A Show to remember for ever

This is the best version of "Follies" I have seen so far! The stage was a grey box with a series of landings at the rear and sides with little balconies from which characters could peer down. There was a half demolished staircase on the right  and a grey shredded drop covering half the stage from the left.

 A wonderful touch was the wrapping of half the auditorium in grey dust cloths to add to the feeling that you were in the middle of a collapsing world. The first two notes were chilling!  They were as frightening as the whistle in "Sweeney Todd". The grey cloth was back lit to reveal a lone showgirl in magnificent head piece of black and silver. She turned so slowly it seemed physically impossible. She floated across the stage to be joined by others from the wings and along the walkways in attitudes of bewilderment and fear. Some of them grabbed the brickwork as if their very existence depended on it.... as if they knew that this was the last night of their being. There were only two deliberate moments when these phantoms were not present, singly or in pairs or groups, and always intent on watching the unfolding drama of angst and drunkenness with fascination, sadness and alarm.    The ghsots stayed on in the interval. Here is one I saw.

This one is an accident! A woman in the front row.

Did she see a real one?

 All the performances were masterpieces

Bernadette Peters, falling apart from the moment she arrived.

Jan Maxwell, whose rage driven version of "Could I Leave You?" brought the house down.

Ron Raines, Bernadette Peters, Lora Lee Gayer and Nick Verina

Danny Burstein as Buddy

Elaine Paige ingeniously doing "I'm Still Here" as a press interview

Beautiful Girls

Terri White did the second show stopper "Mirror Mirror"

In another inspired moment the ghost of young Emily Whitman played by Susan Watson did a brilliant series of  travelling pirouettes across the stage and into the wings. Miss Watson tried to follow, did three and ended up nearly falling into the pit. It was both funny and tragic at the same time.
And in another moment after "One More Kiss", sung incredibly by Rosalind Elias and Leah Horowitz,  Heidi drifts off into the wings and Young Heidi in Edwardian bustle and with khol stained cheeks tries to follow her but finds she can't. She slowly turned and sank into leaden acceptance and disappeared in the opposite direction.
Linda Lavin did a great "Broadway Baby" full of sex and anger.

Here are some more grabs of the afternoon

Follies pillow even!

Some alternate poster designs from Fraver

One of Gregg Barnes's designs

And art imitates life