Follies
At a reunion hosted by their former theatre, a parade of ex-showgirls with fractured pasts takes the stage one last time.
Show Essentials
16
Roles
+ Ensemble
M
Rated
2
Acts

Full Synopsis

(Note: The stage action is continuous. Follies can be played with or without an intermission, as indicated in the script.)

An old, dusty curtain rises to the sound of soft timpani; the stage of a large, long-unused theatre becomes visible. A tall, pale, ghostly Showgirl, dressed in black and white, starts to move slowly. Another ghostly Showgirl, also dressed in black and white, enters and begins to walk slowly as the Major-Domo rushes onstage, followed by waiters and waitresses carrying trays of glasses and party equipment. The Waiters and Waitresses move offstage as six Chorus Girls, also dressed in black and white, become visible, dancing in slow motion and silently moving their mouths, as if singing. As Waiters and Waitresses bustle around the unseen ghosts, four musicians enter with their instruments and move to a platform on the stage. Sally Durant Plummer, a 49-year-old former showgirl, rushes in, worried that she might be the first to arrive. One of the ghostly showgirls, Young Sally, moves toward her; Sally doesn't see any of the ghosts. A Waitress hands her a silk sash. The other party guests, former showgirls, chorus girls and their husbands and dates, ranging in age from their 50s to their 80s, arrive and move past the ghosts as the music changes into a pastiche of 1920s and 1930s tunes. Ben and Phyllis Stone arrive; Young Phyllis, another of the ghostly chorus girls, moves toward Phyllis. Sally's husband, Buddy Plummer, arrives and begins asking for Sally.

Dimitri Weissman introduces himself to the guests (and the audience) by announcing that, in the years between World War I and World War II, he produced The Weissman Follies in this theatre, which is to be demolished in order to build a parking lot. He welcomes the guests to this gathering, the first and last reunion of The Weissman Follies. He asks Roscoe, an elderly man in top hat and tails, to sing the song that will bring on the former Weissman Girls one last time ("Beautiful Girls"). Each of the ladies, wearing a sash with the date of her Follies year marked in gold, makes a grand entrance down the Follies stairs as Roscoe sings; they parade across the stage. Buddy finds Sally when the song ends; she is worried that he might be upset with her for taking an earlier flight. As they talk, a couple begins to dance. Stella and Max Deems talk to Weissman about their careers as radio performers. Ben and Phyllis talk to Hattie Walker, a tough seventy-year-old former Weissman Girl. Ben gives her an autograph for her grandson. Phyllis has watched Ben and Hattie, and, after Hattie leaves, Phyllis tells Ben how she admires Ben's charm with women. Solange La Fitte, another former Weissman Girl now in her mid-sixties, tells Weissman about her new perfume lines. Sally begins speaking to Weissman, who doesn't seem to remember who she is.

As she begins recalling other faces in the crowd, Phyllis sees Sally. Phyllis calls out to Sally; at the same moment, Young Phyllis and Young Sally race excitedly down the stairs, busily making the final adjustments to their Follies costumes before their entrances. The present-day Sally at first stares blankly at Phyllis. After Phyllis asks her name again, Sally tells Phyllis that she looks so regal that Phyllis can't hug her. As she embraces Sally, their younger selves race back up the stairs. Phyllis and Sally talk about the apartment that they used to share and ask about one another's husbands. Sally asks if Ben is still in Europe with the UN. Phyllis mentions that Ben is at the party, and the two exit as Hattie Walker muses about how she has outlived five husbands. Ben and Buddy sit on some rubble and discuss the past; when Buddy asks about Ben's life with Phyllis, Young Buddy and Young Ben appear. Young Buddy tells Young Ben that he has arranged a date for Ben with Sally's roommate, Phyllis, a nice, though lonely, girl. Back in the present, Buddy and Ben continue their talk; both of them mention that they've stopped playing around with other women. A waitress walks by; Buddy makes a pass at her and follows her offstage.

As Buddy exits, Vincent and Vanessa, an elegant couple in their late fifties, dance into view; they explain that, after their Follies years, they bought an Arthur Murray dancing school franchise. Heidi Schiller, who is now in her eighties, claims that the Viennese waltz being played by the band was written for her by Franz Lehar. Or was it Oscar Straus? We see Ben as he is recognized by Carlotta Campion, a one-time movie star. They talk briefly, and, as Carlotta moves off, Sally approaches, sees Ben and gasps.

