Here's my view of the new edition of Follies: I'll start with the strengths- great, beautifully performed solo numbers sung with depth and passion by some of the very best musical-theater performers in the world: Jan Maxwell, who blows the roof off the theater, the lovely, lyrical Bernadette Peters, Danny Burstein whose comic turn surprises and delights (in the leading roles as part of the two older show-business couples, each of whom may have married the wrong person), and another three women who each do a show-stopping number and then disappear from the show: Terri White doing "Who's That Woman?", the fabulous, hilarious Jayne Houdyshell doing "Broadway Baby," and the magnificent Elaine Paige singing a killer "I'm Still Here."
So Follies makes for a terrific musical revue. The show, with a book by James Goldman, starts with figures from memory, costumed chorus girls, floating around as the older veterans of this theatre get together for a reunion. We meet the four principals and some of their former co-performers. Lots of exposition; nothing happens. It's a pretty slow start for this two-hour-and-forty-minute show. When the two couples interact, the play comes alive. Oh yes- the other man in the quartet is Ron Raines, who sings very well.
Ultimately, Follies is not "Memories of Showbiz." It's domestic controversy and betrayal with flashbacks to earlier days that were seeded with expectations. The present day acts as a kind of "After the Fairy Tale"- like Into the Woods.
With fabulous costumes, especially a pink and white fantasy, by Gregg Barnes; great visuals (set by Derek McLane, lighting by Natasha Katz); super choreography by Warren Carlyle and direction by Eric Schaeffer which keeps the Stephen Sondheim songs focused and the action moving, Follies is an entertaining musical with powerful songs and wonderful performances.
