Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman . no children but everything else. She made her Broadway debut in 1967 in "How Now, Dow Jones" and went on to play roles in "Promises, Promises" and "Applause." The production starred Bob Gunton (Ben), Warren Berlinger (Dimitri Weismann), Patty Duke (Phyllis), Vikki Carr (Sally), Harry Groener (Buddy), Carole Cook (Hattie), Carol Lawrence (Vanessa), Ken Page (Roscoe), Liz Torres (Stella), Amanda McBroom (Solange), Grover Dale (Vincent), Donna McKechnie (Carlotta), Carole Swarbrick (Christine), Stella Stevens (Dee Dee), Mary Jo Catlett (Emily), Justine Johnston (Heidi), Jean Louisa Kelly (Young Sally), Austin Miller (Young Buddy), Tia Riebling (Young Phyllis), Kevin Earley (Young Ben), Abby Feldman (Young Stella), Barbara Chiofalo (Young Heidi), Trevor Brackney (Young Vincent), Melissa Driscoll (Young Vanessa), Stephen Reed (Kevin), and Billy Barnes (Theodore). Do again. At its very start, ghosts of Follies showgirls stalk the stage, mythic giants in winged, feathered, black and white opulence. of Ah, Paree! Casting a 'Follies' of the Future, With Beyonc and Ben Platt to read expert guidance for Broadway Baby and unlock other amazing theatre resources! of the derelict theatre Loveland rises - the apotheosis of a Weismann "[11], Joanne Gordon, author and chair and artistic director, Theatre, at California State University, Long Beach,[12][13] wrote "Follies is in part an affectionate look at the American musical theatre between the two World Wars and provides Sondheim with an opportunity to use the traditional conventions of the genre to reveal the hollowness and falsity of his characters' dreams and illusions. [43], Critics who had seen the production in New York (such as Frank Rich) found it substantially more "upbeat" and lacking in the atmosphere it had originally possessed. glad they came. Follies set, a fabulous wedding cake reaching for the stars, an The four characters are "whisked into a dream show in which each acts out his or her own principal 'folly'". Dimitri Weismann's reunion; they'll have to find out whether anything's (1999 Broadway Revival Cast) Cole Porter, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Michael Berresse & Amy Spanger. "[65], Theater writer and historian John Kenrick wrote "the bad news is that this Follies is a dramatic and conceptual failure. And as you keep learning and growing and studying your range, you know, grows and grows. SIMON: Does this story reach you now in a way it might not have during the 1970s? The younger Ben and Buddy softly call to their "girls upstairs", and the Follies end. Song Insights: 'One More Kiss', FOLLIES - BroadwayWorld.com A recording of the National Theatre production was released on January 18, 2019.[104]. HATTIE WALKER - After all these years, still a Broadway Baby. Sondheim, too, has added and removed songs that he judged to be problematic in various productions. 66. [40] The cast included Mary Millar (Sally Durant Plummer), Liz Izen (Young Sally), Meg Johnson (Stella Deems), Les Want (Max Deems), Betty Benfield (Heidi Schiller), Joseph Powell (Roscoe), Chili Bouchier (Hattie Walker), Shirley Greenwood (Emily Whitman), Bryan Burdon (Theodore Whitman), Monica Dell (Solange LaFitte), Jeannie Harris (Carlotta Campion), Josephine Blake (Phyllis Rogers Stone), Kevin Colson (Ben), Debbie Snook (Young Phyllis), Stephen Hale (Young Ben), Bill Bradley (Buddy Plummer), Paul Burton (Young Buddy), David Scase (Dimitri Weismann), Mitch Sebastian (Young Vincent), Kim Ismay (Young Vanessa), Lorraine Croft (Young Stella), and Meryl Richardson (Young Heidi). The music is so beautiful, classical, involved, intricate. Don't panic. Regine & Terrence Currier Will Not Transfer to Broadway with Kennedy ; later replaced by Marni Nixon), Larry Raiken (Roscoe) and an assortment of famous names from the past. 'Follies' features Broadway actress Kelli James Chase [56], The Dublin Concert was held in May 1996 at the National Concert Hall. It was directed by Prince and starred Dorothy Collins (Sally; replaced by Janet Blair), Alexis Smith (Phyllis), John McMartin (Ben; replaced by Edward Winter), Gene Nelson (Buddy), and Yvonne De Carlo (Carlotta) reprising their original roles. I thought I wasn't a Sondheim girl. It could be. Follies was performed in concert at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra[59] in February 1998 as the highlight of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and had three performances. He creates what's necessary for the piece. The song was "One More Kiss", and the compromise was that if there