Losing My Mind

Yet another busy week at work means this is another belated review, but this is definitely better late than never - as last week I went along to the cinema to catch the National Theatre Live's streaming of Stephen Sondheim's Follies, currently playing at the National Theatre in London - interestingly, it is the first musical I have seen through NT Live.

Originally done on Broadway in 1971, it only ran for around 500 performances - though it has become one of Sondheim's most beloved shows, combining what you would call typical Sondheim numbers with the pastiche you would expect from the Follies (which was a glamourous vaudevillian show performing between the wars in America). As it is rarely produced, there has of course been a lot of hype over this production - also because it stars Imelda Staunton, most recently seen in another Sondheim show, Gypsy.

Set in the early 70's, the show revolves around a Follies reunion, to the now-crumbling theatre where they once performed, some 30 years later. In particular, it features two unhappily married couples as old regrets come to the surface. As they "glamorise about the old days, sing a few songs and lie about ourselves a little", their memories/ghosts of their past selves haunt the theatre to settle the unfinished business from the old days.

Imelda Staunton played Sally, a once-bubbly-now-disappointed housewife, and this is the first time I've really heard her use the full register of her voice, with songs such as In Buddy's Eyes and Losing My Mind, which truly and utterly would break your heart. Her husband Buddy, played by Peter Forbes is similarly heart breaking, simply hoping that his wife will love him.

As the other couple in crisis, Janie Dee's Phyllis and Philip Quast's Ben. For Quast, as soon as you got the idea that he was NOT going to be pursuing Colm Wilkinson throughout the entire show, you saw a man who desperately realises how much of his life is wasted (for those who are scratching their heads, Quast played Javert to Wilkinson's Valjean in Les Mis' 10th Anniversary concert - anywho, I digress, other than saying his voice now is as such a glorious baritone as it was back then).

It is Dee though that I think steals the show (even over Staunton in my personal opinion) as his suffering wife Phyllis, a sarcastic, cynical and bitter shell of her formal youthful self (played by Zizi Strallen (Mary Poppins)). Her Could I Leave You was non-stop! I am doing that song in my singing lessons - and let me tell you, it is incredibly difficult!! It is typical Sondheim in that there are lots of lyrics to fit in, particularly in the speed (as it is faster than you think), and it is also very hard to know when to take a breath in some places. Dee made it seem effortless!

The final quick mention I need to give is to Tracie Bennett, who plays Carlotta Campion in the show. her I'm Still Here is definitely worth waiting for.

Follies isn't exactly the most up-lifting musical in the world, nor is it the easiest to follow, particularly in the last 20 minutes or so when all 4 main characters have a "folly", when you're trying to piece how it fits into the story. However, if you are a fan of Sondheim, or want to see something that will make you think, then this is right up your alley.

If you want to see it, but either haven't had a chance to get a ticket or cannot get to London in the first place, then HOME in Manchester is holding another screening on the 30th November - so if you think this is for you, then definitely check it out. Just be warned, it runs without an interval, as Sondheim had originally intended - so make sure you go to the loo BEFOREHAND!
If you're not able to do that, there are some of the performances available on YouTube - and yes they are the proper thing, no illegal bootlegs.