain except for the color. It could have been bought any time between 1970 and now. (I should go to TJ Maxx today with my camera and post their "prom dresses" for you.)
Oh, in 1971, I shopped at Bamberger's mostly. 
http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html
**********
"If any relationship involves a flow chart, get out of it...FAST!"
~ Best12Bars
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#382
Posted: 5/21/11 at 4:39pmI saw the show last night and am surprised no one has discussed the fact that they threw away, entirely, the couples' goodbye lines. Instad of the "if you're ever in Phoenix...." lines, the couples just look at each other, decide there's nothing left to say, and exit separately. It was very effective (though Jan Maxwell can say more with a look than most speaking actresses....)
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#383
Posted: 5/21/11 at 5:16pmWhile I see a valid argument for the red dress, if Sally chose it for Ben, wouldn't it have been green? "I should have worn green/I wore green the last time..."
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#384
Posted: 5/21/11 at 5:18pm
I saw the show last night and am surprised no one has discussed the fact that they threw away, entirely, the couples' goodbye lines. Instad of the "if you're ever in Phoenix...." lines, the couples just look at each other, decide there's nothing left to say, and exit separately. It was very effective (though Jan Maxwell can say more with a look than most speaking actresses....)
Those lines are from the London/Roundabout productions. This version uses an ending closer to the original. Thankfully. The Roundabout ending was a travesty.
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#385
Posted: 5/21/11 at 5:57pmGreen dress, red dress...maybe Sally just likes Christmas colors!
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#386
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:11pmMiss P, if you mention TJ Maxx one more time in this thread, I think I'll die.
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#387
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:14pm
Bernadette discusses FOLLIES. Includes a clip of her 'Losing My Mind.'
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/21/136525451/bernadette-peters-revives-sondheims-follies
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#388
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:16pmWell, I think she definitely wants to play this role on Broadway if it wasn't already obvious ("I like to stay a long time in shows, at least a year"..)
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#389
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:21pmYeah, and let's not forget that the NY Times leaked the info that Bernadette tried doing Nunn's London production to secure the role on Broadway if either one transfers. Though apparently it didn't work out with Nunn. She seems determined to play Sally on Broadway.
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#390
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:24pm
awesome danny, think about it: how could Sally wear a green dress when her actual lyric is "I SHOULD have worn green; I wore green the last time."
This is all a silly argument. If the red dress tells a virgin audience the wrong info about Sally (too hip and stylish, too sexy for the room), then it's the wrong dress. N'est-ce pas?
Again for you all who have seen the show, is everyone else in the cast dressed correctly for 1971? Or are they all "timeless" too, god forbid?
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#391
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:29pmI'll let you know after tomorrow's matinee.
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#392
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:39pm
PalJoey, I have Martin Gottfried's Broadway (coffee table book) and was looking a one of the pictures from Follies. It's a picture of "Who's That Woman" and it appears that the Follies dancer next to Alexis Smith is either in a ballet slipper or bare foot. Would you happen to know if this was common in the original production? The other dancer's look like they have tap shoes on. Thanks.
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#393
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:44pm
Be honest, people. Which dress tells you more about Sally Durant Plummer? Bernadette's red dress? or this:
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#394
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:46pmClearly that! I definitely prefer Sally dressed like that. Updated On: 5/21/11 at 07:46 PM
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#395
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:50pmGregg Barnes designed a perfect dress for McKechnie's Sally in the Papermill production. I assume Schaeffer and/or Peters wanted the sleeker dress.
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#396
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:51pm
Now, folks, we bring you,
Di-rect from Phoenix,
Live and in person...
SALLY DURANT!
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#397
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:53pm
This picture breaks my heart.
"If you don't kiss me, Ben, I think I'll die."
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#398
Posted: 5/21/11 at 7:59pm
Dottie--can you post that picture? They were all tapping their hears out, as were the ghosts.
Maybe she lost her shoe before the photo!
The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread#399
Posted: 5/21/11 at 8:01pmPalJoey, that last picture you posted IS beartbreaking.
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