Australian showbiz Royalty, Bert and Patti Newton will join the stellar line-up of Australian musical theatre stars in Follies in Concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre in May 2016.
Under the direction of Tyran Parke, they join the previously announced cast that includes: David Hobson (Buddy), Lisa McCune (Sally), Nancye Hayes (Hattie), Philip Quast (Ben), Anne Wood (Phyllis), Debra Byrne (Carlotta), Cheryl Barker (Heidi), and David Rogers Smith (Roscoe). Bert and Patti will play the roles of Theodore and Emily Whitman, ex-vaudevillians who perform an old routine from their days in the “follies” (The Rain on the Roof).
With 23 musicians playing the full and original Broadway orchestrations, this presentation of the celebrated Broadway musical, with book by James Goldman and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, will be an evening long remembered.
Originally produced on Broadway in 1971, directed by Harold Prince (The Phantom of the Opera) and Michael Bennett (A Chorus Line), Follies was nominated for eleven Tony Awards, winning seven including Best Score. The show features the classic hits Broadway Baby, I’m Still Here and Losing My Mind.
Follies is set at a reunion of the soon-to-be demolished Weismann Theatre, once the home of the Weismann Follies. Before the wrecking ball demolishes the fated building to make way for a parking lot, the former stars of the follies gather to relive their past experiences, renew old friendships… and lie about themselves a little.
Exclusive to Melbourne and for three performances only, Follies in Concert plays at the Melbourne Recital Centre: 24 – 25 May 2016. For more information, visit: www.melbournerecital.com.au for details.
Image: Bert and Patti Newton (sourced)