As she says his name, Young Sally appears; she is dressed in a street coat and is demanding that Ben look at her and give her an explanation. The past fades as Sally nervously tells Ben not to look at her yet ("Don't Look at Me"). Ben remembers Sally's endearing habits, and the two of them sing about how they've aged. As they go off to get drinks, Carlotta returns to complain about how the men she meets always want to tell her their life stories but never seem interested in hearing hers. Buddy and Phyllis are dancing and fondly recalling the past. Ben and Sally are dancing nearby; Sally is explaining how she always felt inferior to Phyllis. Buddy asks Phyllis if she remembers all of the fun times that the four of them had; when Phyllis remarks that she has tried not to remember, Buddy recalls how he and Ben used to wait each night for the girls to come down from the theatre. Sally and Ben join them as they recall the old days ("Waiting for the Girls Upstairs"). As they continue to reminisce, Young Sally and Young Phyllis come down the stairs to meet Young Ben and Young Buddy. The four young people argue about where to go for the evening before they are joined by their older counterparts, who relive the argument with their younger selves. Ben, Phyllis, Sally and Buddy finish the song, singing about how foolish they were back then.

A photographer takes pictures of Emily and Theodore Whitman and Willy Wheeler as they talk to Weissman, who is trying to impress a much younger Waitress. Suddenly, the Whitmans perform a song from their act ("Rain on the Roof"); when they are finished, Salonge La Fitte appears, singing one of her signature numbers ("Ah, Paris"). Hattie Walker then performs one of her Follies songs ("Broadway Baby"). Hattie, Salonge and the Whitmans all sing their numbers at the same time; the number ends with a blackout, and a ghostly showgirl moves across the stage as Ben and Sally enter.

Ben tells Sally that, even though his life as a diplomat is not as glamorous as she thinks, he feels he has a good, successful life; the important thing is knowing what you want. Ben never thinks of the options that he ignored ("The Road You Didn't Take"). Young Ben and Young Buddy appear. Young Buddy gives Young Ben the keys to his car and asks him if he has enough money for his date. Ben continues singing about how he won't remember the paths that he didn't choose, all the while remembering Young Ben taking Young Phyllis out on a date. When the song ends, Sally tells Ben that she was in love with him when they were younger; they begin to dance. Buddy tells Phyllis that Sally and Ben make a lovely couple. After telling Phyllis more about his life with Sally, Buddy tells Phyllis that Sally is still in love with Ben. Phyllis tells him that she used to suspect the same thing, but thought that time had changed the situation. Young Phyllis and Young Ben appear; she is admiring the engagement ring that he has just given her. She tells Young Ben that she shall try to be a good wife. As the memory fades, Phyllis angrily tells Buddy that life and maturity are all about making bargains. She tells him how the excitement with one of her ex-lovers passed with time, and how, at the end of the affair, she was still Mrs. Stone and had $30,000 worth of silver in her dining room. When Buddy asks what happened to the young, innocent Phyllis, she tells him that she has made her own choices and walks away. Vincent and Vanessa appear and begin to dance one of their old routines, a tango ("Bolero D'Amour"); Young Vincent and Young Vanessa and three other ghostly younger couples join in.

Sally tells Ben about the many moves from city to city that she and Buddy made before they settled in Phoenix, Arizona. Sally tells him that the best part of life is knowing that Buddy will always think that Sally is young and beautiful ("In Buddy's Eyes"). Young Sally, who is upset, rushes by, followed by Young Ben. She tells him that she won't continue seeing him after he has given a ring to Phyllis; Young Ben accepts this news, and he and Young Sally embrace as Sally continues the song. Sally and Ben begin to dance.

Phyllis cuts in and draws Sally to the side. When Phyllis confronts her with Buddy's news that Sally is still in love with Ben, Sally sweetly suggests that Buddy is jealous. The band starts to play a song as Phyllis becomes more confrontational. Stella Deems enters and insists that all of the women join in to sing and dance to the song, an old Follies routine that none of them has performed in years. After some protesting, all of the women, including Phyllis and Sally, join Stella to sing about an unhappy woman who never knew real love ("Who's That Woman?"). As the number continues, they are joined by their younger selves.

