Girls, I Am Telling You, The Line To The Men's Room Was Out The Door!!!!!!!!! Well, What Do You Expect????????? It's "Follies"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darlings, I have to tell you, a new gay bar has opened in Midtown. It is called the Marquis Theatre. And it has been deemed such by yours truly, as it is currently housing the acclaimed Kennedy Center revival of the Holy Grail of Sondheim classics, "Follies," so every queen from both sides of the Hudson and beyond (Connecticut, and such!) are flocking like pilgrims to the shrine at Lourdes. And like those pilgrims they are coming away spiritually salvaged. For, I am happy to say, THIS "Follies" gets it right.

Before I go any further, let me answer what everyone wants to know. Yes, the "Who's That Woman?" number DOES blow the roof off the theater!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How appropriate this is happening in what happens to be "Follies'" 40th anniversary year. Now, there have been many attempts in those years to mount a production that always had its original as an obstacle to any others. Those who were fortunate enough to see it, those like me who cut their teeth on the Original Cast recording, who have studied photos and footage of that production, know it cannot possibly be duplicated. But certain things have to be in place for "Follies" to work--an uncut rendering of the score, with the original Jonathan Tunick orchestrations, a vocally and dramatically strong ensemble, down to the smallest bit players, and a top production design team whose set and lighting work can mime both a ghostly, decrepit theater, and recreate the lavishness of shows during the Ziegfeld age.
Oh, and ghosts! It HAS to have ghosts!!!!!

This production has everything mentioned, and then some. It took me several minutes to adjust, as I walked into the theater. For, a good half hour before the curtain goes up, we are witness to a theater set that looks like the remnants of Miss Havisham's Satis House. Moreover, it takes awhile to register, that on the loudspeakers, are being piped in ghostly sounds of performance excerpts and applause from a long vanished theatrical past. This is a brilliant move on the creators' part, to prepare the audience for what it is to see. What is also brilliant, and takes some time to realize, is that the ghosts are already strolling about the stage, peering out at the audience that has come to watch their manifestations. But, believe me, the queens who are flocking to this, darling, know damn well what they are seeing. And they demand, and did demand, absolute silence once the lights went down. During the two hours and forty minutes of this "Follies," you literally could hear a pin drop. I have seldom seen so attentive and intense an audience.

The lights go down. The drum roll begins. And suddenly, those ominous, discordant three notes, with the strings lifting upward, are heard. Then, slowly, a ghost starts moving across the stage, followed by others on this three level set. We are watching a ballet of phantoms, who seamlessly blend in with the arriving party goers for the evening. And what an evening! With one of the darkest books ever for a musical, and a score that is one gem after another, "Follies", at least as it is presented here, is not only a perfect evening of theater, but the BEST musical revival I have seen since Lincoln Center did "Carousel" back in 1994. Yes, darlings, it is THAT good. And I remember I went back to "Carousel" twice. I have no doubt I will be returning to "Follies."

The big surprise, and the one I most worried about, was Bernadette Peters. Now, I love her, and Lord knows, she can handle a song, BUT--could she dig down deep enough to portray Sally's sadness and desperation????? She does; not only that, even though she is Bernadette, she blends into the ensemble, never pulling our focus. Her rendition of Sally's songs are genuinely moving as they should be. And if Dorothy Collins still owns them (as anyone having heard the original recording can attest) I think she would have been pleased with what Bernadette has done with Sally. I also think Alexis Smith, if here, would be equally impressed with Jan Maxwell's Phyllis; she does the most scorching rendition of "Could I Leave You" this side of Alexis, and she breaks lose in 'Lucy and Jessie' with a skilled abandon I did not know she possessed. And the men, for a change, are up to the women; Ron Raines superbly sings Ben; when he and Bernadette begin "Too Many Mornings," and those opening reeds come in, that is when I dissolved in tears. This was due partly to the song and performance, but also to the fact that, with this "Follies" I finally have someone to hold my hand during this number, and who understands--my own, beloved, Monsieur. Buddy, the least interesting of the "Follies" quartet, is heightened by Danny Burstein's manic energy, and his superb line readings belying the hurt he feels at the roots of his marriage, and who delivers Buddy's songs more compellingly than many I have heard.

You have already heard me, loves, on "Who's That Woman?" But Jayne Houdyshell honors the great Ethel Shutta with a rendition of "Broadway Baby" that has the crowd cheering from its opening vamp. Miss Houdyshell lives up to the anticipation, delivering a belting tribute to this theatrical anthem.

It is also clear to me that director Eric Schaefer, and choreographer Warren Carlyle have done their homework; they have studied "Follies" carefully, from the original on, making decisions based on a knowledge of how the show should operate if it is going to work. I can see flashes of Michael Bennett's work in Carlyle's, which is a nice homage, and the "Loveland" sequence, while not as lavish as the original, is certainly not done on the cheap. It is a burst of colors that manages to convey the lavish escapism that was the entertainments of its era.

But "Follies" is at heart a dark musical, which is why only, shall we say, more refined souls, get it. And it can be interpreted both literally--a party taking place with invisible ghosts that only the audience sees. Or the sounds one imagines one hears when walking past a deserted theater in the dark. I see it as a bit of both. I am telling all my girls right now--THIS is the "Follies" to see; there will never be a more perfectly realized rendering in our lifetimes. Who knows, you may see me there, as well, as I am planning on going back. And judging from last night's audience, so are many others.

And, of course, if you are gay and single, THIS is the place to show, if you have hopes of meeting someone. Not since Patti Lu Pone's "Gypsy" has there been such a venue. I daresay the next one will be when--or I should say IF--Barlett Sher's "Funny Girl" comes to town! That will be both a meeting place and a feeding frenzy!!!!!

"Follies is in town now, and I am urging all my girls to go! For those like me, having prayed for a perfectly realized production, those prayers have been answered!!!!!!!!!!!

Mirror, Mirror, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!