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THE SHOW
Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman got the inspiration for Follies (original title: The Girls Upstairs) from a 1966 article about a reunion of old showgirls. The show was originally conceived as a musical murder mystery, but this idea was later abandoned. After several drafts and a regional tryout the show opened on Broadway in April 1971 and won several Tony Awards. Follies was first produced in London in 1987, featuring a completely new book and five changed songs. In 2002 it was briefly revived at the Royal Festival Hall and last year received an acclaimed revival in a small-scale version at the Landor Theatre in South London.

Follies is widely recognised as one of the most important and effective musicals ever written.

THE STORY
The plot of Follies is centered on the theme of ageing and nostalgia.
The show is set in a crumbling old Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, where the impresario throws a reunion party for all the past members of the "Weismann's Follies", a musical revue (based on the Ziegfeld Follies) which played in that theatre between the World Wars.

The musical mostly focuses on two couples: Ben and Phyllis on one side, Buddy and Sally on the other. Sally and Phyllis were both showgirls in the Follies as are many of the other guests. Both marriages are having problems: Ben is so self-absorbed that Phyllis feels emotionally abandoned. Sally is still in love with Ben as she was years ago and Buddy is having an affair with a young girl.

The two couples interact with each other and other partygoers, and throughout the first half, musical numbers from the old Follies are performed by the characters, sometimes accompanied by the ghosts of their former selves. The second half contains a string of vaudeville-style numbers reflecting the characters' own problems and joys, before returning to the theatre for the end of the reunion party.

Detailed synopsis (from The Guide to Musical Theatre)

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION: Benjamin Stone
Ben is probably the most complex of the four leading characters in the show. Once a stage-door Johnny with his best mate Buddy (they used to wait each night for the Follies girls to come down from the theatre - 'Waiting for the Girls Upstairs'), Ben has ended up marrying one of them, Phyllis, though he had also developed a strong relationship to Sally, former best friend and flatmate of Phyl's.

Ben is now a Wall Street tycoon, who has also worked in Europe as a politician and a diplomat with the United Nations, and feels he has a good, successful life. For him the important thing is knowing what you want and he never thinks of the options he ignored earlier in his life ('The Road You Didn't Take').

Ben has an undeniable charm with women, something which makes his relationship to Phyllis rather troubled. She is constantly hurt by Ben's unresponsiveness and his lack of honesty and openly accuses him of fooling around with other women. Deep inside, Ben has always been afraid to feel things, and his marriage to Phyllis is probably the only impulsive thing he ever did. Meeting Sally again after so many years makes him realise that she has never stopped loving him and is ready to leave Buddy and marry him ('Too Many Mornings'). All Ben's principles begin to crumble: he certainly wants Phyllis to leave him, but is not sure he loves Sally after all: "There's no one in my life. There's nothing".

The most crucial moment of Ben's journey comes towards the end of the story, when, during the 'Loveland' Sequence, he sings about a certain Mr Whiz, a dandy who fends off his fears by living gaily ('Live, Laugh, Love'). But Ben forgets his lyrics and the song ends with him frantically justifying his choices to the chorus, which continues to sing and dance in an ever-rising cacophony, while Ben sinks in an emotional breakdown.

MUSICAL NUMBERS

ACT I
Prologue / Overture - The Follies Concert Orchestra
Beautiful Girls - Roscoe & Company
Don't Look at Me - Sally & Ben
Waiting for the Girls Upstairs - Buddy, Ben, Phyllis, Sally, Young Buddy, Young Ben, Young Phyllis & Young Sally

Montage:
Rain on the Roof - The Whitmans
Ah, Paris! - Solange
Broadway Baby - Hattie

The Road You Didn't Take - Ben
In Buddy's Eyes - Sally
Who's That Woman? - Stella & Company
I'm Still Here - Carlotta

ACT II
Entr'acte - Bolero d'Amore
Too Many Mornings - Ben & Sally
The Right Girl - Buddy
One More Kiss - Heidi Schiller & Young Heidi
Could I Leave You? - Phyllis

The Loveland Sequence - Loveland - Company

The Folly of Youth: You're Gonna Love Tomorrow - Young Ben & Young Phyllis
Love Will See Us Through - Young Buddy & Young Sally
Buddy's Folly: The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues - Mr Buddy Plummer
Sally's Folly: Losing My Mind - Mrs Sally Durant Plummer
Phyllis's Folly: The Story of Lucy and Jessie - Mrs Phyllis Rogers Stone
Ben's Folly: Live, Laugh, Love - Mr Benjamin Stone

Finale: Waiting for the Girls Upstairs / Beautiful Girls (reprise) - Roscoe & Company

(Source: Follies in Concert programme

One day at the Rehearsals of Follies PQG Team members Eli and Sue report As a theatregoer, getting the chance to attend the rehearsals of a show has always been one of my wildest dreams. So when the Sondheim Society launched the "Follies Rehearsals" auction last December I felt that I could not miss such a golden opportunity. Finally I could pursue a chance to live a full day behind the scenes of one of my best-loved Sondheim shows - featuring some of my favourite performers - AND at the same time help raising funds for a worthy cause (the Starlight Children Foundation). Lynne Chapman, Lady Jo McDonald, Doug Pinchin and the rest of the crew welcomed my friend and me most warmly to the rehearsal premises - a lofty room at the top floor of Her Majesty's theatre - and immediately made us feel part of the "Follies family". On our magical day the rehearsal schedule was entirely focused on the four leads: Philip Quast (Ben), Maria Friedman (Sally), Liz Robertson (Phyllis) and Tim Flavin (Buddy) worked on all their numbers, including many poignant dialogue scenes.

