Follies PreviewSondheim's 'Follies' takes stock of life at The Ann Arbor Civic Theatre by Jenn McKee | The Ann Arbor News Stephen Sondheim's "Follies" is one of those shows where the number of framed posters in people's homes far outstrips the number of opportunities people have to see a full production. Liz Duffy is a ghostly show girl in "Follies" by the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre. Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's staging of "Follies," directed by Brian Hilligoss, offers a rare chance to see the musical on its feet. Set in 1971 (the year "Follies" premiered), on the eve of a Broadway theater's destruction, the show follows a group of former Weissman Follies performers who gather for a 30-year reunion and take stock of the life choices they've made. Phyllis, for example, is an ex-chorus girl who married a wealthy man and became a New York socialite. "She's worked her way up in the world, but she's kind of lost herself in the process," said Wendy Katz Hiller, who plays the role. Many characters who return for the Follies reunion quite literally confront the ghosts of their younger selves, and for Phyllis, that is a particularly jarring experience. "The others are more like themselves from before," said Hiller. "But because Phyllis has changed so much over the years, it's very poignant to look back and see her when she was happy and open, and all of those things that she's not now." A2CT's production of "Follies" boasts 41 cast members and a team of busy costume-makers. "It's a mammoth show, really," said Hilligoss, "because it has to draw on that Ziegfield-esque look, which was very big and opulent." James Goldman wrote the show's book, and Sondheim's score features more than 20 songs that are liberally divided among several characters. "They're pastiche songs, so they're written in the styles of various composers and lyricists from the '20s and '30s," said Hilligoss. "But they still have Sondheim's twist on them." "Follies," after it opened on Broadway, won seven of the 11 Tony Awards for which it was nominated. "The fact that it came out in '71 makes great sense ... because it deals with the idea of women looking at what they gave up to be wives ... and finding themselves," said Hiller. "It's still resonant now, but I think it was very upfront in the early '70s, with the beginning of feminism." For Hilligoss, "Follies"' central idea is timeless. "There's a song in the show called, 'The Road You Didn't Take,' and I think that's the heart of what this show is," he said. "There's something about a reunion that plunges us back into the past and makes us re-evaluate where we are. ... When you're young, you have all these possibilities, and as you get older, you've got to make choices, and you've got to do things. But that means you give up certain possibilities as you pursue others. So inevitably, we wonder, 'Well, what would have happened if I had taken a different road?'" PREVIEW "Follies"
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