Reader Reviews
Follies (Southbank Centre, West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | Sorry. Didnt see anything more than 2 stars in this. Slow, ponderous, with adequate performances and static direction... - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 21 Aug 02 |
| Production **** Orchestra ***** Design **** Costumes **** Choreography *** Cast: Kathryn Evans ***** + Louise Gold **** Henry Goodman **** David Durham *** Joan Savage ***** Diane Langton * The other ladies *** The young Principals were excellent, especially Young Sally. Chorus **** - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 20 Aug 02 |
| A worthy revival - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 20 Aug 02 |
| Two weeks into the run and the show is still magical. Kerryson's direction of this classic piece is fine given, that the venue leaves much to be desired, and Farnsworth's setting is equally successful. The sound of the show is verging on the magnificent, with the 32-piece orchestra under Julian Kelly's direction encompassing the beauty and lyricality of Sondheim's most appealing score. But it is the artistes who make the greatest impact. Kathryn Evans is outstanding as Sally; her rendition of "In Buddy's Eyes" is unbeatable, and "Losing My Mind" stops the show, justifiably, giving one time to dry one's eyes. Henry Goodman as Ben pleases with his slightly over-the-top acting. Louise Gold as Phyllis is wonderfully cold and haughty, but David Durham as Ben is a litle too tightly repressed to convince. The rest of the cast is beautifully in tune with the piece, the chorus is neat and lovely to look at, and Joan Savage is the perfect "Broadway Baby". - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 19 Aug 02 |
| Follies is a show I tend to place on a pedestal, and after reading some of the reviews here and elsewhere attended with some trepidation. David Durham was a little wooden and "Who's That Woman" rather clumsily staged, but these quibbles aside, it was a wonderful production. Kathryn Evans steals the show, her renditions of "In Buddy's Eyes" and "Losing My Mind" are devastating. I can't imagine anyone else capping her performance as Sally. Wonderfully evocative set and costumes and it was good to see the original version of the show rather than the "softer" 1987 version. All-in-all a great production of a great show! - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 18 Aug 02 |
| As musical devotees and as a birthday treat, four of us turned up on 16th August to see this "outstanding musical" as we had been lead to believe.What we saw was a great performance, outstanding display by the orchestra but we found the storyline of the two couples dragged on and on and on.........more singing and dancing and less boring soulsearching dialogue would be appreciated aka Mamia Mia. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 17 Aug 02 |
| How very sad that those whom Noël Coward identified as "the Pink Mafia" have combined to reduce this hauntingly compelling work to obsessively gay mediocrity which defeats the serious emotional content of both score and book. There are honourable exceptions in individual performances, but the overall effect is shallow and self-comgratulatory. Sad for Sondheim, but no doubt many egos have been satisfactorily massaged in the process of mounting and performing this revival. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 17 Aug 02 |
| I have always had a good opinion of Kathryn evans, she gives a performance like no other and I will travel anywhere to watch her more often than not this is the Leicester Haymarket theatre Where I have seen many productions under the direction of Paul Kerryson including the first Follies production at Wythenshawe Forum theatre with the wonderful Josephine Blake as phyllis and Mary Millar equally good as sally. So I was excited to see a new production at the Shaftesbury in 1987 but was rather dissapointed as l for one did not much like the new book or the new songs and hated the opening without the stunning opening prologue music gladly now restored as it should be, this sets the whole show at the beginning. So in this production kathryn Evans thrills as she always does you just know she is thrilled to be up on that stage giving everything. Henry goodman is also excellent as is Louise Gold who now has the hard edged Character Phyllis should have, but the whole cast too numerous to mention are excellent as is the choreography etc. The second act should ideally have spectactular sets but this could not happen on this stage as scenery could not be flown in , however with good lighting this was mostly overcome. A must for all serious musical theatre lovers .'Follies' is a once in a lifetime treat. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 15 Aug 02 |
