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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2017 16:41:50 GMT
Is there any interviews or anything in a press release of why Imelda took this of all roles? Curious? Why wouldn't she take it? Its the lead role in a Sondheim musical, in a huge production at the National. Its a no brainer! |
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Follies
Sept 5, 2017 16:44:21 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2017 16:44:21 GMT
Is there any interviews or anything in a press release of why Imelda took this of all roles? Curious? Why wouldn't she take it? Its the lead role in a Sondheim musical, in a huge production at the National. Its a no brainer! Oh no that aspect I completely get! But its a bit of, bar a couple of beautiful songs that Imelda's voice performed beautifully, a nothing part in my opinion. Janie Dee gets all the good stuff and does it amazingly in my opinion.  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2017 17:40:30 GMT
Why wouldn't she take it? Its the lead role in a Sondheim musical, in a huge production at the National. Its a no brainer! Oh no that aspect I completely get! But its a bit of, bar a couple of beautiful songs that Imelda's voice performed beautifully, a nothing part in my opinion. Janie Dee gets all the good stuff and does it amazingly in my opinion. She's done Mrs Lovett and The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods, at this stage in her career it's one of only a couple of the main Sondheim roles left for her (maybe Desiree too). |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2017 17:45:50 GMT
Phyllis gets to be sassy with a few one liners, gets 2 songs and thats about it. Sally is the role with a much better story arc and a bigger range to play. She gets some beautiful songs with Ben and the most well known song in the show. Its far from being a nothing part. Its also the part that all leading ladies want to play.
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Follies
Sept 5, 2017 18:09:14 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2017 18:09:14 GMT
Hmm... maybe that is just something that didn't come off to me personally. Fair play.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2017 18:22:03 GMT
Actually with the constant annoyingly clockwise revolving set the audience far stage right (house left) do miss some of the action. I also thought this and yes, the set does get in the way. I was sitting far stage left and you miss a bit that side too. Not a huge amount and only at fairly brief points. If you have the option I think for cheaper seats £44 in the centre circle is better for this one than in the side stalls. |
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Post by dippy on Sept 5, 2017 20:19:03 GMT
Sorry to not trawl through all 87 pages but I did use the search with a few different terms and didn't find much. Does anyone have a full list of covers for this? Just curious really, I found one cover that was mentioned but was wondering about the rest.
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Post by wickedgrin on Sept 5, 2017 21:17:44 GMT
OK - full list of covers
SALLY - Liz Izen
PHYLLISS / HEIDI - Gemma Page
BEN/DIMITRI/THEODORE - Adrian Grove
YOUNG BUDDY - Barnaby Thompson
BUDDY/ROSCOE - Ian McLarnon
STELLA/SOLANGE/CARLOTTA - Julie Armstrong
HATTIE - Liz Ewing
YOUNG PHYLLIS -Aimee Hodnett
YOUNG SALLY -Emily Langham
YOUNG BEN - Michael Vinsen
YOUNG HEIDI -Anouska Eaton
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Follies
Sept 5, 2017 22:22:30 GMT
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Post by dippy on Sept 5, 2017 22:22:30 GMT
Thank you very much.
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Follies
Sept 5, 2017 22:40:51 GMT
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Post by westendwendy on Sept 5, 2017 22:40:51 GMT
I have to admit I thought some were miming too. I'm so glad some one else mentioned it! I didn't think the voice was coming from the source. Maybe that's a sound issue. Odd though!
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Post by andromedadench on Sept 5, 2017 23:05:48 GMT
All the comments on here re. the current production are fascinating. I saw the original Hal Prince version on Broadway (Winter Garden) in 1972 and found it totally original and thrilling. But even then I was aware that it wasn't a total success. I was partly involved in the 1987 London production which had a very strong cast (well, casts really, as several of the principles changed half way through the run) but, once again, was not really a bone fide hit. I now realise that the most enjoyable version was the partly staged New York concert (still available on DVD) with the best cast it has ever had including Barbara Cook, Elaine Stritch, Mandy Patinkin, Lee Remick and Carol Burnett. The numbers were beautifully sung and minimally but smartly staged and the actual book was cut severely. And I now realise that was the reason I enjoyed it the most of all the productions I have seen. Sondheim is seen here at his witty, inventive best but the actual dialogue linking the numbers just doesn't add up to a solid dramatic structure. You can throw as much spectacle and clever staging at it as you can afford (as Hal Prince did originally) but there is still no weighty text or story to drive the evening along. There - it's taken me 45 years to work that out! Thank you so much for this post, oldstager. I had never seen a production of Follies before this one, so this clears up a lot for me. I noticed the lack of dramatic structure but wrote it down to the fact the show is a kind of a homage to the variety genre. Otherwise, I enjoyed the production. I wish Janie Dee had more dancing numbers as she's wonderful, and I didn't think much of Zizi Strallen's acting, but I'd love to see it again. It'll probably all smooth out over the course of the run. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2017 23:16:52 GMT
Just got back to my hotel after seeing this evening's performance and I can honestly say that this production has exceeded all my expectations in so many ways.
I first heard the OBC of Follies in the early 70s when a friend of mine sent me the LP from the USA. As soon as it was in my sticky hands it was played and played very much like Company had been a year or so before. The difference was that Company came to London but Follies didn't. I bought the Random House book a while after so it gave me a good idea of what to expect but no production ever materilised.