was time, it would be recorded, even if Jones couldn't promise it would end up on the album. [73] Tom Bosley originally was cast as Dimitri Weismann. "Loveland" has dissolved back into the reality of the crumbling and half-demolished theater; dawn is approaching. (Chapin, p. xi) Ted Chapin wrote, "Taken as a whole, the collection of reviews Follies received was as rangy as possible." [33], For commercial reasons, the cast album was cut from two LPs to one early in production. The theatermania.com reviewer wrote that "The result is an album that, more so than any of the other existing recordings, allows listeners to re-experience the heartbreaking collision of past and present that's at the core of the piece. (Chapin, p.300) In his The New York Times review of the original Broadway production, Clive Barnes wrote: "it is stylish, innovative, it has some of the best lyrics I have ever encountered, and above all it is a serious attempt to deal with the musical form." Broadway impresario Dimitri Weismann arranges a reunion of the actors, singers, dancers, and personalities who peopled his famous Follies in the years between the World Wars, as a farewell tribute to the doomed building. A celebrity panel meet the child of a well-known person, and guess who their parents are. Who's Next (Bonus Track Version) by The Who on Apple Music However, he thought that it was "wonderful" that, at the end of the first act, "the principal characters recognized their younger selves and were able to acknowledge them throughout the last thirty minutes of the piece. Only Carlotta seems Smith (Phyllis), John McMartin (Ben), Dorothy Collins (Sally) and [47] Clines further commented: "In part, the show is a tribute to musical stage history, in which the 57-year-old Mr Sondheim is steeped, for he first learned song writing at the knee of Oscar Hammerstein II and became the acknowledged master songwriter who bridged past musical stage romance into the modern musical era of irony and neurosis. overwhelming optimism, where skies are ever blue. I usually, once I've done it, I've explored it; I stay for a long time in shows. Christine Baranski played Carlotta, and Lucine Amara sang Heidi. '"[46] The Times critic Irving Wardle stated "It is not much of a story, and whatever possibilities it may have had in theory are scuppered by James Goldman's book a blend of lifeless small-talk, bitching and dreadful gags". Broadway Baby Lyrics - Follies - the Musical Lyrics Sally appears next, dressed as a torch singer, singing of her passion for Ben from the past - and her obsession with him now ("Losing My Mind"). The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Phyllis, having successfully seduced Kevin, one of the waiters, Several of the former showgirls perform their old numbers, often accompanied by the ghosts of their younger selves. [39], A full production ran at the Forum Theatre, Wythenshawe, England, from April 30, 1985, directed by Howard Lloyd-Lewis, design by Chris Kinman, costumes by Charles Cusick-Smith, lighting by Tim Wratten, musical direction by Simon Lowe, and choreographed by Paul Kerryson. For Buddy, life is all about findingThe Right screen goddess Carlotta Campion to the most nondescript chorine, by Stephen I'm Scott Simon. [19] However, the August 23, 2011 Broadway preview performance was performed without an intermission. serenades those Beautiful Girls, the now-elderly ing6nues Follies (New Broadway Cast Recording) - Apple Music It depends on how you like to work. It also highlights that the Follies were such an incredible mix of high art and low art. Even the songs we love are dangerous. Ms. PETERS: (as Sally Durant Plummer) (Singing) If I stick it long enough, I can get to strut my stuff. She shakes loose from the memory and begins to dance with Ben, who is touched by the memory of the Sally he once cast aside. Portions of the concert were seen by audiences worldwide in the televised documentary about the making of the concert, also released on videotape and DVD, of 'Follies' in Concert. Leading Lady / Broadway Baby / Another Openin' Another Show: Jill Perryman: 1975: Medley: Broadway Baby: Bernadette Peters: 1981: Broadway Baby: Dorothy Loudon: 1986: Broadway Baby: Daisy Eagan: February 23, 1993: Buddy in Arizona - cooking, flower-arranging, trips to the mall, their dressing rooms - but for Ben these memories awake old regrets a Follies girl. Read is the book writer, writing a new ending to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, alongside a score comprising the pop music of Grammy . Follies Original West End Musical Cast 1987 | West End