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A CurtainUp Review
Encores! Does Follies
By Elyse Sommer
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Good Times and bad times I've seen them all But I'm Still Here — Carlotta from the Follies anthem song How do you wipe your tears if your eyes are dry?— Phyllis in "Could I Leave You?" |
Victoria Clark and Victor Garber
(Photo: Joan Marcus)
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For diehards part of the fun is in the comparisons. As the former Weissman Follies performers and their spouses gather for a reunion at the theater before it's torn down to make way for a parking lot, they are shadowed by their young and still full of dreams selves. Similarly, all the new Phyllis and Ben and Sally and Buddy are shadowed by memories of their predecessors. And so, for many Follies mavens, the last Broadway revival in 2001 didn't stand up to well in the comparison game. The scuttlebut about the production mounted at Barrington Stage two summers ago, had Follies fanatics hitting the road towards the Berkshires and finding it worth the ride.
And now the invaluable Encores! series has given us a Follies that even without the razzle dazzle of a full staging shimmers and shines thanks to a sublimely talented cast, with all the key players making their characters uniquely their own.
Donna Murphy
(Photo: Joan Marcus) |
Since there are too many talented performers on stage, to comment on all, I'll limit myself to the leads. The two unhappily married former roomates, Victoria Clark as Sally and Donna Murphy as Phyllis are magnificent, both in the acting and vocal department. Clark's "Losing My Mind" is unforgettable, as is Murphy's heart wrenchingly bitter "Could I Leave You? " vamp-y "The Story of Lucy and Jessie" The men in their lives are also beyond superb, Victor Garber as Ben, the worldly success with the anesthetized emotions and Michael McGrath as Buddy. While Christine Baranski, who plays Carlotta, doesn't have quite the vocal range of Clark and Murphy, she nevertheless delivers the show's anthem song, "I'm Still Here" with enough brassy panache to warrant the show-stopping applause that followed every number at the matinee I attended.
Costume consultants William Ivey Long and Gregg Barnes have outfitted the old-timers and their young shadows in a sleekly handsome black and white pallette, with some subtle color changes (like the flaming red outfit for Murphy) for the second act's Loveland section. That section has been smartly tightened to focus on the terrific songs.
The only real disappointment with this Follies is that, unlike the original which ran for 522 performances, this is an all too brief 6-day run. On the plus side, there are more Encores! to come: Face the Music by Irving Berlin and Moss Hart (March 29 to April 1) and Stairway to Paradise (May 10 to 14th) a first ever original Encores! production.
LINKS
2001 Broadway revival
Barrington Stage
Sweeney Todd-Broadway Revival
Company-Broadway revival
| Follies Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by James Goldman Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, Music Direction by Eric Stern Cast: Lucine Amara (Heidi Schiller), Christine Baranski (Carlotta Campion), Philip Bosco (Dimitri Weismann), Victoria Clark (Sally Durant Plummer), Yvonne Constant (Solange LaFitte), Colin Donnell (Young Ben), Victor Garber (Ben Stone), Mimi Hines (Hattie Walker), Katie Klaus (Young Sally), Michael McGrath (Buddy Plummer), Donna Murphy (Phyllis Rogers Stone), Anne Rogers (Emily Whitman) and Jo Anne Worley (Stella Deems). Ensemble: Cameron Adams, Clyde Alves, Ashley Fife, Andrew Fitch, Emily Fletcher, Jenifer Foote, Ben Hartley, Natalie King, Brian J. Marcum, Barrett Martin, Jennifer Mathie, Shannon Marie O'Bryan, Denise Payne, Matt Wall, J. D. Webster, Kristen Beth Williams. Set Consultation: John Lee Beatty Costume Consultation: William Ivey Long and Gregg Barness. Lights: Ken Billington Sound: Tom Morse Music Coordinator: Seymour Red Press Running Time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission Encores! concert stating at New York City Center, 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. (212) 581-1212 From February 8, 2007 to February 12, 2007 Tickets $95 to $25. Reviewed by Elyse Sommer at May 10th matinee |
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Musical Numbers
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Act One
Beautiful Girls/Arthur Rubin & CompanyDon't Look at Me/Victoria Clark and Vctor Garber Waiting for the Girls Upstairs/ Michael McGrath, Victor Garber, Donnna Murphy, Victorial Clark, Curtis Holbrook, Colin, donnell, Jenny Powers, Katie Klaus Rain on the Roof/Anne Rogers and Robert E. Fitch Ah, Paris!/Yvonne Constant Broadway Baby/Mimi Hines The Road You Didn't Take/Victor Garber Folero d'Amour/ Anne Rogers, Robert E. Fitch, Denise Payne, Barrett Martin In Buddy's Eyes/Victoria Clark Who's That Woman?Stella & Ladies I'm Still Here/Christine Baranski Too Many Mornings/Victoria Clark and Vctor Garber |
Act Two
The Right Girl/Michael McGrath One More Kiss/Lucine Amara and Leena Chopra Could I Leave You?/Donnna Murphy LOVELAND The Folly of Love . . . Loveland/Company The Folly of Youth . . . You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Colin Donnell and Jenny Powers . . . Love Will See Us Through/Curtis Holbrook and Katie Klaus Buddy's Folly The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues/Michael McGrath with Kristen Beth Williams and Emily Fletcher Sally's Folly . . . Losing My Mind/Victoria Clark Phyllis's Folly . . . The Story of Lucy and Jessie/Donnna Murphy and Male Ensemble Ben's Folly . . . Live, Laugh, Love/Victor Garber and Company |
Easy-on-the budget super gift for yourself and your musical loving friends. Tons of gorgeous pictures.
Leonard Maltin's 2007 Movie Guide
At This Theater
Leonard Maltin's 2005 Movie Guide
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