Sadly we weren't allowed to take any photographs during the rehearsals, but Sue drew lots of lovely sketches: here's one featuring the MD and the four leads while they rehearse 'The Girls Upstairs' around the piano.

PQG Team Member Sue and I were determined to behave as unobtrusively as possible, in order to cause the least disruption to the rehearsal process. We therefore felt particularly blessed whenever members of the cast or creative team came over to explain certain details or comment on certain numbers or simply check how we were doing.

Our expectations about the Gala immediately flew sky high as soon as we realised that the show would not be "just" a concert, but rather a very elaborate semi-staged production, with proper sets and props, careful blocking and full choreography. Those who attended the event in February had the chance to fully appreciate that.

As soon as the working day began we immediately realised that the approach to rehearsals would be delightfully friendly and relaxed, but also extremely diligent and professional. Everyone in the room was determined to work hard all day long, but always with a smile on their face. We were probably blessed to attend a dream rehearsal day, half way through the process, when things are starting to take a promising shape, motivation is at its peak and the dreaded "opening night" is not too close yet.

This ideal "ambiance" was probably also a consequence of the amazing chemistry among the four leads: the show was totally safe in their hands. As for the director Bill Deamer, he must be every actor's dream director! Every scene was analysed with extreme accuracy - different scripts were often cross-checked - and all the performers could have their say until the best solution was found. Teamwork at the highest level of excellence.

I have occasionally heard some performers say that for them the rehearsal phase is somehow more rewarding than the actual performance in front of a live audience. I can understand their point better now. There's so much creativity involved in the rehearsal stages, so many options available. As soon as the show opens at the theatre, technical constraints considerably reduce the performer's leeway for different readings of his/her role.

Indeed, witnessing first-hand those highly creative phases was like attending a crash course in Performing Arts and it was a rare privilege to discover each performer's favourite tricks and techniques to get into character more effectively or simply to memorize their lines.

Blissful hour after blissful hour all the different numbers were tackled, first more intimately around the piano, following the MD Richard Balcombe's careful instructions, then "onstage", where the blocking for each scene was thoroughly worked out. Many good-humoured moments were followed by highly emotional ones, it was amazing how the performers could switch from cheerful to tragic in matter of seconds.

It must be said that apart from a couple of lighter numbers (e.g. 'Waiting for the Girls Upstairs'), most of the leads' songs are renowned for their strong emotional thrust, which was immediately perceived by each and everyone in the room as soon as the piano started to play the opening bars.

Adding yet one more layer of icing on the cake, in the early afternoon the four leads were briefly joined by Liliane Montevecchi, who rehearsed Solange's 'Ah, Paree!' number. A remarkable lady, with tons of personality.

Once again, a heartfelt thanks to all the people involved in the "Follies in Concert" adventure for giving me and other passionate theatre lovers the opportunity to live some truly enthralling moments.

(A shorter version of this report was kindly published in the March 2007 issue of the SONDHEIM MAGAZINE, the Stephen Sondheim Society newsletter)

Follies Press Launch & Photo Call on 7th November 2006

The forthcoming Follies concert couldn't get a more glittering start than the one organized on Tuesday 7th November at William & Son's, one of the most prestigious jewellers in Mayfair (London).

Many members of the cast were attending, including Philip Quast, Liz Robertson, Laura Michelle Kelly, Summer Strallen, Trevor McDonald and Adam-Jon Fiorentino. Laura Michelle Kelly was wearing a tiara valued at £1,000,000 and the other leading ladies were wearing jewels from the William & Son collection. Champagne and appetizers were served while the cast and creatives were constantly posing for photographs and giving interviews to various members of the Press.

Neil Swann, chief executive of Starlight Children's Foundation, welcomed everybody and wished all the best to the "most outstanding production" of Follies which was being launched. He also briefly explained the charity's activities, which consist in granting wishes to terminally-ill children across the UK.

The producers of the Gala event, Doug Pinchin and Richard Morris, also made short speeches and encouraged everyone to come to the concert. Director and choreographer Bill Deamer added that he can't wait to start working with the whole cast.

Huge thanks to Lynne, Doug, Philip and Nina for their warm welcome!

Find another report (including a short interview with Philip Quast) and more photos at this link.

More photos from Rex Features.