Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters and Stephen Sondheim
As a special Saturday treat to cheer us up as the thermometers fall and we start to pile on the layers - partly as a belated happy birthday to one of its stars Mr Mandy Patinkin (who was 60 yesterday), and partly because we are well overdue a Stephen Sondheim fix here at Dolores Delargo Towers - here's a potted selection of numbers and backstage clips from the legendary 1985 Broadway concert version of Follies, introduced by Mr Sondheim himself.
Among the glittering cast on this auspicious occasion were Barbara Cook, George Hearn, the aforementioned Mr Patinkin, Lee Remick, Carol Burnett, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Liliane Montevecchi, Phyllis Newman, Licia Albanese, Arthur Rubin and Elaine Stritch! Enjoy...
Remarkably, among the "Beautiful Girls" only the youngest-looking, Miss Remick, is sadly no longer with us. In fact, apart from her and Miss Comden and Mr Green, the entire cast is "Still Here"! Thankfully.
With any luck, the rumours may prove true once and for all, and Follies may yet come back to the West End so we can (finally) get to see a performance of it live on stage...
Follies on Wikipedia.
Has Follies never been performed in London? That is truly a shame. It's such a fantastic show. I can't understand why it is so not well received (by critics mostly).
ReplyDeleteI saw the last production on Broadway with the great Elaine Paige. Maybe because she is more widely known in the UK she can be the one to push it into production and reprise her roll. I would think it would be a huge hit in the West End.
It has been here before, in 1987, in concert in 1998, and a brief run in 2002. However, I was only in London for the last one, and missed it, unfortunately. Fingers crossed Miss Paige can work her magic! Jx
DeleteI stand corrected. It was performed in London in 1987. Long overdue for a revival, needless to say.
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