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Monday, September 12, 2011
Bernadette Peters, Jan Maxwell, Elaine Paige, Danny Burstein, Ron Raines Explore Life's Follies
Playbill.com: The Kennedy Center's critically acclaimed production of James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning musical Follies, which played its final performance at the Washington, DC, venue June 19, officially opens at Broadway's Marquis Theatre Sept. 12 following previews that began Aug. 7.
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2 comments:
Originally I had selected this article because I like Bernadette Peters and wanted to see what she what was working on. And yes lo and behold, its a great show with a star studded cast that is sure to deliver. However, what I was not expecting was that one of our own, Lora Lee Gayer who graduated my freshman year stars in it as well. I looked around some more and sure enough it was her and I am so happy for her. There was another article that said how she auditioned for it right after she graduated and that she ended up getting the part. Its also pretty impressive that she got such a great role so young, shes only 23. Not that I am surprised in the least, she was always amazing. I wish her well and am sure the show will continue to be a hit.
Follies follows in the Kennedy Center tradition of a successful run at their home base in DC and then transferring the show to a Broadway theatre. Most recently they tried this maneuver with Ragtime to mixed reviews and sales. Although the show sold out instantly in DC, the NYC market wasn't interested. The biggest criticism of Ragtime's transfer was its inherent lack of star power, making it less attractive of a show as compared to other shows play literally right next door. The Center defended its choices, explaining that they were trying for an original take on the musical and had no intention of trying to re-create the ill-fated original Broadway production. An unknown cast for an original interpretation makes sense. It seems the folks at the Kennedy Center have abandoned this philosophy and brought on some big names for Follies.
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