World YOUNG HEIDI - The celebrated soprano in her heyday. The reunion, if it reunifies one couple, destroys another. The evening follows a reunion of the Weismann Girls who performed during the interwar period. Accuracy and availability may vary. reduced to mother r6Ies, but still hanging in there. hours after the show Waiting for the Girls Upstairs in Follies on Broadway (Revival 2001) - Musicals101 On her debut solo album, Broadway veteran Dorothy Loudon performs a set of theater songs she was too young to do on stage. Afterwards, though, Buddy's The-God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me-Blues begin Whose Baby? (TV Series 1973-1988) - IMDb The net result was four new songs For reasons which I've forgotten, I rewrote "Loveland" for the London production. However, it is clear that Sally is still in love with Ben even though their affair ended badly when Ben decided to marry Phyllis. Arlington, VA, Camp Director at Traveling Players Ensemble Bernadette Peters, who's stopped more shows on Broadway than the stagehands union, joins us in our studios. Broadway Baby The Road You Didn't Take Bolero d'Amour . Broadway Baby from Follies | StageAgent Sally tells Ben how her days have been spent with Buddy, trying to convince him (and herself) ("In Buddy's Eyes"). Follies (Musical) Plot & Characters | StageAgent Peter Marks of The Washington Post wrote that the revival "takes an audience halfway to paradise." PS Classics co-founder Tommy Krasker stated "We've never had the kind of reaction that we've had for Follies. THEODORE WHITMAN - Emily's husband. After previews from August 3, 2002, it opened officially on August 6, and closed on August 31, 2002. EMILY WHITMAN - The female half of a cheerful song and dance team. to read expert guidance for Broadway Baby and unlock other amazing theatre resources! A celebrated New York event since 2010 (Its a Hit! Finally, he wrote: "But Follies never makes fun of the honorable musical tradition to which it belongs. [80], The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts production at the Eisenhower Theater started previews on May 7, 2011, with an official opening on May 21, and closed on June 19, 2011. Road You Didn't Take). Other cast replacements included Millicent Martin as Phyllis. SIMON: When did you first realize that you could sing? The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the Ziegfeld Follies). [38] The production was the premiere attraction at the newly constructed 1,800-seat theater, which, coincidentally, was itself razed thirty years later (in 2002, in order to build a new office building), thus mirroring the Follies plot line upon which the musical is based. SIMON: And you were talking like this or something? [27] The 2017 National Theatre production is performed without an interval as well as largely returning to the 1971 book, James Goldmans widow no longer alive to insist on the revised script. In a shabby yet sparkling atmosphere of bittersweet nostalgia, a wide variety of faded glamour girls -- the famous Follies beauties of years gone by -- laugh, reminisce, brag, boast, express regret, and perform the musical numbers which made them famous, trailed by the ghostly memories of their younger selves. Hard-hitting drama about a man who discovers that he has fathered a child only when he is approached by a child support agency. a musical in one act. "Liner notes to original Broadway cast recording". Buddy then appears, dressed in "plaid baggy pants, garish jacket, and a shiny derby hat", and performs a high-energy vaudeville routine depicting how he is caught between his love for Sally and Margie's love for him[4] ("The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues"). that You're Gonna Love Tomorrow, and for young Sally and "[35] "One More Kiss" was omitted from the final release but was restored for CD release. [74] Having originated the young ghosts over 30 years prior, the actors portrayed the older versions of their Broadway roles. [125][126], In January 2015, it was reported that Rob Marshall signed on to direct, with Meryl Streep rumored to star. Ted Chapin[who?] The cast starred Julia McKenzie (Sally), Donna McKechnie (Phyllis), Denis Quilley (Ben) and Ron Moody (Buddy). [2], Originally titled The Girls Upstairs, the musical was to be produced by David Merrick and Leland Hayward in late 1967, but the plans ultimately fell through, and Stuart Ostrow became the producer, with Joseph Hardy as director. It starred Toni Lamond (Sally),[60] Jill Perryman(Carlotta), Judi Connelli (Phyllis), Terence Donovan (Ben), Nancye Hayes (Hattie), Glenn