©The Star-Ledger 4/27/1998 A Fabulous 'Follies' Paper Mill scores big with star-studded revival By Peter Filichia
What an achievement! The Paper Mill Playhouse took its biggest gamble in years, perhaps ever, when it decided to produce Follies. The 1971 musical is rarely revived. It's expensive to do. It requires a large cast that can maneuver through Stephen Sondheim’s fabulously demanding songs, a choreographer who can erase the seemingly indelible dances of Michael Bennett, not to mention a director who must attempt to at least match what Bennett and Harold Prince originally brought to their mammoth production. Last and hardly least, Follies’ plot and theme gives an audience a great deal — some say too much — on which to ruminate. Robert Johanson and Jerry Mitchell's production conquers almost every one of many obstacles. If you're the type of theatergoer who gets goosebumps when a show is thrilling you, your flesh is going to reach new heights. Heights as high as what Paper Mill has achieved. James Goldman's book takes us to an old theater on the night before it faces the wrecking ball. The former owner, Dimitri Weismann (the endearing Eddie Bracken), has decided to hold a reunion to which he's invited anyone who appeared in the Follies he annually produced between the World Wars. So here they are, the once-beautiful girls who used to be clad in spangles, now in spectacles, sensible shoes and support hose. Hattie Walker (Kaye Ballard). Stella Deems (Phyllis Newman). Solange La Fitte (Liliane Montevecchi). Carlotta Campion (Ann Miller). It's not long before they're doing the songs that made them famous. Montevecchi is ooo-la-la enchanting in "Ah, Paris!" Ballard rips through "(I'm Just a) Broadway Baby" with the exuberance that only a great Great White Way veteran such as she could deliver. Newman is charming in "Who's That Woman?", leading everyone in the big chorus number they once did, and showing she sure can remember those steps of 30 years ago. At Friday's opening, the applause for each was about twice as long as what you hear at the end of the average Broadway number. That goes for three other old pros, too: Donald Saddler and Natalie Mosco, who play dancers extraordinaire in both a jaunty number and a bolero, and Carol Skarimbas, as an opera diva of yore. Jim Coleman's sprightly musical direction of a terrific- sounding orchestra served everyone well. But the biggest hand of all went to Ann Miller, who's now closer to her 80th birthday than she is to her 70th. No, she doesn’t dance, for her role doesn't require that, but she does give us that classic, single-parenthesis stance whenever she can. "I should have gone to an acting school," she sings in her big number, "I'm Still Here," and it's true. Dialogue doesn't sit in her mouth as comfortably as a lyric. No matter. When she sings that she's been through good times and bum times, "rest cures, religion and pills," we're seeing someone who has. No one trumped Ann Miller all night long. Her leaving the stage took quite a while, what with all the yelling, screaming, and clapping from the crowd that didn't want to see her go. To be frank, it was a bit of a downer to go from that high point to the book scene that followed. That’s been Follies’ bugaboo these last 27 years. After you see and hear a fabulous Sondheim song, you have to return to the lives of Ben and Phyllis, Buddy and Sally. These are two long-married couples who met when the women were Weismann Girls and the men were Stage Door Johnnies. Sally always had a thing for Ben, and was devastated when he married her roommate Phyllis. Perhaps tonight they can get back together? Not that the miserable unhappy (though prosperous) Ben is much of a prize, as Phyllis will readily tell you. "When did you love me last?" she asks him. "Did you ever contemplate divorce?" If you've ever thought you should have married someone else — or if you've ever assumed that your spouse has pondered the same question — you'll find that Follies will make you face the facts. Those whose marriages are in trouble may not enjoy the show, despite its many merits. The musical's clever conceit is that we not only see these people as they are today, but as they were. The ghosts of their past appear onstage with them — young Ben, young Buddy, et al. In a move that's more "Twilight Zone" than Broadway musical, they start to see their ghosts, and eventually interact with them. That does, though, lead to a fascinating question: If you ever had to confront your younger self, would you be able to justify what you became to this idealistic youth? (Those of us with children somewhat have this experience quite often.) Follies has often been called bleak, because it focuses on these unhappy couples. Ironically enough, its fault may be that it's ultimately too optimistic. As many of us have experienced, relationships become time-worn and more complicated. Irritating habits and grudges are not easily forgiven by injured parties. The way the book answers these problems may strike you as Pollyanna-simplistic. While we may believe that a marriage can be destroyed in a single evening, we may have a harder time becoming convinced that it can be saved in the same time span. Could two like these be saved at all? Whatever those failings, you can't blame the four fine performers who play the warring marrieds. As Phyllis, Dee Hoty brings the statuesque beauty and posture you associate with goddesses, and mixes it with musical fervor when delivering her icy-cold songs. Laurence Guittard may seem stiff and edgy, but as time goes on, we see that's the character, who's en route to disaster. How well he hits his high notes. As for Tony Roberts' Buddy, here's a man who shines in his Top Banana vaudeville number, but can aptly display the raw feelings he experiences in his and his wife's failings during the rest of the show. Donna McKechnie has been known as one of Broadway's supreme dancers, and she shows she can still negotiate every step that comes her way. But Sally is the most complex role she's ever played, for its emphasis is on singing and acting. She accomplishes each extraordinarily well. Somewhere in heaven, her former husband-mentor Michael Bennett is wildly smiling at her achievements. As their four younger counterparts, Meredith Patterson, Michael Gruber, Billy Hartung, and Danette Holden all score delightfully. Late in the show, these four get their own song, where they warn their future spouses of their failings ("I may burn the toast"), only to hear their intendeds pooh-pooh every objection ("Oh, well!"). Their execution of the number — and the applause that followed — was commensurate with what their elders received. Don't be surprised if these four are the headliners in the mid-21st century all-star revival of Follies. Set designer Michael Anania smartly spent his budget building a false proscenium that masks the stage. It replicates the ornate look that only a theater of yesteryear could have. Beyond that, there isn't all that much scenery, nor is there a need for it. Because the show is set in a vacant theater, it can empty its stage to the back walls, and create a convincing mood. What's more, Gregg Barnes' stunning costumes and Mark Stanley's highly evocative lighting add what's required. One other important feature. Johanson and Mitchell have the benefit of a stage that is much larger than is found in many Broadway theaters. So today's scenes can be close-up-front, while the distant memories of the past are set on a distant part of the stage. A show this deep needs a stage this deep, and Paper Mill can deliver that. Which brings up the most salient point of all. What current Broadway production can boast of a cast whose Tony Award pedigree rings in at 13 nominations and three winners? None. When New York wants to do a revival of Follies it must settle for a concert. New Jersey, thanks to Paper Mill, is able to give you a full production. And a full, fabulous production it is. Isn't it about time that the Tony Awards recognize the Paper Mill Playhouse as Outstanding Regional Theater? This production of Follies makes the best case for it yet. main Follies page

