"Follies" is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The show premiered on Broadway in 1971 and has since become a beloved and highly regarded work in the musical theatre canon.
The plot of "Follies" revolves around a reunion of former showgirls who performed in a Ziegfeld Follies-style revue in the 1920s and 1930s. The reunion takes place in a dilapidated Broadway theatre that is scheduled to be torn down. As the former performers reminisce and perform their old numbers, they confront the ghosts of their past and the choices they made that have led them to their current, often unhappy, lives.
One of the unique features of "Follies" is its use of pastiche songs that mimic the musical styles of the 1920s and 1930s, as well as Sondheim's more typical complex and challenging compositions. The show also features a large ensemble cast, including several leading roles for older actors, which was relatively unusual for Broadway at the time.
"Follies" was widely acclaimed for its innovative structure, complex characters, and powerful themes of nostalgia, regret, and the passage of time. The original Broadway production was nominated for eleven Tony Awards, and has since been revived several times in both New York and London.
Overall, "Follies" is considered one of Sondheim's masterpieces, and continues to be admired and studied by theatre fans and scholars around the world.}
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"Follies" is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The show premiered on Broadway in 1971 and has since become a beloved and highly regarded work in the musical theatre canon.
The plot of "Follies" revolves around a reunion of former showgirls who performed in a Ziegfeld Follies-style revue in the 1920s and 1930s. The reunion takes place in a dilapidated Broadway theatre that is scheduled to be torn down. As the former performers reminisce and perform their old numbers, they confront the ghosts of their past and the choices they made that have led them to their current, often unhappy, lives.
One of the unique features of "Follies" is its use of pastiche songs that mimic the musical styles of the 1920s and 1930s, as well as Sondheim's more typical complex and challenging compositions. The show also features a large ensemble cast, including several leading roles for older actors, which was relatively unusual for Broadway at the time.
"Follies" was widely acclaimed for its innovative structure, complex characters, and powerful themes of nostalgia, regret, and the passage of time. The original Broadway production was nominated for eleven Tony Awards, and has since been revived several times in both New York and London.
Overall, "Follies" is considered one of Sondheim's masterpieces, and continues to be admired and studied by theatre fans and scholars around the world.
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