The Official Kennedy Center FOLLIES Thread — Page 6

Yeah, actually that's a fantastic point. The chest rise is VERY close to Sutton's dress. The fringe is different though. Suttons (as I recall) was very small streamer-like fringe, whereas Phyllis's was thicker pleats. I'm not sure what they are technically called, but the closest thing I could think to compare them to would be the ones on Cyd Charisse's green dress in 'Singin' in the Rain,' though of course what Phyllis is wearing is much shorter.

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hah- Well, I don't think they're tacky, but yes, there is a definite flame element to the bodice. They are a different formation than Sutton's though. Sutton's dress seemed to have thicker rises, whereas what Phyllis was wearing as I recall were smaller and there were more of them. I do think that it was a really fun dress- if we were to call Sutton's tacky, I think the bottom actually sort of fixes the problem.

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^ You're right! They have properly labeled the other dress as "Sally's Folly," and have added Phyllis' Folly dress.

If they ARE rethinking Sally's party dress, I hope it's fixed by Saturday!

Saw the show last evening form a great seat (Row N) in the orchestra. TONS of good stuff on that stage. Certainly had an early preview feel, but the goods are there for this to be a rather stunning revival.

In no particular order:
Danny Burstein is giving the finest performance that I have seen. The role fits him like a glove. Finally a role that will elevate him to leading man status.

Jan Maxwell is here usual note-perfect self. I knew she sang, but was surprised how good the vouch really is.

Bernadette....Im a fan, so I'm a bit biased, but this performance coming on the heels of her inspired Desiree is a stunning achievement
.

Ron Raines... the voice is RIDICULOUS

Other stand- outs for me were Terii White and Rosalind Elias. "One More Kiss"
is chilling.

A few quibbles,...I found the lighting gorgeous, but VERY dark, and I had a hard time focusing on the action at times. The woman playing Solange was not up to it, and was rather uncomfortable to watch.

The orchestra is world class (as usual for the Kennedy Center), and the sound mix is spot-on.

FInally, I was not prepared to be so moved. The final scene is heartbreaking in a way I've never felt in previous viewings of "Follies". Incredibly moving and thought provoking. So nice to spend an evening watching some SERIOUS musical theatre, I truly hope this production has a life beyond Washington DC

Interesting. They took down Sally's red dress and replaced it with Phyllis's red dress.

And both dresses are now correctly labeled: the purple gown as "Sally's Folly" and the short spangly red one as "Phyllis's Folly."

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Does her bag make an appearance in the show?

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ALSO - sometimes for Broadway Baby they try to extend it out into a full solo number (aka - what they did in the concert version with Elaine STritch). Do they use the original version here (with the others coming in at the last verse) or is it a big solo number?

No other cast members come in, she just finishes the song herself.

UGH. They don't finish with the counterpart montage of vocals? That kind of make me mad.

Nope- it was most certainly a complete solo. I'd never even heard of it being a montage. idk, but it got quite a large amount of applause. I thought it was aptly done.

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You can see a little of what the montage looked like in the original production at about the 2:30 point in the 13:25 FOLLIES IN MINIATURE video:

Watch:
http://www.megavideo.com/?d=M23T9W3A
Download:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=M23T9W3A


You can see a little of Fifi D'Orsay and Ethel Shutta at the 10:00 point in the 29:23 FOLLIES DUBBED ORIGINAL CAST video:

Watch:
http://www.megavideo.com/?d=3KYAU3J4
Download:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=86EMLTJZ


And you can see more of them and the Montage starting at about the 14:30 point in the FOLLIES BOSTON SOUND video:

Watch:
http://www.megavideo.com/?d=RUY9WFWG
Download
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RUY9WFWG

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Updated On: 5/9/11 at 06:17 PM

Oh Oh wow, I'd never seen that footage before. Thanks, PalJoey! Hm, I can't really judge based on that small segment alone, but I think Broadway Baby is such an iconic song at this point that it would be a shame to have its ending stepped on. But yes, as it is now, Ah, Paris! is sung in full alone, and then Broadway Baby is sung in full alone, after which it goes to a short conversation between Sally and Ben with the 'all the opera singer talk about is food,' bit followed by 'The Road You Didn't Take.'

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Elmore - the Ron Raines thing means Ron Raines has an amazing voice. Which he does.