Follies
Marquis Theatre
New York, NY
Weismann (David Sabin) is hosting a final get-together of the Weismann girls before the old theater is demolished. The performers, now 30 years older, greet each others with squeals of recognition, reminiscing about those Follies years between World War I and II. Poised behind them on the stage are ghostly younger versions in fabulous feathers and sequins, posing, wandering around, and occasionally joining in to sing.
Directed by Eric Schaffer, the show focuses on the floundering marriages of two couples — Sally and Buddy Plummer (Bernadette Peters and Danny Burstein) and Phyllis and Benjamin Stone (Jan Maxwell and Ron Raines). Sally and Phyllis were close friends back in the day, and Buddy and Ben were their stage-door Johnnies. Portraying their optimistic younger versions are Lora Lee Gayer (Sally), Kirsten Scott (Phyllis), Christian Delcroix (Buddy), and Nick Verina (Ben). Sally loved Ben, but he married Phyllis, so Sally turned to Buddy, now a traveling salesman. Today, both marriages are fractured—Phyllis dissatisfied in her life with Ben, who is successful in his career and a failure in his marriage and Sally, mooning over her star-crossed affair with Ben long ago, had anticipated renewing their romance at the reunion.
While melodramatic, their stories serve as potent grist for Sondheim’s memorable songs like Ben and Sally’s duet, “Too Many Mornings,” Ben’s self-examination, “The Road You Didn’t Take” and later, his breakdown in “Live, Laugh, Love.” With his expressive baritone and impressive presence, Raines makes a convincing achiever. Among the couples, Bernadette Peters is the least empathetic, drawing a clueless, woe-is-me demeanor for Sally. The self-deluding “In Buddy’s Eyes” is poignant, but, generally her voice is light, often inconsistent in the high tones and self-consciously overwrought in “Losing My Mind.”
Jan Maxwell’s lean, mean Phyllis and the multi-talented Danny Burstein’s Buddy are the show’s outstanding performances. Maxwell flaunts Phyllis’ rage. She has lost the core of herself in her marriage to Ben and his expectations. Building with frustration, she nails “Could I Leave You?,” yet, even with her bitterness, she displays compassion for Ben when he collapses at the end of the show. Burstein’s Buddy energetically evinces the grip of heartbreak in “The Right Girl,” knowing he was always second best. He shines in vaudevillian frenzy with “The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues."
Some of the showgirls had moved on to more grounded lives, but tonight they are eager to step up and revisit their old specialty numbers. Jayne Houdyshell, a hearty Hattie, charges on for a no-nonsense “Broadway Baby.” Mary Beth Peil’s svelte and sophisticated Solange has turned to perfume manufacturing and assumes a French accent though not much ooh-la-la for “Ah, Paris!” Elaine Paige moves to the edge of the stage to fiercely acclaim “I’m Still Here” and delightful Terri White invites the gang to join her in “Who’s That Woman?,” an exuberant number, danced and sung with laughs and muscle memory.
Derek McLane’s dismal gray draped set is enlivened with candy box reds, mauves and blues for Act II’s “Loveland” sequence. Gregg Barnes’s costumes are gorgeous, with a glamorous gold gown for the urbane Phyllis and Sally in sensible party pink. For “Loveland,” Phyllis changes to red fringes and Sally sings “Losing My Mind” clad in a stark black gown.
Stamping the seal of old Broadway on the production is Jonathan Tunick’s original 28-piece orchestration, delivering Sondheim’s contagious songs with stirring power under the leadership of James Moore. This production may have some faults, but with its unfolding layers of glamour, nostalgia, harsh reality and cloudy memories, Follies is a feast of delights in any season’s theater roster.
(Pictured: Jenifer Foote, Danny Burstein, Kiira Schmnidt. Photo by Joan Marcus)
Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
September 14, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org