©The Star-Ledger
4/27/1998

A Fabulous 'Follies'
Paper Mill scores big with star-studded revival
By Peter Filichia

What an achievement!

The Paper Mill Playhouse took its biggest gamble in years, perhaps ever, when it decided to produce Follies. The 1971 musical is rarely revived. It's expensive to do. It requires a large cast that can maneuver through Stephen Sondheim’s fabulously demanding songs, a choreographer who can erase the seemingly indelible dances of Michael Bennett, not to mention a director who must attempt to at least match what Bennett and Harold Prince originally brought to their mammoth production. Last and hardly least, Follies’ plot and theme gives an audience a great deal — some say too much — on which to ruminate.

Robert Johanson and Jerry Mitchell's production conquers almost every one of many obstacles. If you're the type of theatergoer who gets goosebumps when a show is thrilling you, your flesh is going to reach new heights. Heights as high as what Paper Mill has achieved.

James Goldman's book takes us to an old theater on the night before it faces the wrecking ball. The former owner, Dimitri Weismann (the endearing Eddie Bracken), has decided to hold a reunion to which he's invited anyone who appeared in the Follies he annually produced between the World Wars.

So here they are, the once-beautiful girls who used to be clad in spangles, now in spectacles, sensible shoes and support hose. Hattie Walker (Kaye Ballard). Stella Deems (Phyllis Newman). Solange La Fitte (Liliane Montevecchi). Carlotta Campion (Ann Miller).

It's not long before they're doing the songs that made them famous. Montevecchi is ooo-la-la enchanting in "Ah, Paris!" Ballard rips through "(I'm Just a) Broadway Baby" with the exuberance that only a great Great White Way veteran such as she could deliver. Newman is charming in "Who's That Woman?", leading everyone in the big chorus number they once did, and showing she sure can remember those steps of 30 years ago. At Friday's opening, the applause for each was about twice as long as what you hear at the end of the average Broadway number.

That goes for three other old pros, too: Donald Saddler and Natalie Mosco, who play dancers extraordinaire in both a jaunty number and a bolero, and Carol Skarimbas, as an opera diva of yore. Jim Coleman's sprightly musical direction of a terrific- sounding orchestra served everyone well.