When the number ends, Ben and Buddy rush up to congratulate Phyllis and Sally. Weissman announces that the food is ready. The two couples separately reveal how troubled their marriages are. After Sally mentions that Ben is unhappy living with Phyllis, Buddy tells Sally that he's decided to spend more time with her at home. Phyllis suddenly kisses Ben, but she is hurt by his unresponsiveness and she confronts him about the lack of honesty in their relationship. Sally confronts Buddy with her knowledge of Buddy's relationship with Margie, a woman in Dallas. Phyllis expresses unhappiness with their marriage; when she accuses Ben of fooling around with other women, he acknowledges this before angrily walking away. Phyllis seduces one of the waiters. Carlotta Campion sings a number from an old Follies show; it is about a woman who has been around a long time and has survived all of the good and bad things that have happened to her, and, as it progresses, the song seems to become more about Carlotta, rather then merely an old Follies number ("I'm Still Here").

Ben tells Sally that he must have loved Phyllis at one time; their marriage was the only impulsive thing that he ever did. Sally tells him that he has always been afraid to feel things and urges him to close his eyes. Young Sally and Young Ben appear, half-dressed, and gazing at each other. Sally tells Ben that all she thinks about is the time that they were in love; Young Sally tells Young Ben how in love with him she is. Ben tells Sally that he wishes he were 25 years old again. Sally becomes lost in the memory as she and Young Sally tell Ben that they will wait for him to return after the war. Ben opens his arms, and Young Sally rushes to him as he lets himself feel how much he has wished that he and Young Sally were still together ("Too Many Mornings"); Sally joins him in the song, which ends with Sally replacing Young Sally in Ben's arms as Young Sally and Young Ben walk off hand in hand. Sally and Ben kiss, and Ben tells Sally that he wants to make love to her. When Sally asks Ben if they are getting married, Ben snaps back from his memory of the past and awkwardly tells Sally that, whatever they had, it all happened in the past. At the same moment, Young Ben tells Young Sally that there is no need for them to marry and walks away from her. Sally ends up standing next to Young Sally and tells Ben that everything will be fine.

Buddy has been asking himself why he stays with Sally; he contrasts his frustrations with Sally to his happiness when he is with Margie, who asks little of him ("The Right Girl"). He begins rehearsing a speech to end his marriage; Sally joins him and happily announces that she and Ben are going to get married.

Ben, now drunk, propositions Carlotta, with whom he once had a brief affair; she gently refuses as Heidi, joined by Young Heidi, appears to sing one of her old songs about the end of a love affair ("One More Kiss").

Phyllis, who has been off in a corner with a waiter, joins Ben, who tells her that he wants to find real love again. When Ben tells her that he wants her to leave him, Phyllis angrily lists all of the reasons why she would leave him but refuses to say if she will ("Could I Leave You?").

Ben, Phyllis, Sally and Buddy watch the innocence and idealism of their younger selves; the older people confront their younger selves and blame them for making choices that have left them unhappy. As this confrontation climaxes, drums roll, heavenly music is heard, trumpeters in Medieval costume appear and beautiful, young dancers dressed as Dresden Dolls and Cavaliers enter: Phyllis, Ben, Sally and Buddy are now in "Loveland." As numerous Showgirls enter and walk the stage, the chorus describes Loveland as the place where lovers are always young and beautiful, and everyone lives only for love ("Loveland"). Young Ben and Young Phyllis dance on, dressed in bright costumes now, and sing a duet about how he will guarantee her happiness tomorrow ("You're Gonna Love Tomorrow"); Phyllis and Ben follow them offstage. Young Buddy and Young Sally dance on and sing a song about how love will allow them to ignore each other's irritating traits ("Love Will See Us Through"). Young Ben and Young Phyllis join them, and the two couples sing their songs together as Buddy and Sally exit. A show curtain drops at the end of the number.

