Blown away!

(NB: If there's a chance you'll be reviewing the show, read no further.)

Follies opened last night and all I can say is WOW! I was able to sit in the house for most of it and was blown away by the much-deserved audience response. Every number got a big hand and the production numbers were all very enthusiastically received. I suspect the only reason no one got to their feet at the curtain call was that they were too tired by then from the waves of talent washing off the stage, because they were certainly making enough appreciative noise! The show was not without its glitches, but they were minor; they certainly didn't seem to detract from the audience's appreciation.

This company has the luxury of a big stage - the whole floor of the building where I did Pirates last year could probably fit on that stage 3 or 4 times over; more, if you include the wings. Plenty of room for the cast of 45, and plenty of overhead, so they could put the showgirls with their 3-4-foot-tall headdresses on the top steps and they'd not seem the least bit cramped. The lighting designer did a masterful job of making the changes, features and highlights seem natural and flow smoothly, and some of the special touches do a brilliant job of enhancing the story-telling. And this from someone who always notices costumes first and lights last, if at all.

This is essentially a one- or two-set show, depending on how you count the large pieces that get moved in and out depending on the scene. The orchestra overwhelmed a couple of the soloists in a few places, but not severely, and their internal balance was very good. The singers are quite good, and there are a lot of "star turns" for several of the "Weiseman Girls" which are all very well delivered. The production numbers are incredible - beautifully executed and costumed - and the Act I bolero was like a scene from any of a number of old dance movies. Wonderful! In fact, all the choreography is the most ambitious I've ever seen in a community theater production, and generally well done.

And omigosh the COSTUMES!!! Some of the showgirls' headdresses are full of ostrich feathers and as much as four feet tall! The costumes are just as over-the-top. The Busby Berkely-style costumes for 2 of the production numbers reminded me of some of the first musicals, as did the choreography. The former Follies girls are generally in beaded or otherwise glam dresses, the wigs that most of the cast (even the men in one of the production numbers) wear at one time or another suit the costumes well - it's an incredible accomplishment and makes for an eye-popping stage picture.

My own contribution seems tiny in comparison - I'm doing the make-up for just one of the former Follies girls (she's legally blind). I have to age her a good 30 years or so, and am getting to be a dab hand at the age lines and creases. I'm still getting the routine down - each night the make-up designer tells me I need more shadowing or I've forgotten to line her forehead - but I joked with "Heidi now" (as opposed to "young Heidi") last night that by the time we close, I'll have it down to a science.