FOLLIES

The Town Players of New Canaan’s Summer Show

Is the Concert Version of Stephen Sondheim’s FOLLIES

 which plays July 23^rd through August 7^th at the air conditioned and handicapped accessible Powerhouse Theatre in Waveny Park, New Canaan

     Stephen Sondheim fans will wish to make their reservations early for the Town Players of New Canaan’s summer show, the concert version of his musical Follies.  “I am very happy with the cast and the show will be a real treat for audiences,” says director Michael Day who staged the Town Players production of The Fantasticks two summers ago.  Music Director Stan Wietrzychowski finds the fourteen actor/singers to be so outstanding that he does not think of this production as being community theatre.  Choreographer Beth Green-Schwartz has created dance movement that wafts the essence, the flavor, an intimation of Follies dancers. 'Concert version' means that this is a staged, shortened version of the original Broadway production with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Goldman.

      For theatre goers whose opinion of Sondheim is negative or lukewarm, Town Players’ executive producer Patrick Kiley throws down the gauntlet, “Be an adventurer! Come hear Follies’ melodies, harmonics, rhythms and lyrics with new ears. You just might relate to Sondheim and find a piece of yourself.”

     Follies won seven Tony awards in 1972.  The show takes place at a 1970s reunion; Weismann Follies’ showgirls and the men in their lives gather at the old Weismann Theatre the night before it is razed to become a parking lot. As occurs in reunions, the characters ruminate on their present and past lives.  The musical’s title is a play on words, the foibles of the human condition and the lives of theatre people when troupes like Broadway’s Ziegfeld Follies were the superstars in that bygone era before talking movies, radio, television and YouTube. The show contains songs poignant, witty, gorgeous and complex. Several now are standards including “Broadway Baby,” “I’m Still Here,” “Too Many Mornings,” and “Could I Leave You?”  For someone not thought of as romantic, Sondheim in his homage to the courage of the human spirit and Broadway performers creates an act of love.

      Follies will be performed at the Powerhouse Theatre in Waveny Park, New Canaan (3/10 mile to the left off Merritt Parkway Exit 37) on Fri. and Sat., July 23, 24, 30, 31, August 6 & 7 at 8:00PM.  Sunday matinees are on July 25 and Aug. 1 at 2:30 PM.  The Powerhouse is handicapped accessible and air-conditioned. Tickets are $25 and $20 for students and seniors (age 62 and up). To reserve seats for Follies, please call (203) 966-7371.  The Town Players are conducting a food drive for the New Canaan Food Bank, which provides provisions for 600 people every two weeks.  Donations can be put in the basket by the box office window and the Town Players will deliver them to the New Canaan Food Bank the Monday after each weekend’s performances.