Butcher (Buddy), Ron Haddrick (Dimitri), Susan Johnston (Heidi),[61] and Leonie Page, Maree Johnson, Mitchell Butel, Maureen Howard. He is a salesman, in his early 50s, appealing and lively,[4] whose smiles cover inner disappointment. are gleefully dusting off their old acts: Theodore and Emily Copyright 2011 NPR. "Sondheim's 'Follies' closes despite packed performances; Run of the show ends with the expiration of special Equity deal". Stephen Sondheim | "Broadway Baby" - The New York Times and matronly starlets, veterans of a more innocent age of entertainment, This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. YOUNG PHYLLIS - A showgirl in the chorus of the final edition of Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Ms. PETERS: She is horribly disappointed with her life, comes back to the Follies Theater that she performed in 30 years ago, where she was the happiest in her life, and trying to recapture the happiness again and think she is actually, that evening. It is 1971, and the iconic Weismann Theater, now a crumbling shell of its former glory, is about to be demolished to provide precious New York City parking space. Ms. PETERS: I don't know. is by now wondering Could I Leave You and live without Ben, She had nodes that she had to have removed. the giddy hopefuls of 1940. That, if I'm good enough for you, you're not good enough SIMON: When did the relationship with Stephen Sondheim begin - looking back on it? The majority of the Broadway cast reprised their roles, with the exception of Bernadette Peters, who had prior concert commitments and was replaced by Victoria Clark in the role of Sally, a role she has previously played in New York. The director and choreographer was Casey Nicholaw. This page was last edited on 24 April 2023, at 21:33. Follies - Everything Sondheim he is at everything - but his song gradually starts to go wrong. "When Follies opened in London it had an entirely different, and significantly more optimistic, tone. Finally, Weismann enters to greet his guests. Sally is bitter, having never been happy with Buddy, although he has always adored her. It was directed and staged by Stephen Lloyd Helper and produced by Helper and Alistair Thomson for Mardi Gras. ON THE RECORD: Hats Off! A Survey of Follies Recordings - Playbill "[114] On the other hand, Martin Gottfried wrote: "Follies is truly awesome and, if it is not consistently good, it is always great. 'Follies'. YOUNG STELLA - The singer and dancer as she was in 1940. Resplendent in top hat and tails, Ben begins to offer his devil-may-care philosophy ("Live, Laugh, Love"), but stumbles and anxiously calls to the conductor for the lyrics, as he frantically tries to keep going. They all shout hysterically at each other, screaming out all I like the run and I like to keep going deeper and deeper and see what I can learn and experience about life. whose name became a byword for style and opulence. to get him down, as he scuttles frantically between mistress and Group Sales Associate at Broadway at The National It starred Alexis Smith (Phyllis), John McMartin (Ben), Dorothy Collins (Sally), Gene Nelson (Buddy), along with several veterans of the Broadway and vaudeville stage. times, she's grateful just to have got through it, and confidently waltzes. "Could I Leave You?" - Phyllis. The Who's fifth studio effort is an exhilarating rock 'n' roll masterpiece stacked with killer songs that made it a staple of '70s rock radio. [18], Goldman continued to revise the book of the musical right up to his death, which occurred shortly before the 1998 Paper Mill Playhouse production. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the Ziegfeld Follies ). The young sweethearts Ben and Phyllis promise each other HEIDI SCHILLER - A 90-year old Broadway legend, whose ringing soprano inspired the operetta kings to produce their lushest waltzes. I hadn't read the script until about a year ago. The former radio star Ethel Shutta was 74 when she originated the role and debuted its great song "Broadway Baby"; her own Broadway debut was in 1922. descend the famous Follies staircase one last time. Rosemary Clooney says her present show at Rainbow & Stars will be her last. It is 1970 and on the stage of the Weismann Theatre, Book by James Goldman. [49], Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT) was the first major American opera company to present Follies as part of their main stage repertoire, running from October 21, 1988, through November 6. The production was broadcast live to cinemas worldwide on November 16 through the National Theatre Live program. Directed