Buddy, dressed in the bright jacket, baggy pants and derby hat of a Follies clown, steps out from the curtain and sings of his true feelings and fears about love ("The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues") as chorus girls dressed as caricatures of Sally and Margie flounce around the stage.

Next, Sally, dressed in the elegant dress of a 1930s film star, sings a torch song about how she does nothing but think about her lover ("Losing My Mind").

At the end of Sally's song, Phyllis enters wearing a short red-fringed dress; she sings about Lucy and Jessie, two unhappy women of completely opposite sensibilities who need to become one person to be happy ("The Story of Lucy and Jessie").

Lastly, Ben enters with chorus boys and girls; he sings of a sophisticated man-about-town who fends off his fears by living gaily ("Live, Laugh, Love"). However, Ben forgets his lyrics, and the song ends with him frantically justifying his choices to the chorus, which continues to sing and dance. The entire company returns to the stage, each reprising his or her own song in an ever-rising cacophony that mirrors the terror gripping Ben. Finally, the noise subsides as the madness dissipates; we are back in the real world.

Ben, Phyllis, Buddy and Sally are alone; we can see that the sun is beginning to rise. Phyllis and Ben gather themselves to go home as Buddy helps an emotionally devastated Sally to her feet. As they leave the theatre, Young Buddy and Young Ben call up to Young Sally and Young Phyllis.

Casting
← Back to Follies
Cast Size: Flexible Cast Size
Cast Type: Ensemble Cast
Dance Requirements: Heavy

Character Breakdown

Young Phyllis
A younger version of Phyllis, when she was an energetic and naïve Follies girl. Slightly sad and homesick. With all the drive and none of the sophistication of the adult Phyllis.
Gender: female
Age: 20 to 25
Vocal range top: E5
Vocal range bottom: B3
Young Buddy
A younger version of the Buddy we see today. Charismatic and lively, a man who knows how to have fun. Loves Sally blindly and wants to give her the world.
Gender: male
Age: 20 to 30
Vocal range top: G5
Vocal range bottom: C4
Young Ben
A not yet fully realized version of the man we see before us today, he is driven and intelligent but not quite so distinguished, and not yet frightened by his success.
Gender: male
Age: 20 to 30
Vocal range top: F5
Vocal range bottom: C4
Carlotta Campion
The one-time movie star, who is in terrific shape for her age. The kind of woman who has seen everything and is proud to be standing where she is.
Gender: female
Age: 45 to 55
Vocal range top: B4
Vocal range bottom: E3
Stella Deems
A portly woman who surprisingly moves with a special lightness; half of a former performing duo with her husband, but they gave it up to open a general store in Miami. Loves life and has led a good one.
Gender: female
Age: 55 to 65
Vocal range top: F5
Vocal range bottom: E3
Max Deems
A portly man who surprisingly moves with a special lightness; half of a former performing duo with his wife, Stella, but they gave it up to open a general store in Miami. Loves life and has led a good one.
Gender: male
Age: 55 to 65
Emily Whitman
A tiny, bright and papery woman. Married to Theodore, who together, teach dance together.
Gender: female
Age: 65 to 80
Vocal range top: D5
Vocal range bottom: B3
Hattie Walker
An appealingly tough, no-nonsense lady. A former knockout Follies girl from the earlier years of the shows. She has married several times and always to the same type: the bad boy.
Gender: female
Age: 65 to 75
Vocal range top: B4
Vocal range bottom: G3
Theodore Whitman
A tiny, bright and papery man. Married to Emily, who together, teach dance together.
Gender: male
Age: 65 to 80
Vocal range top: D4
Vocal range bottom: B2
Solange La Fitte
A French fashionista. Very much still alive and enjoying it, she is a perfume creator and seller. Has travelled the world but loves Paris more than any other place.
Gender: female
Age: 65 to 75
Vocal range top: G5
Vocal range bottom: A3
Heidi Schiller
Tall and queenly. Viennese. Incredibly rich and well known in elite social circles, she is constantly reminiscing.
Gender: female
Age: 65 to 75
Vocal range top: G5
Vocal range bottom: D4
Young Heidi
A younger version of the Heidi we see today. Already tall and queenly, but perhaps not yet rich and so well connected.
Gender: female
Age: 18 to 25
Vocal range top: A5
Vocal range bottom: E4
Dimitri Weissman
An acerbic, vital, energetic man who looks fifteen years younger than he really is. Staged the Follies every year between the great wars, and made stars of any girl he wanted from the legions who threw themselves at him.
Gender: male
Age: 70 to 80
Roscoe
An elderly showman with a majestic tenor voice who introduces the Follies girls as if no time has passed and they are still the beautiful young girls of years ago.
Gender: male
Age: 55 to 65
Vocal range top: A5
Vocal range bottom: D4
Ensemble
Old Showgirls, Showgirl Ghosts, Party Musicians, Party Staff
Sally Durant Plummer

