Follies

[Being Alive]

There tonight.

Saw it 4 times last time. I’ve missed it. (If you want to know who I am, I’ll be that one in the front row that’s crying his eyes out the second the music starts... 🤷🏻‍♂️)

[Mr Snow]

Beautiful evening in London, very warm for February. But inside the Olivier the audience is chilled at least until Mirror and quite a large section never get into it

It does seem to be a slow start and the orchestra is mixed down. At least A dozen walkouts from our section of the Circle

Riding works for me but Hanson much less so

Right now I’m not sure I’ll bother to see this production again.

[Being Alive]

See, I loved this. Jo Riding is, for me, leaps ahead of Staunton (although I am unsure as to why they feel that new ending to Losing My Mind is necessary). Hansen, agreed, is less good, but he is still perfectly serviceable and sings it very well.

The newly choreographed Mirror number is pretty breath-taking, and the audience rightly went absolutely crackers for it. The one thing I came away with though, is that Janie Dee really deserved that Olivier last year - she truly is the definition of a triple threat, and seeing her do Lucy and Jessie is THRILLING.

Did miss Zizi Strallen and Alex Young in this I'll be honest, but got to bear in mind that was preview 3, and they've got time to perfect this with the changes. I'll certainly be back a few more times - it's just brilliant.

[couldileaveyou]

Being Alive Can you please tell us in a spoiler tag how's the ending of Losing My Mind? And is Joanna singing the score in the original key?

[sprampster]

Joanna Riding is just stunning in this ...

[mrbarnaby]

Staunton was miscast In this.. very excited to see Riding play the role. For me Imelda unbalanced the whole thing as much as I adore her.

[buckybear]

Feb 13, 2019 9:37:27 GMT dazzerlump said:

Feb 12, 2019 20:27:27 GMT @tbfl said:

I can't wait to see and hear Joanna Riding play Sally. If she can bring half of what she put into Julie Jordan in Carousel, she'll be fantastic. I'm far more excited for her than I was for Imelda Staunton.

I'm seeing it next Monday.

I'm completely with you on this, as much as I loved seeing Follies last time round, it was Joanna Riding's casting that made me book to see it again

[buckybear]

Joanna Riding is just superb in this, the standout performance of the show for me!

[raiseitup]

Feb 15, 2019 18:24:19 GMT couldileaveyou said:

Being Alive Can you please tell us in a spoiler tag how's the ending of Losing My Mind? And is Joanna singing the score in the original key?

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}
She removes her wig

[julian]

I enjoyed this again, they are previews so they are still working on the production. The actors work very hard to please an audience and want everyone to go home happy after a great evening. Its unkind to criticise any of them, they are all talented.

[tmesis]

I saw the previous cast twice and, with a few qualifications, enjoyed it greatly. I saw the (partially) new cast tonight and didn't enjoy it so much.

Still good:

Janie Dee - she's just fantastic; the complete performer and what a terrific dancer
Peter Forbes - he impressed me last time and now he's even better

Still bad:

Tracie Bennett - I'm a great fan of hers but I hate her mannered performance of 'I'm still here'. It's actually worse than before.

Not as good as before:

Alexander Hanson - he's nowhere near as good as Philip Quast. Vocally weaker and lacks charisma.
Joanna Riding - this is a tough one. She's a great music theatre artist and she did an excellent 'Losing my mind' She sings it with greater ease than Staunton but she is nowhere near as vulnerable and her acting is not as nuanced. Staunton also has a purer voice - Riding's vibrato is intrusive at times.

The sound quality was not great tonight.

It was great to see Felicity Lott as Heidi and she sang her duet, 'One More Kiss,' with Alison Langer exquisitely. What a great pastiche of Lehar this is.

[wickedgrin]

Overall this is still a fabulous production on its revival. If you have not seen it before - go.

However, at a preview performance last week I found I did not enjoy it quite as much as the original. Clearly it was a preview - some of the dialogue was slow, stepping on and off the revolve is clearly a challenge - not as easy as it looks I suspect, Janie Dee's dress got caught in her heel during "The Story of Lucy and Jessie" although she barely missed a step. All this will be sorted of course.