by Matthew Warchus with choreography by Kathleen Marshall, it starred Blythe Danner (Phyllis), Judith Ivey (Sally), Treat Williams (Buddy), Gregory Harrison (Ben), Marge Champion, Polly Bergen (Carlotta), Joan Roberts (Laurey from the original Broadway production of Oklahoma! really changed in their lives. is a 1917 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson. He tells Sally that he's done, but she is lost in a fantasy world and tells him that Ben has asked her to marry him. Buddy and Ben, the theatre seems haunted by their younger selves, [81] The cast starred Bernadette Peters as Sally, Jan Maxwell as Phyllis, Elaine Paige as Carlotta, Linda Lavin as Hattie, Ron Raines as Ben and Danny Burstein as Buddy. Follies review - Sondheim's showbiz stunner returns in breathtaking Phyllis Rogers Stone, a stylish and elegant woman,[4] arrives with her husband Ben, a renowned philanthropist and politician. The cast included Anne Rogers, Jo Anne Worley and Philip Bosco. Ben, goaded, starts to argue with Phyllis, And as years went on and I got out of that bad habit, my real voice revealed itself. to Ben as they meet for the first time in years. She then tells Ben that their marriage can't continue the way it has been. Like an actor turns himself into another character. "[14] "Follies contains two scores: the Follies pastiche numbers and the book numbers. Follies By Rick Pender Follies original poster Follies, Sondheim's seventh Broadway production, began as The Girls Upstairs, a collaboration with bookwriter James Goldman about some young women in a Ziegfeld-like extravaganza and the stage-boy Johnnies who courted them. Most songs were therefore heavily abridged and several were left entirely unrecorded. [50][51], A production also ran from March to April 1995 at the Theatre Under the Stars, Houston, Texas, and in April to May 1995 at the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle with Constance Towers (Phyllis), Judy Kaye (Sally), Edie Adams, Denise Darcel, Virginia Mayo, Maxene Andrews (Hattie), and Karen Morrow (Carlotta). Laurence Olivier Award for Musical of the Year, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical, "Bernadette Peters on 'Follies' and Puppies", "Faculty, Theatre Arts, California State University, Long Beach", "Song list and acts, 2005 Barrington Stage", "2001 Broadway revival song list and acts", "By the Book: Broadway Revival of 'Follies' Performed Without Intermission Aug. 23", "Kennedy Center 'Follies' Steps onto Broadway", "Abstract-'Follies' musical opens at Colonial", "Stage View; Sondheim's 'Follies' Evokes Old Broadway", "Loss of Shubert Alters Face of L.A. Theater", "Follies at the Forum Theatre, Wythenshawe, partial listing", "Concert Performances of Sondheim's Follies Win Sydney Raves", "Roundabout's Revival of Follies Starts Previews at Belasco, March 8", "Peters Withdraws from London Follies; Casting Almost Complete", "What Follies! I had always was aware of his shows but I never thought I'd ever be in any of his shows. the resurrection of their distant pasts only serves to point Panic-stricken, he rushes off, screaming (Soundbite of song, "The God Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues"). ", "Little White House", "It Wasn't Meant to Happen", "Pleasant Little Kingdom", "That Old Piano Roll Rag", "The World's Full of Girls", "Bring On The Girls"[7] [8] and "Uptown Downtown". The once resplendent theater is now little but planks and scaffolding ("Prologue"/"Overture"). You know, when I went to see "A Little Night Music," before I was even knew I was going to be in it, the music started and I went: Oh my God, I can't believe the person that wrote all those other things also wrote this. Solange purrs her way through the fake Gallic sophistication [85] The four principal performers reprised their roles, as well as Paige as Carlotta. you can't turn the clock back: as Heidi Schiller reminds us in Ben yells at his younger self for not appreciating all the work that Phyllis did. Sondheim's songs aren't parodies or deconstructions; they are evocations that recognize the power of a love song. Ben tells Sally The Paper Mill Playhouse production used some elements from London but stayed close to the original. : Directed by Rebecca Frayn. [53] "Ah, but Underneath" was substituted for "The Story of Lucy and Jessie" in order to accommodate non-dancer Hoty. and sleek. Ms. PETERS: Wow. The reason the final curtain came down Saturday was that being a production by the Roundabout Theatre Company a subscription-based 'not-for-profit' theater company it was presented under special Equity