Photo by Michael N. Todaro / Getty Images
Broadway Royalty Bernadette Peters is back in the revival of the Broadway classic Follies that I had the pleasure of seeing last week at the Marquis Theater in Times Square. A bit sleepy at times, Follies is the story of an unforgettable night when former members of the “Weismann’s Follies” reunite on the eve of their theater’s demolition. Read on to find out what (and who) I loved and what parts put me to sleep!
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First of all, if you follow theater at all, chances are you know who Bernadette Peters is. She’s been in shows such as A Little Night Music, Gypsy, Annie Get Your Gun and many more. She’s got two TONY wins under her belt and eight nominations in addition to three EMMY nominations and three Golden Globe nominations (winning once). All of this basically means that she’s a bad ass on stage and worth seeing in anything. I’m not exactly sure if this role was ideal for her as she doesn’t really come off as a “has been” in my eyes.
In the story, Sally Durant Plummer (played by Peters) is attending a reunion of sorts at the old theater she used to be a dancer at. She runs into her old best friend Phyllis Stone (played by Jan Maxwell) and her husband Benjamin Stone (played by Ron Raines). The two couples remember their glorious past and face the harsher realities of the present as the shadows of their younger selves remind them of the complicated steps they’ve danced—both on the stage and throughout their lives.
My favorite number by far was “Broadway Baby” performed by Jayne Houdyshell who was AWESOME. My other favorite performer was the very beautiful Elaine Paige who played Carlotta Campion. The one other thing I will say is how AMAZING the costumes were from all the “ghosts” in the background. I smell a TONY nomination for those costumes alone (which were designed by Gregg Barnes).
Be warned, this show is SLOW. To me, the second act was more enjoyable than the first but all and all, I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.
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