Topic In Remembrance of FOLLIES from the General Chit-Chat forum.
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| Author | Topic: In Remembrance of FOLLIES |
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 AMH
Registered User
Registered:
11/7/2011
From:
North Carolina | posted: 1/23/2012 at 7:29:21 PM ET
Anybody have any favorite moments from FOLLIES? The whole show was excellent, of course, but some things that I really liked were:
- Bernadette's entrance (exciting for me since this was my first time seeing her on Broadway)
- The "Who's That Woman?" dance number
- Elaine Paige singing "I'm Still Here"
- Bernadette singing "Losing My Mind"
- Jan Maxwell singing and dancing to "The Story of Lucy and Jessie"
| Kensington
Registered User
Registered:
1/8/2012 | posted: 1/23/2012 at 7:34:23 PM ET
I agree with all of those and add Mary Beth Peil's solo. Fun to see her in a big departure from her character on The Good Wife. The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues was also a highlight.
| ripley123
Registered User
Registered:
11/8/2011 | posted: 1/23/2012 at 8:00:47 PM ET
I liked how Bernadette changed her body language on "chattering and clattering down all of those flights"...less cute Bernadette and more Sally the mess.
Loved Jan's "Will I Leave You?"
Who knew what a lovely head register Bernadette had? Loved her high notes on Too Many mornings and In Buddy's Eyes. It's not the part of her range she normally uses and it was a little rough when I first saw it in August...not rough in general but rough for a top-caliber performer, if that makes sense? But she just sailed through it Friday night.
All the parts everybody else has said.
I also really enjoyed in general seeing it the second time because I sort of knew what was going on, and I found myself watching her reactions to what other people were doing. She was so 100% committed to the character at all times, although she wasn't overshadowing anybody (I made a conscious decision to watch her more), there was never a sense that she was sort of relaxing and thinking,"Aw, what the heck, nobody's watching me now, I'll check out until it's my turn again. Hmmm, am I getting low on dog biscuits? I wonder if I'll do the Stairmaster tomorrow, or just do the weights and the tap dance. Ugh, matinee, definitely no Stairmaster. Ah shit, when am I going to get my goddaughter's birthday present? Oooh, gonna be my turn to talk in a minute, better get back with the program." Watch sometimes, most performers will do that if there's a long bit where they're on stage and don't have anything specific to do, but NEVER Bernadette.
| AMH
Registered User
Registered:
11/7/2011
From:
North Carolina | posted: 1/23/2012 at 8:31:15 PM ET
I also really enjoyed in general seeing it the second time because I sort of knew what was going on, and I found myself watching her reactions to what other people were doing. She was so 100% committed to the character at all times...
Like you, Ripley, I focused more on Bernadette than the other actors. The first time I saw the show, I missed most of what was going on because I kept watching what she was doing even when she wasn't in the spotlight. LOL. She was always in character. It was incredible! Her facial expressions and body language were very Sally, and I never once thought she reverted back to Bernadette. Just another example of why she is such an incredible actress.
I always looked forward to hearing Bernadette's head voice in the musical numbers, especially the transition from chest to head in "Losing My Mind." Fabulous! And what fun it was to see her dance! I would be thrilled if she incorporated a tap number into her concerts, but I'm guessing it won't happen.
FOLLIES really made me a fan of Jan Maxwell, Danny Burstein, and Elaine Paige. Jan and Danny brought such intensity to their respective roles, and Elaine was always very entertaining. I'll definitely try and catch their future performances.
|  Jennifer
Registered User
Registered:
7/12/2010
From:
CA | posted: 1/23/2012 at 8:42:08 PM ET
My favorite part of FOLLIES was Bernadette's approach to the character of Sally.
I was reading about FOLLIES over on this site:
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=2041033
And about how Sally is portrayed in the musical.
"Sally then, we sense at once, is much like Sally now: gay, bubbling, pert, a little silly."
Then I also read this article from the Wall Street Journal on Gregg Barnes the costume designer from FOLLIES. I was able to read the entire article by doing a google search for "Gregg Barnes Follies WSJ".
Anyway this stood out to me:
"It is to be expected, then, that a bit of costume controversy erupted at the Kennedy Center, where the production first ran in the spring. When Bernadette Peters's character, Sally Plummer—a diminished, out-of-love housewife—arrived to the reunion in a bright-red dress, some "Follies" purists felt she looked too va-va-voom.
The idea for the color had come from Ms. Peters, who thought her character might wear something red to capture the heart of an old flame. Mr. Barnes agreed and went for it, and a flurry of Internet opining followed.
" 'Jaw-droppingly horrible' is my favorite quote," said Mr. Barnes, who confessed to having read everything that was written online. The dress has since been refashioned in a softer pink."
Then I listen to this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j5gv6UHT0E
and this around 13:20
http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/on_stage/153749/ny1-online--on-stage--complete-program--12-17-11
She changed how she felt about the character from being hopeful to being hopeless. I thought that was very interesting how the character changed from DC to Broadway.
My Favorite part of the show was "Who's that Woman?", "Too Many Mornings", "I'm Still Here", "The Story of Lucy and Jessie", "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" I LOVED the whole show.
| BroadwayBabyGal
Registered User
Registered:
5/8/2003 | posted: 1/23/2012 at 9:04:23 PM ET
Every moment in the show, haha. I feel so lucky to have seen it six times. If I had to pick a favorite moment, it would be "Who's That Woman." Terri White is a force of nature and I just loved seeing them all dance, especially Bernadette. I teared up every time.
| AMH
Registered User
Registered:
11/7/2011
From:
North Carolina | posted: 1/25/2012 at 1:24:40 AM ET
Every moment in the show, haha.
Definitely! 
I never realized that the red dress was Bernadette's idea. Guess that didn't work out too well.
It is really interesting how Bernadette changed her opinion of Sally throughout the run of the show. I first saw FOLLIES in November and Sally did seem pretty hopeless then.
| Jennifer
Registered User
Registered:
7/12/2010
From:
CA | posted: 1/25/2012 at 11:18:52 AM ET
I never realized that the red dress was Bernadette's idea. Guess that didn't work out too well.
It didn't. The audience and critics really seemed to make a big deal over the color of the dress. Everyone seemed to already know what they wanted and what to expected from Sally. Bernadette always brings new ideas to a revival (Gypsy, Annie Get Your Gun) . I think Bernadette saw Sally differently at first, but Follies Fans already had an image of the way Sally should be portrayed.
| AMH
Registered User
Registered:
11/7/2011
From:
North Carolina | posted: 1/25/2012 at 2:43:11 PM ET
Yeah, unfortunately Bernadette couldn't please everyone with her interpretation of Sally. I really had no idea how the character should be played (and am still not 100% sure), but I really enjoyed Bernadette's performance in the show.
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