Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies", a musical revue (based on the Ziegfeld Follies), that played in that theatre between the World Wars. It focuses on two couples, Buddy and Sally Durant Plummer and Benjamin and Phyllis Rogers Stone, who are attending the reunion. Sally and Phyllis were showgirls in the Follies. Both couples are deeply unhappy with their marriages. Buddy, a traveling salesman, is having an affair with a girl on the road; Sally is still as much in love with Ben as she was years ago; and Ben is so self-absorbed that Phyllis feels emotionally abandoned. Several of the former showgirls perform their old numbers, sometimes accompanied by the ghosts of their former selves. The musical numbers in the show have been interpreted as pastiches of the styles of the leading Broadway composers of the 1920s ands '30s, and sometimes as parodies of specific songs.
The Broadway production opened on April 4, 1971, directed by Harold Prince and Michael Bennett, and with choreography by Bennett. The musical was nominated for eleven Tony Awards and won seven. The original production, the most costly performed on Broadway to that date, ran for over 500 performances but ultimately lost its entire investment. The musical has had a number of major revivals, and several of its songs have become standards, including "Broadway Baby", "I'm Still Here", "Too Many Mornings", "Could I Leave You?", and "Losing My Mind".
My opinion:
Another Sondheim musical with wonderful songs. Sadly this production didn’t really
It hard to explain why, but here we go.
We watched it at the National Theatre and I really liked the stage and the stage design. However, it didn’t really work in the performance. The orchestra played behind the stage and somehow the sound got blocked and didn’t really come through. It didn’t really match with the singing (sound wise, not timing wise).
Most actors and actresses were always on stage, I didn’t really know where to look. I also felt like some characters weren’t very well cast.
Some others were perfect for their roles and did a wonderful job. I also liked how they did some of the songs.
The spark just didn’t fly for this show. Maybe I expected too much, but something was definitely missing for me.
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