terms, with its actors paid a minimal fee. Against this volatile atmosphere of drunken remembrances, a decades-old love quadrangle receives a revival when Follies dancers Sally and Phyllis, and their respective husbands, Buddy and Ben -- who used to hang around backstage, waiting for their girls -- meet again. Carlotta amuses a throng of admirers with a tale of how her dramatic solo was cut from the Follies because the audience found it humorous, transforming it as she sings it into an anthem-like toast to her own hard-won survival ("I'm Still Here"). Bennett also reprised her Olivier-nominated performance. Ms. PETERS: Oh, definitely, because I was really a kid. What is. Darkness Around the Spotlight", " 'Good Times and Bum Times': Broadway Revival of 'Follies' Exceeds Expectations, But Doesn't Recoup", "Victoria Clark Will Be Sally in L.A. Follies with Elaine Paige, Jan Maxwell, Danny Burstein, Ron Raines", "Review: 'Follies' is a source of heartache and razzmatazz", "Follies in Concert review stars align in Melbourne for rare and exhilarating night of Sondheim", "Follies in Concert review [Melbourne 2016]", "Imelda Staunton to Star in London Follies", "National Theatre Announces Additional Casting for Angels in America and Follies", "Full Casting Announced for Follies at National Theatre", "National Theatre Live to Broadcast Follies this November", "Follies cast recording released on Spotify and iTunes", "Follies in Concert - Melbourne Recital Centre", "Show Business: The Once and Future Follies", "Stage: Concert Version of 'Follies' Is a Reunion", "That Old Feeling III: The Ghosts of Broadway", "Review:'Follies':Oh, Those Sharp Stones in a Dance Down Memory Lane", "Grammy Nominees for Musical Album Include 'Nice Work', 'Once', 'Follies', 'Newsies' and 'Porgy and Bess'; Shaiman & Wittman, Too", "Follies to return to National Theatre and release cast recording", "Is a Follies Film With Meryl Streep in the Works? Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The resulting album was more complete than the original cast album. Thanks very much for being with us. Whose Baby? For Sally and Buddy, Phyllis and Ben, Whitman recall their sweetly naive duct, Rain on the Roof: Girl and he has, sort of. Former Weismann performers at the reunion include Max and Stella Deems, who lost their radio jobs and became store owners in Miami; Solange La Fitte, a coquette, who is vibrant and flirtatious even at 66; Hattie Walker, who has outlived five younger husbands; Vincent and Vanessa, former dancers who now own an Arthur Murray franchise; Heidi Schiller, for whom Franz Lehr once wrote a waltz ("or was it Oscar Straus?" [124] The 2017 London revival cast was recorded after the production closed in January 2018, and was released in early 2019. with Live, Love, Laugh, singing of how clever and adept The MOT production starred Nancy Dussault (Sally), John-Charles Kelly (Buddy), Juliet Prowse (Phyllis) and Ron Raines (Ben), Edie Adams (Carlotta), Thelma Lee (Hattie), and Dennis Grimaldi (Vincent). ", "Who Could Be Blue? Kelli Rabke sings "Broadway Baby" from Follies at 54 Below SIMON: All the featured roles you've played on Broadway, including several obviously noteworthy Sondheim roles, I mean: "Annie Oakley," Mama Rose in "Gypsy," Witch in "Into the Woods," where does Sally Durant Plummer fit in? But "[116], Frank Rich, in reviewing the 1985 concert in The New York Times, wrote: "Friday's performance made the case that this Broadway musical can take its place among our musical theater's very finest achievements. CARLOTTA CAMPION - A resilient motion picture star, once a vamp, then The clarion-voiced Philip Quast has three Olivier Awards to his name and is bound to be considered for a fourth in due course for his soul-stirring performance as Ben Stone in the National Theatre . Ben admits to Phyllis his admiration for her, and Phyllis shushes him and helps Ben regain his dignity before they leave. BENJAMIN STONE - A big man on Wall Street, with a chic Manhattan wife, He noted, though, that "I'm sorry the cast was reduced from 52 to 38, the orchestra from 26 players to 14 To appreciate the revival, you must buy into James Goldman's book, which is peddling a panoramically bleak take on marriage." I'll see you later blues. Upgrade to PRO Suddenly, at the peak of madness and confusion, the couples are engulfed by their follies, which transform the rundown theater into a fantastical "Loveland", an extravaganza even more grand and opulent than the gaudiest Weismann confection: "the place where lovers are always young and beautiful, and everyone lives only for love".