Follies

A show that is seldom performed by amateur Societies or even professionally, this is Sondheim’s affectionate farewell to all the old Broadway traditions of musical theatre which many of his other shows would make redundant.  To achieve this he copies the style of many other composers and towards the end the show resembles a revue as one number follows another with little or no dialogue between.

The plot, such as it is, concerns a reunion after many years of former showgirls as they re-visit the scene of their efforts, shortly before the theatre is due to be demolished. In particular, we meet two couples for whom the reunion stirs vivid memories of earlier relationships.  Throughout the evening, they meet their younger selves who appear on a raised platform above them.

All this presents something of a challenge for the performing group; it needs a number of more mature ladies and gentlemen, together with a similar number of youngsters, several of whom must be capable of delivering occasionally difficult numbers.  Perhaps this is a reason many Societies have avoided it.  This was not a problem here and this Society can be justifiably proud of its achievement.  Pauline Bird gave us an excellent rendition of perhaps the best known song, “Losing my Mind” whilst Pamela Atkinson, returning to the stage after an absence of 25 years, could not fail to have impressed any “Mr. Producer” who heard her performance of “Broadway Baby”.  It was fascinating that her alter ego as a youngster should be played by her own grand-daughter, whilst I also noticed some husband and wife, mother and daughter and father and son connections amongst the cast and crew.

We always knew that Sondheim was all about relationships but not always like these!

The first night suffered from some problems with the sound balance so that we lost some of the dialogue when there was an underscore from the on-stage and excellent orchestra but hopefully that was cured for the rest of the run.

This was a good choice for a Society which is not afraid of departure from the repertoire of better-known shows and audiences attending in encouraging numbers, proved that there is a demand for Sondheim’s work.                 

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