Petite. Sweet-faced. Bubbly. Still remarkably like the girl she was thirty years ago. A former Follies girl, she married a man she didn't love. Needy and delusional at times.

Gender: female
Age: 45 to 55
Vocal range top: G5
Vocal range bottom: F3
Phyllis Rogers Stone

Stylish and intelligent. Her face is more beautiful now than it was thirty years ago. A woman who made her husband her life, the journey has hardened her and replaced the traces of life with cold sophistication and poise.

Gender: female
Age: 45 to 55
Vocal range top: E5
Vocal range bottom: F3
Buddy Plummer

A handsome, charismatic man with a sad face wrinkled from years of too much smiling. Stuck in a broken marriage and has had multiple affairs.

Gender: male
Age: 50 to 60
Vocal range top: F5
Vocal range bottom: C4
Benjamin Stone

Tall. Trim. Distinguished. Successful. Authoritative. A man bent on success from a young age who has achieved it and now realizes the toll it had on personal relationships.

Gender: male
Age: 50 to 60
Vocal range top: F5
Vocal range bottom: A3
Young Sally

A younger version of the adult Sally. She is perhaps the most similar to her adult counterpart of any of the foursome. Petite. Sweet-faced. Bubbly. Adventurous. Wants it all, but may not have the patience or drive to wait for it.

Gender: female
Age: 18 to 25
Vocal range top: G5
Vocal range bottom: C4
Full Song List
Follies: Overture
Follies: Beautiful Girls
Follies: Don't Look At Me
Follies: Waiting For The Girls Upstairs
Follies: Ah, Paris!
Follies: Broadway Baby
Follies: The Road You Didn't Take
Follies: In Buddy's Eyes
Follies: Who's That Woman?
Follies: I'm Still Here
Follies: Too Many Mornings
Follies: The Right Girl
Follies: One More Kiss
Follies: Could I Leave You?
Follies: You're Gonna Love Tomorrow
Follies: Buddy's Blues
Follies: Losing My Mind
Follies: Lucy And Jessie
Follies: Live, Laugh, Love

Show History

Inspiration

In an interview with James Lipton, Stephen Sondheim discussed the genesis of Follies:

"I went to Jim Goldman, a friend and a playwright I admire, and asked him if he had any ideas for musicals. He'd always wanted to write a play about reunions, he said, and he'd recently picked up a newspaper clipping about the Ziegfeld Girls annual reunion. We thought that might be the basis of a show. It took four years to write not steadily. We wrote it first as a murder mystery  not a mystery, that's not quite right – but a murder piece. It was about four people, two couples who had been emotionally involved with each other a long time ago and who thought their lives had been damaged because of it. The notion was that one of them was going to murder one of the others, and the suspense, so to speak, was who's going to kill whom. Every time we would do a draft, the atmosphere for the first few minutes would be fine, but then as soon as the plot came in it would start to get a little ratchety. So we decided to delay the plot, maybe for fifteen minutes. Again it started to get ratchety, so we delayed it for twenty-five. Finally, it struck us that maybe there shouldn't be any plot at all, that it should be all atmosphere. That is, in fact, what it turned out to be. There's minimal plot. It all takes place during a party. It's about people getting drunk and their old emotions surging to the surface and interconnecting... all in the atmosphere of the Ziegfeld Follies. What it really is about is the loss of innocence not only among the characters but in America between the wars, which the Follies, I think, represented."