If you saw the original it is impossible not to compare and contrast. Alexander Hanson - not as good as Philip Quast - I thought he struggled with some of the score although he did get better as the evening progressed.

Joanna Riding gives a totally different performance to Imelda Staunton - her take on "Losing My Mind" is (how shall we say) "different". The end of the song does not work, however, and should be cut. Vocally she is fabulous and although I believed she was once a Follies Girl, she did not move me to tears as Imelda did.

Felicity Lott is wonderful but again not as effecting as Josephine Barstow (who takes on the role of Heidi from 6th May).

Tracie Bennett is even more mannered in her performance (if that were possible), her rendition of "I'm Still Here" almost a parody. I did not believe one word of the lyrics.

Billy Boyle and Myra Sands struggled with "Rain On The Roof".

I still have a few reservations about the staging - the crumbling theatre exterior on the revolve is pushed back half way through the show and the actors end up acting on a bare stage, in a void, which does not help them and I do feel the Loveland sequence - given the resources of the National could be more lavish.

However, there are still some stunning moments - the opening sequence with the "Beautiful Girls" coming down the staircase mirrored by there younger selves is fabulous.

"Ah Paree" sang by Geraldine Fitzgerald is a masterclass in knocking it out of the park.

The staging and choreography of the Mirror number is wonderful and stops the show. In fact it is THE highlight of the show!

The numbers - " In Buddy's Eyes", "One More Kiss", "Too Many Mornings" all highlights.

The undoubted star of the show though is Janie Dee who is absolutely superb. Her dialogue is crisp, funny, her put downs devastating. Her performance in "Lucy and Jessie" proves she can dance as well as sing. But her rendition of "Could I leave You" is better than I remember it - absolutely superb!

The orchestra are wonderful.

4 Stars.

[frankubelik]

Saw this again last night (after a WAITRESS matinee) and......while I still have major problems with the production (the fire escape staircase, the clunky "Loveland" transitions, the arrival of tap shoes for Sally & Phyllis, some of the costumes and much of the choreography), it was a pleasure to hear Felicity Lott and Claire Moore whose respective numbers were highlights. Not a fan of Ms Riding I was at least looking forward to hearing the role "sung" which it certainly wasn't previously. She was vocally disappointing until "Losing My Mind" which was great; the problem is she does not read middle-aged on stage which for me caused an imbalance. Alex Hanson sang everything sharply but otherwise was a solid Ben (although he's not a patch on Mr Quast) and Peter Forbes excellent. Ms Dee continues to crack on every note and Dawn Hope was on clicktrack just before the end of "Who's That Woman" (I was close enough to see her clearly out of sync with the vocal). Gemma Sutton registered better than her predecessor but I missed Zizi. The less said about Ms Bennett the better. The "tempi" was incredibly inconsistent tonight which was another frustration. I feel it would have been more interesting to recast the entire production but that's just me.

[julian]

In my experience people that criticise others in the acting world are just failed luvies that never got the roles they thought they should.......sad

[ensembleswings]

Seeing this for the first time tonight, can’t wait for it especially as I wanted to see it last time round but never made it that far. Slightly annoyed with myself for forgetting it’s 2 hours 15 straight through, booked the latest train home rather than the earlier one, at least it’ll give me time to walk back to Paddington and think over the show

[mrbarnaby]

For me this whole production still doesn’t land. The never ending revolve is so distracting and annoying and the whole show is just too busy.

Loveland looks like a sad mess still. Obviously the budget ran out at that point.

Alexander Hanson doesn’t deliver- his voice too effortful.

Tracie Bennett is now officially on another planet. Her ‘I’m Still Here’ noticeably not landing as it used to with the audience.

Has Who’s That Girl really been restaged? It didn’t look like it to me at all. It still underwhelms. Also- aren’t they supposed to MIRROR with their younger selves?

