Cast Recordings & AlbumsLondon Follies Revival Cast Album Now AvailableThe 2017 National Theatre production featured a cast including Imelda Staunton, and Janie Dee; the latter will reprise her performance in the 2019 return of the staging.
By
Logan Culwell-Block
January 18, 2019
Imelda Staunton
Johan Persson
Warner Music Group's Arts Music has digitally released a cast album of the 2017 London revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's Follies. The recording preserves the performances of the 2017–2018 cast, which was led by Imelda Staunton as Sally Durant Plummer, Janie Dee as Phyllis Rogers Stone, Peter Forbes as Buddy Plummer, Philip Quast as Ben Stone, and Tracie Bennett as Carlotta Campion.
Janie Dee
Johan Persson
The production returns to the National February 12, 2019, in a cast newly led by Joanna Riding as Sally and Alexander Hanson as Ben. Dee, Forbes, and Bennett will all reprise their roles from the 2017 run.
This album, available on Apple Music/iTunes and Spotify (with a physical release on the way), marks the second time this production has been recorded; a performance was broadcast live to movie theatres with the National's NTLive series November 16, 2017, with several encore screenings following.
Helmed by Dominic Cooke, Follies began performances at London's National Theatre in August 2017, completing its run in January 2018. The production featured scenic and costume designs by Vicki Mortimer, choreography by Bill Deamer, musical supervsiion by Nicholas Skilbeck, musical direction by Nigel Lilley, lighting design by Paule Constable, and sound design by Paul Groothuis.
Set in a decaying Broadway theatre, Follies centers on a reunion of former Ziegfeld-esque follies girls who gather to relive their past and rehash old wounds and regrets. The legendary original 1971 Broadway production was co-directed by Harold Prince and the late Michael Bennett, who also supplied choreography. Sondheim's Tony-winning score, a mix of pastiche and complex, character-driven material features "I'm Still Here," "Broadway Baby," "Losing My Mind," "In Buddy's Eyes," "The Road You Didn't Take," and "Too Many Mornings."
The play comes on the heels of a broader cultural conversation about Dahl's work and the prejudice that was embedded in many of his most beloved stories.