Productions

Follies opened on April 4, 1971, at the historic Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway. It marked the second director/author collaboration between Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince. Rising star, Michael Bennett, who previously assisted the pair, served as co-director of the show. Its star-packed original cast included Alexis Smith, Dorothy Collins, Gene Nelson, John McMartin and Graciela Daniele. The creative team made the unusual choice of not having an intermission in the original Broadway staging, although an intermission was later added. The original Broadway production closed on July 1, 1972, after 522 performances.

In July of 1972, Follies was produced at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri, and then transferred to the Shubert Theatre in Century City, California. The production was directed by Hal Prince and starred Dorothy Collins, Alexis Smith, John McMartin, Gene Nelson and Yvonne De Carlo.

A staged concert was performed at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center on September 6, and 7, 1985. The concert starred Barbara Cook, Mandy Patinkin and Lee Remick, and featured Carol Burnett, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Elaine Stritch, Phyllis Newman, Jim Walton, Howard McGillin, Liz Callaway and Daisy Prince. "Follies in Concert," a televised documentary about the making of the concert, was later released on video and DVD.

Follies eventually played the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre from July 21, 1987, until February 4, 1989, for 644 performances. The show was produced by Cameron Mackintosh. A production was also mounted at London's Royal Festival Hall as a limited engagement. It officially opened on August 6, 2002, and closed on August 31, 2002.

A Broadway revival of Follies opened at the Belasco Theatre on April 5, 2001, and closed on July 14, 2001, after 117 performances and 32 previews. New York City Center's Encores! "Great American Musicals in Concert" series featured Follies as its 40th production for six performances in February 2007 in a sold out semi-staged concert. The cast starred Donna Murphy, Victoria Clark, Victor Garber and Michael McGrath. This production used the original text and the "Loveland" lyrics that were performed in the 1987 London production.

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' production of Follies at the Eisenhower Theatre began previews on May 7, 2011, with an official opening on May 21, and closed on June 19, 2011. The cast included 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.

Trivia

  • Harold Prince has won more Tony Awards than anyone else (twenty): eight for directing, eight for producing, two as producer of the year's Best Musical and two special Tony Awards.
  • The Broadway production required no less than two directors, Harold Prince and Michael Bennett. Follies represents the only time that either shared directorial credit.

  • The first draft of Follies was a murder mystery entitled The Girls Upstairs.

NY Drama Critics Circle Award

1971 - Best Musical, Winner (Follies)

Drama Desk Award

1971 - Outstanding Choreography, Winner (Michael Bennett)
1971 - Outstanding Costume Design, Winner (Florence Klotz)
1971 - Outstanding Director, Winner (Harold Prince)
1971 - Outstanding Lyrics, Winner (Stephen Sondhiem)
1971 - Outstanding Music, Winner (Stephen Sondhiem)
1971 - Outstanding Performance, Winner (Alexis Smith)
1971 - Outstanding Set Design, Winner (Boris Aronson)
2001 - Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Nominee (Follies)
2001 - Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, Nominee (Polly Bergen)
2001 - Outstanding Orchestrations, Nominee (Jonathan Tunick)

Tony® Award

1972 - Scenic Design, Winner (Boris Aronson)
1972 - Best Lighting Design, Winner (Tharon Musser)
1972 - Supporting Actor In A Musical Play, Nominee (Gene Nelson)
1972 - Best Choreography, Winner (Michael Bennett)
1972 - Actress (Musical), Winner (Alexis Smith)
1972 - Best Direction of a Musical, Winner (Harold Prince and Michael Bennett)
1972 - Actress (Musical), Nominee (Dorothy Collins)
1972 - Best Musical, Nominee (Follies)
1972 - Best Score, Winner (Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics))
1972 - Best Original Score, Winner (Stephen Sondheim)
1972 - Book Of A Musical, Nominee (James Goldman)
1972 - Best Book Of A Musical, Nominee (James Goldman)
1972 - Choreographer, Winner (Michael Bennett)
1972 - Best Actress in a Musical, Winner (Alexis Smith)
1972 - Costume Designer, Winner (Florence Klotz)
1972 - Best Actress in a Musical, Nominee (Dorothy Collins)
1972 - Director Of A Musical, Winner (Harold Prince and Michael Bennett)
1972 - Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Nominee (Gene Nelson)
1972 - Lighting Designer, Winner (Tharon Musser)
1972 - Best Scenic Design, Winner (Boris Aronson)
1972 - Musical Play, Nominee (Harold Prince (producer))
1972 - Best Costume Design, Winner (Florence Klotz)
2001 - Costume Designer, Nominee (Theoni V. Aldredge )
2001 - Revival (Musical), Nominee (Producer: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Ellen Richard, Julia C. Levy)
2001 - Best Revival Of A Musical, Nominee (Follies)
2001 - Best Actress in a Musical, Nominee (Blythe Danner)
2001 - Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Nominee (Polly Bergen)
2001 - Best Costume Design, Nominee (Theoni V. Aldredge)
2001 - Best Orchestrations, Nominee (Jonathan Tunick)
2001 - Actress (Featured Role--Musical), Nominee (Polly Bergen )
2001 - Actress (Musical), Nominee (Blythe Danner )
2001 - Orchestrations, Nominee (Jonathan Tunick )