| From an audience point of view. Verdict for Follies Acting / Singing :) :) :) Directed by Paul Kerryson One of the creative team at the Leicester Haymarket who always bought us the highest standard in the musical world. Mr Kerryson has really bought the show alive with his slick direction. As usual the acting and singing of Kathryn Evans top the show. When Ms Evans came down the stairs to sing Loosing My Mind, you know she is every bit a star. Henry Goodman again was the great actor. He was great as Billy Flynn in Chicago with one or two songs, but singing the whole time made me enjoy Mr Goodman acting more than singing. The number The Right Girl is not as simple as it seemed: Mr Goodman lacks a certain magic to bring the song into full swing. Louis Gold was perfectly cast as Phyllis and her rendition Could I Leave You was as good as the original Broadway Phyllis and more. However The Story of Lucy and Jessie that I think is the most difficult song in the whole score has put a tight spot on Ms Gold. By comparison Mr Davis Durham's performance was on the down compared with the other 3 leads. The rest of the cast was perfect, especially the young Sally and Phyllis performed by Emma Clifford and Kerry Jay ( I predicate these 2 girls are going to be up and coming stars ). Julia Goss, Diane Langton, Anna Nicholas, Shezwae Powell, Myra Anda were great but Joan Savage stole briefly the limelight when she sang Broadway Baby. Production :) :) :) :) West End standard, the show should run longer. Music :) :) :) by Stephen Sondheim I am not a big Sondheim fan: I usually find only one or two classics in every show of his. But through out Follies every single song is a hit.Musical director is Julian Kelly Story :) :) by James Goldman, Great theme! If I have to be critical I find the first half of the show was better. It seemed that the other characters disappeared in the second act except for Carlotta and Heidi. Choreography :) :) :) :) by Davis Needham Great dance numbers. Costume design :) :) :) by Paul Farnsworth Lighting :) :) :) :) by Jenny Cane The lighting really set the mood of the show. For a show with a limited budget, the lighting really gives the show it's sparkle. Photography :) :) :) :) by Richard Haughton Best work I have seen in years, the poster really sets the mood for the show. For the first few time, a director know the importance of using the photographic medium how to sell a show. reviewed on 3/8/2002 - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 14 Aug 02 |
| I think my fellow reviewer, Sally Beaumont struck just the right note in her review.Kerryson,an old hand at Sondheim, is obviously aware of the achiles heel in this sensational show. This of course is James Goldman's book. However Kerryson does pull every ounce of guts out of the drama and produces some fine performances. And how lovely to see Diane Langton again!. Henry Goodman is wonderful (shame on the national press!) and Kathryn Evans is quite the best Sally I have seen. Shame about David Durham though..ahh well... - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 11 Aug 02 |
| A thoroughly enjoyable evening and a terrific orchestra,but would have liked more dancing! Pay no attention to the mealy-mouthed review in the Telegraph! Paul Kerryson(director)has done a wonderful job in a venue that is not designed for theatre. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 08 Aug 02 |
| More or less a fiasco, except for Kathryn Evans (though she should be Phyllis, not Sally) and Henry Goodman. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 08 Aug 02 |
| Generally a bit of a disappointment as Follies is as brilliant a musical as they come, and this production is nowhere near as good as the 1987 Shaftesbury Theatre production. The cast is very hit and miss with the biggest problem being David Durham playing Ben Stone who is completely wooden. Kathryn Evans as Sally is spot on. Joan Savage does a great "Broadway Baby" but Diane Langton unfortunately misses with "I'm Still Here". As with the cast the staging also has highs and lows but generally is a bit tacky. Some scenes really take off so it is well worth going, but sadly this is not the definitive production that this piece is dying for. Hopefully one day. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 07 Aug 02 |
| Such a good show, such amazing costume and set!! It is really hard to fault this production except for maybe a rather week I'm still here, though I found the character was there just not enough power maybe. The leads were all superb especially Buddy and a truly marvellous Sally. It was a magical evening, Broadway Baby brought the house down but I also thought thought Losing my mind and One More Kiss were just as wonderful. Thanks to the costumes and the set the show had an enchanted feel to it which reminded me of why we go to the theatre in the first place: Magic! - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 07 Aug 02 |
| Generally a bit of a disappointment as Follies is as brilliant a musical as they come, and this production is nowhere near as good as the 1987 Shaftesbury Theatre production. The cast is very hit and miss with the biggest problem being David Durham playing Ben Stone who is completely wooden. Kathryn Evans as Sally is spot on. Joan Savage does a great "Broadway Baby" but Diane Langton unfortunately misses with "I'm Still Here". As with the cast the staging also has highs and lows but generally is a bit tacky. Some scenes really take off so it is well worth going, but sadly this is not the definitive production that this piece is dying for. Hopefully one day. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 07 Aug 02 |