Joanna Riding did her usual strutting musical theatre walk and seemed very ill at ease in the role. Her voice not particularly pleasant to listen to. However, slowly she improves and her Losing My Mind is a major highlight. I for one loved the new ending. I can’t help but wish I was seeing Claire Moore play it again though (as she did brilliantly years ago). They just can’t seem to cast this role correctly. Imelda was wrong and fundamentally so is Riding.

I didn’t realise before quite how good Peter Forbes is.. it’s a hard role but he commits fully and his voice is a pleasure to listen to after the straining and forced effort of Riding and Hanson

The show is stolen (again) by Janie Dee who is class personified. Just when you think she can’t get any better she dances up a storm in her Follies number. How she doesn’t have a mantle piece of awards for this performance is beyond me!

[Distant Dreamer...]

Feb 19, 2019 9:17:43 GMT mrbarnaby said:

The show is stolen (again) by Janie Dee who is class personified. Just when you think she can’t get any better she dances up a storm in her Follies number. How she doesn’t have a mantle piece of awards for this performance is beyond me!

Janie is spectacular, and I believe she has won many awards of the years

[Deleted]

Perter Forbes was one of the highlights for me last year. He brought layers of complexity to that role that I had not seen done as well in previous productions. And Quast. That voice!

[eugene24]

What do you think it will be like for a person seeing follies for the first time . Im seeing it tomorrow so hopefully it might improve !

[Being Alive]

On a side note - does anyone know when the understudy run is for this?

[alece10]

I was at last nights performance and agree with a lot of the comments others have made about the current cast and production.
They are certainly getting their monies worth out of the revolve. I don't seem to remember it revolving as much last time, last night it hardly stopped at all.
Also agree that Joanna Riding gives a great performance in Losing My Mind but Imelda Staunton acted the role better.
Alex Hanson was good but agree Philip Quast was on another level.
Much preferred Di Botchers performance of Broadway Baby.
And yes, I had overlooked Peter Forbes performance last time, he really does bring so much to this role.
I enjoyed the "young" leads especially Harry Hepple.
Some have said that Tracie Bennet's performance is more manic than before but, to be honest, I could see no difference - still a highlight for me.
Agree that I think a click track is used at the end of Who's that Woman and it was noticeable from where I was sitting 5 rows from the front.
And yes, it really is Janie Dee's show.

Couple of minor wardrobe malfunctions last night. A bit of one of the headdresses fell of and shot across the stage at one point and in the Loveland routine one of the butterfly wing costumes was on the wrong way around.

A great show overall but I think I have seen Follies enough now for a few years.

[julian]

alece10, yes Ms Bennett got good applause so I can’t understand some of the comments on here. Come opening night the whole cast will be fabulous too

[julian]

Neither can I understand why Janie is getting all the credit for the tap dance routine when about ten of them are doing the same. They are all excellent

[distantcousin]

I'm very conflicted over whether to go again!

I'd love to see it again. As performers I love the new additions so it would seem a no brainer, but them I'm listening to the negativity here and seriously wondering.

I am a fan of Imelda but never thought she suited the role.

[Deleted]

I saw this on Monday and enjoyed it, though it could still do with some tightening up.

Joanna Riding is a very different Sally to Imelda's version. Staunton played Sally as someone who seemed quite brittle and overwhelmed by it all, Joanna Riding's version seemed to be having a whale of a time, until she wasn't. There was a very clear moment when you see Sally start to break and i liked that. Also i loved her version of Losing My Mind. It's a song i usually find dull, probably because its been overdone, but she really put everything into it and was a real highlight for me.

Alex Hanson was ok, but i definitely missed Quast's vocals.
I loved Claire Moore's Broadway Baby. She really gave it some welly at the end and she still has a fantastic voice.
Tracie Bennet.... i'm not a fan. I'm Still Here seemed so slow and none of it landed for me. Her voice is not pleasing to my ear.
The younger versions of the four leads seemed to lack the sparkle of the cast from last year.
I felt that Janie Dee was sounding strained, but she still gives a great performance.
Peter Forbes is still a revelation and gives a fantastic, rounded performance.

I've seen this version 3 times now, and don't feel the need for a 4th, though i would be interested to hear how Joanna Riding is later on in the run, as i think she a fantastic performer.