Fast forward to the Shaftesbury Theatre version in the 80s which satisfied my longing to see Follies to some extent but didn't really show the depth of the characters or the underlying obsession between the past and the present.
My next vision of Follies was in Madrid, obviously in Spanish, but lovingly directed by Mario Gas who is well known in Spain for being a Sondheim champion. That version was worthy of more than one visit and it had some stellar performances.
So that brings us to the stunning production that I have just seen. Wonderful acting and vocal work. Imelda's vulnerability was spot on and her version of Losing My Mind broke my heart. Janie Dee showed the acerbic Phyllis and her most cruel but also at her kindest.Philip Quast vocally was perfect as Ben and Peter Forbes showed the right amount of tongue in cheekiness as the unfaithful Buddy. Josephine Barstow and Tracie Bennet also excelled in their roles as did so many others. The whole production really has left me with the feeling that I have had a long standing dream come true. It was so right in every way! I just wish I lived in London to be able to see it a few more times. Hopefully it will be recorded for release on dvd one of these days.In the meantime thanks for the memory Follies crew and cast.
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Follies
Sept 6, 2017 7:09:41 GMT
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Post by loureviews on Sept 6, 2017 7:09:41 GMT
I have to admit I thought some were miming too. I'm so glad some one else mentioned it! I didn't think the voice was coming from the source. Maybe that's a sound issue. Odd though! It's because they have microphones, which is unusual for the NT. I was four rows back from the stage and saw no evidence of anyone miming. |
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Post by wickedgrin on Sept 6, 2017 9:47:25 GMT
Press Night tonight! It has to get 4 and 5 star reviews I would have thought?
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Post by theatreian on Sept 6, 2017 9:51:20 GMT
Yes will be interesting to see the critics view after all the comments on here. Can't wait for my visit next Friday.
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Post by sf on Sept 6, 2017 11:06:28 GMT
Saw it yesterday afternoon.
Mostly loved it; the direction is terrific for the first three-quarters of the show, but stumbled during the Loveland sequence. Ben's breakdown and the ensuing chaos were nowhere near as strong as they should have been, and I don't think it was Philip Quast's fault. The final scene was very good indeed. Staunton gave a brilliant acting performance but the music is not a comfortable fit for her voice, Janie Dee was superb, and I liked the way Cooke made much greater use of the ghosts. Tracie Bennett's Carlotta a truly brilliant performance. Wonderful to see a production that uses the original book with only a handful of very tiny changes, and it shows how bad the revised version is (or rather, how bad the revised versions are, although the script seen at the Shaftesbury has never been performed since). The two hours and 20 minutes flew by, and I'm very glad I'll be seeing it again in December and January. Not perfect, but a richly-textured, complex, intelligent production of difficult material. It takes a few missteps, but a lot of it is thrilling.
I even bought souvenir merchandise - a 'the coffee cup/I think about you' mug and a 'still here' pin - and I never do that.
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Post by theatreian on Sept 6, 2017 14:52:27 GMT
Thanks for the info on the Mug. My partner collects these and we were not sure if they would do one. Will pick one up next Friday when we see the show at last.
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Follies
Sept 6, 2017 16:33:47 GMT
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Post by martin1965 on Sept 6, 2017 16:33:47 GMT
Thanks for the info on the Mug. My partner collects these and we were not sure if they would do one. Will pick one up next Friday when we see the show at last. All info on the NT shop site. There is other stuff as well. |
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Post by dazzerlump on Sept 6, 2017 17:08:20 GMT
I'll definitely be getting a mug and maybe even a badge or two
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2017 19:09:43 GMT
It really does deserve 4 and 5 star reviews... and if every review doesn't pin Tracie as the standout, it is just criminal!
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Post by loureviews on Sept 6, 2017 20:03:46 GMT
It really does deserve 4 and 5 star reviews... and if every review doesn't pin Tracie as the standout, it is just criminal! The more I think about it the more I realised how much I enjoyed it. So many great performances to choose from. Will be very interesting to see what the critics make of it. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2017 20:11:48 GMT
It really does deserve 4 and 5 star reviews... and if every review doesn't pin Tracie as the standout, it is just criminal! The more I think about it the more I realised how much I enjoyed it. So many great performances to choose from. Will be very interesting to see what the critics make of it. I agree, especially performance wise I realise I enjoyed it much more than I thought I did. I thought whoever sang Broadway Baby was fabulous too, that was the point at which I started to really get into it. Also god bless Zizi Strallen and the other one who got to shine near the end. I was a bit let down at first that for a lot of the show they just lurk (literally!), so it was nice to see her get to do proper dancing toward the end.
Although, I found the Loveland transformation a bit underwhelming, purely because I had heard that it was a big moment, I was wondering how they were gonna do it. I was expecting it to be a bit more dazzling, but they couldn't do much with it because of the set of the show anyway so you get what you are given. I also felt it dragged on a bit in that Loveland medley, after Imelda's number you were kinda just waiting for the last two to come up so it could end. But thankfully Janie's number at least was fantastic!
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Post by theatreian on Sept 6, 2017 21:25:37 GMT
Not long to wait for the reviews. Will be interesting to see how they marry up with views expressed on here by our own critics!
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Post by abitoftap on Sept 6, 2017 21:28:19 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2017 21:58:53 GMT
I rarely agree with Michael Billington but this time his thoughts match mine. Its a production that has stayed with me, weeks after seeing it.
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