But the biggest hand of all went to Ann Miller, who's now closer to her 80th birthday than she is to her 70th. No, she doesn’t dance, for her role doesn't require that, but she does give us that classic, single-parenthesis stance whenever she can. "I should have gone to an acting school," she sings in her big number, "I'm Still Here," and it's true. Dialogue doesn't sit in her mouth as comfortably as a lyric. No matter. When she sings that she's been through good times and bum times, "rest cures, religion and pills," we're seeing someone who has.

No one trumped Ann Miller all night long. Her leaving the stage took quite a while, what with all the yelling, screaming, and clapping from the crowd that didn't want to see her go.

To be frank, it was a bit of a downer to go from that high point to the book scene that followed. That’s been Follies’ bugaboo these last 27 years. After you see and hear a fabulous Sondheim song, you have to return to the lives of Ben and Phyllis, Buddy and Sally.

These are two long-married couples who met when the women were Weismann Girls and the men were Stage Door Johnnies. Sally always had a thing for Ben, and was devastated when he married her roommate Phyllis. Perhaps tonight they can get back together? Not that the miserable unhappy (though prosperous) Ben is much of a prize, as Phyllis will readily tell you. "When did you love me last?" she asks him. "Did you ever contemplate divorce?"

If you've ever thought you should have married someone else — or if you've ever assumed that your spouse has pondered the same question — you'll find that Follies will make you face the facts. Those whose marriages are in trouble may not enjoy the show, despite its many merits.

The musical's clever conceit is that we not only see these people as they are today, but as they were. The ghosts of their past appear onstage with them — young Ben, young Buddy, et al. In a move that's more "Twilight Zone" than Broadway musical, they start to see their ghosts, and eventually interact with them.

That does, though, lead to a fascinating question: If you ever had to confront your younger self, would you be able to justify what you became to this idealistic youth? (Those of us with children somewhat have this experience quite often.)

Follies has often been called bleak, because it focuses on these unhappy couples. Ironically enough, its fault may be that it's ultimately too optimistic. As many of us have experienced, relationships become time-worn and more complicated. Irritating habits and grudges are not easily forgiven by injured parties. The way the book answers these problems may strike you as Pollyanna-simplistic. While we may believe that a marriage can be destroyed in a single evening, we may have a harder time becoming convinced that it can be saved in the same time span. Could two like these be saved at all?

Whatever those failings, you can't blame the four fine performers who play the warring marrieds. As Phyllis, Dee Hoty brings the statuesque beauty and posture you associate with goddesses, and mixes it with musical fervor when delivering her icy-cold songs. Laurence Guittard may seem stiff and edgy, but as time goes on, we see that's the character, who's en route to disaster. How well he hits his high notes. As for Tony Roberts' Buddy, here's a man who shines in his Top Banana vaudeville number, but can aptly display the raw feelings he experiences in his and his wife's failings during the rest of the show.

Donna McKechnie has been known as one of Broadway's supreme dancers, and she shows she can still negotiate every step that comes her way. But Sally is the most complex role she's ever played, for its emphasis is on singing and acting. She accomplishes each extraordinarily well. Somewhere in heaven, her former husband-mentor Michael Bennett is wildly smiling at her achievements.

As their four younger counterparts, Meredith Patterson, Michael Gruber, Billy Hartung, and Danette Holden all score delightfully. Late in the show, these four get their own song, where they warn their future spouses of their failings ("I may burn the toast"), only to hear their intendeds pooh-pooh every objection ("Oh, well!"). Their execution of the number — and the applause that followed — was commensurate with what their elders received. Don't be surprised if these four are the headliners in the mid-21st century all-star revival of Follies.

Set designer Michael Anania smartly spent his budget building a false proscenium that masks the stage. It replicates the ornate look that only a theater of yesteryear could have. Beyond that, there isn't all that much scenery, nor is there a need for it. Because the show is set in a vacant theater, it can empty its stage to the back walls, and create a convincing mood. What's more, Gregg Barnes' stunning costumes and Mark Stanley's highly evocative lighting add what's required.

One other important feature. Johanson and Mitchell have the benefit of a stage that is much larger than is found in many Broadway theaters. So today's scenes can be close-up-front, while the distant memories of the past are set on a distant part of the stage. A show this deep needs a stage this deep, and Paper Mill can deliver that.

Which brings up the most salient point of all. What current Broadway production can boast of a cast whose Tony Award pedigree rings in at 13 nominations and three winners? None. When New York wants to do a revival of Follies it must settle for a concert. New Jersey, thanks to Paper Mill, is able to give you a full production. And a full, fabulous production it is. Isn't it about time that the Tony Awards recognize the Paper Mill Playhouse as Outstanding Regional Theater? This production of Follies makes the best case for it yet.

main Follies page