| I have to say it is an utterly sensational production. It is a hugly emotional show packed with stunning songs that are stunningly sung..(except "I'm still here" didn't seem to ever take off though !!).. You would have to have a wooden heart not to be swept up by the story and performances in an excellently staged show that is truly thrilling.. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 07 Aug 02 |
| Fantastic! And this was just in previews, lucky enough to be going again before the end of the run... a must see! Clarke Peters will be cursing that he "left" this production! - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 06 Aug 02 |
| Thoroughly enjoyed Follies at the RFH on Saturday.. I saw the previous London production in 1987, so it was interesting to see how this one would be staged. The set design is excellent,with all the boxes in the theatre covered in scaffolding to create the look of an old theatre-it also really opens the stage out. The young showgirls costumes are terrific also-very glitzy! It's a joy to hear such great songs sung so well-a particular standout is "Broadway Baby" sung by Joan Savage.Elaine Stritch is hard to beat, but Joan's performance brought the house down.Also excellent is Kathryn Evans as Sally-she plays and sings the part perfectly. It's a shame she has to perform opposite David Durham though.It says in the programme that he has Classical music roots and it shows. He has a lovely voice, but I never believed in his character (Ben) at all-he seemed to have just 2 facial expressions and just didn't emote at all. I know his character is supposed to be repressed, but this bordered on wooden. Diane Langton is a very hammy but funny Carlota who get's to sing "I'm still here". Some of the staging is a little pedestrian, it's almost like Stage centre,stage right,stage left ad nauseum.Unfortunatley the seats are not raked very highly, and the scenes to the side of the stage can be hard to see if you are in the stalls.The climatic Follies sequence is a blast,not as spectacular as the 87 production,but it makes up for that with a lot of heart and some great dance routines. With such a great score, it would be hard not enjoy this very welcome revival and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who loves musical theatre. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 05 Aug 02 |
| Thoroughly enjoyed Follies at the RFH on Saturday.. I saw the previous London production in 1987, so it was interesting to see how this one would be staged. The set design is excellent,with all the boxes in the theatre covered in scaffolding to create the look of an old theatre-it also really opens the stage out. The young showgirls costumes are terrific also-very glitzy! It's a joy to hear such great songs sung so well-a particular standout is "Broadway Baby" sung by Joan Savage.Elaine Stritch is hard to beat, but Joan's performance brought the house down.Also excellent is Kathryn Evans as Sally-she plays and sings the part perfectly. It's a shame she has to perform opposite David Durham though.It says in the programme that he has Classical music roots and it shows. He has a lovely voice, but I never believed in his character (Ben) at all-he seemed to have just 2 facial expressions and just didn't emote at all. I know his character is supposed to be repressed, but this bordered on wooden. Diane Langton is a very hammy but funny Carlota who get's to sing "I'm still here". Some of the staging is a little pedestrian, it's almost like Stage centre,stage right,stage left ad nauseum.Unfortunatley the seats are not raked very highly, and the scenes to the side of the stage can be hard to see if you are in the stalls.The climatic Follies sequence is a blast,not as spectacular as the 87 production,but it makes up for that with a lot of heart and some great dance routines. With such a great score, it would be hard not enjoy this very welcome revival and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who loves musical theatre. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 05 Aug 02 |
| Saw the first preview last night and loved it so much,the stage set is fabulous with loads of scaffolding and big staircases and the stage covers the sides of the hall and anyone used to going to the RFH will not recognise the place,Row G is the front row and the 27 piece orchestra is in a constructed pit in front of the stage. The cast are great especially Henry Goodman but the ladies steal the show Kathryn Evans and Louise Gold are great as are the brilliant young actresses playing there younger model,especially the gorgeous Kerry Jay great change from hearing only "Not Guilty" come from her lips as Hunyak in Chicago. Highlights for me a rather large Diane Langton singing "I'm Still Here",Kathryn Evans singing a powerful version of "Losing my Mind" and Joan Savages great rendition of " Broadway Baby". The costumes are so lavish and better than anything else in London and an orchestra big enough to give justice to the show with great sound not always the case in normal west end theatres"Prince Edward"!! Go see Follies you will be glad you did and last night the queue for returns was massive. Running time:ACT1 7.32pm-9pm interval 9.20pm till 10.25pm programmmes ,small but on nice glossy paper £3.50. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 04 Aug 02 |