Outer Critica Circle Award

2001 - Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Nominee ()

Outer Critics Circle Award

2001 - Outstanding Choreography, Nominee (Kathleen Marshall)
2001 - Outstanding Costume Design, Nominee (Theoni V. Aldredge)

Connect

Playbill Vault (Original)

Playbill Vault (2001 Revival)

Playbill Vault (2011 Revival)

IMDB page for televised concert production

Sondheim Reference Guide

Follies of Broadway (Unofficial tribute site with info about many productions)

Billing

Requirements

You must give the authors/creators billing credits, as specified in the Licence Agreement, in a conspicuous manner on the first page of credits in all programs and on house-boards, displays and in all other advertising announcements of any kind. You agree to supply to the Licensor full details of all such material for Licensor’s approval prior to printing and distribution and supply two (2) copies of the program after printing.
Percentages listed indicate required type size in relation to title size.
FOLLIES
(100%)
 
Book by JAMES GOLDMAN
(50%)
 
Music and Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM
(50%)

 

Produced Originally on Broadway by Harold Prince
(25%)
 
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
(25%)
(Please insert your local theatre and cast information here)
By special arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh 
(25%)

 

 

PLEASE NOTE:
Under no circumstances shall The Play be billed as "Stephen Sondheim's FOLLIES" OR "Sondheim's FOLLIES". The billing indicated above shall be used on all advertising, marketing, & promotion. This credit provision is of the essence and any violation herein shall be deemed a violation of this license.
The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited

Included Materials

ItemQuantity Included
LIBRETTO/VOCAL BOOK24
PIANO CONDUCTOR'S SCORE2

Production Resources

Resource
FULL SCORE VOL. 1 OF 4
FULL SCORE VOL. 2 OF 4
FULL SCORE VOL. 3 OF 4
FULL SCORE VOL. 4 OF 4
HOW DOES THE SHOW GO ON-10/CS
HOW DOES THE SHOW GO ON?
OPTIONAL SONGPAK
PRODUCTIONPRO-DIGITAL SCRIPT/SCORE
REFERENCE RECORDING
STAGE WRITE APPLICATION

STANDARD ORCHESTRATION

InstrumentationDoubling
BASS
BASS 2
CELLO
DRUMS
GUITAR
HARP
HORN
PERCUSSIONBELL TREE , BELLS , COWBELL , DRUM KIT , RACHET , TYMPANI , VIBRAPHONE , WHISTLE , WOOD BLOCK , XYLOPHONE
PIANO
PIANO 2
REED 1ALTO FLUTE , ALTO SAXOPHONE , CLARINET , Eb CLARINET , PICCOLO , SOPRANO SAX
REED 2ALTO SAXOPHONE , CLARINET , FLUTE , PICCOLO
REED 3BASS CLARINET , CLARINET , FLUTE , TENOR SAXOPHONE
REED 4CLARINET , ENGLISH HORN , OBOE
REED 5BARITONE SAXOPHONE , BASS CLARINET , BASSOON , CLARINET , FLUTE
TROMBONE
TROMBONE 2
TROMBONE 3
TRUMPET
TRUMPET 2
TRUMPET 3
TRUMPET 4
VIOLA
VIOLIN