Saturday, September 17, 2011

Theater Review: Follies


This Revival Isn't a Folly at All
By Lauren Yarger
Thank you Stephen Sondheim. Thank you for a show that provides great roles and great songs for women of a certain age. And thank you to the producers who were smart enough to realize that bringing Follies back to the Broadway stage was no folly of an idea at all.

James Goldman's book offers a very simple plot: people who were involved in a sort of Ziegfeld Follies show return to the theater for one last reunion before it is demolished. Sally Plummer (Bernadette Peters) was one of the "Weismann Girls" in the theater's hey day, before she married Buddy (Danny Burstein). The reunion provides a diversion from their troubled marriage and Sally hopes to spend time with old flame Ben Stone (Ron Raines), who was Buddy's best friend.

Ben and his wife, Phyllis (an enchanting Jan Maxwell), who was Sally's old roommate, also aren't happy together, and Ben considers running off with Sally. The emotional encounters between husbands and wives and between the would-be lovers play out against memories of the past, depicted by shadows of their former selves living the follies of their youth. (Lora Lee Gayer and Christian Delcroix are young Sally and Buddy and Kirsten Scott and Nick Verina are the younger Stones).

Mostly the show is about the music, however, (James Moore directs) with terrific numbers showcasing vocal talent (Raines is dreamy; Sondheim's lyrics are haunting) enhanced by choreography by Warren Carlyle. Jane Hoodyshell gets a comedic tour de force as a faded Weismann girl and delivers a showstopping "Broadway Baby." Broadway and London star Elaine Paige shines as Carlotta Campion and Mary Beth Peil gets a good turn as sultry French Solange LaFitte.

If that's not enough to enjoy the revival (and, it is), director Eric Schaeffer creates one of those "forever-etched-in-the memory" moments when Peters sings the beautifully moving "Losing My Mind." Dressed in an elegant royal blue evening dress (Gregg Barnes, costume design) against a backdrop of a red, flower-petal-like arched set (Derek McLane, set design; Natasha Katz, lighting design), Peters delivers the gut-wrenching, tormented thoughts of a woman who is obsessed with her love for the man who got away. It's simply breath taking and is Peters at the top of her game.

This production of Follies, which transferred from the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. runs through Dec. 30 at the Marquis Theater, 1535 Broadway, NYC. Discounted tickets are available by clicking here.

 Christians might also like to know:
God's name taken in vain
Adultery
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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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