Transport Group To Present A Star-Studded Cast Of FOLLIES
What a cast! Follies, featuring an all-star cast of Tony Award winners and nominees, will be the tenth presentation in the company’s Anne L. Bernstein Concert Series. The performance will play for one night only—on Thursday, June 20th, at 8:00 p.m. at Carnegie Hall. Follies will be directed by Transport Group Artistic Director and five-time Drama Desk nominee and two-time Obie Award winner Jack Cummings III with musical direction by Joey Chancey. Hannah Oren serves as creative producer and Merri Sugarman, CSA serves as casting director.
The cast of Follies includes Broadway stars Julie Benko , Mikaela Bennett, Michael Berresse, Alexandra Billings, Klea Blackhurst, Harolyn Blackwell, Stephen Bogardus , Norbert Leo Butz, Len Cariou, Carolee Carmello ,Jim Caruso, Nikki Renée Daniels , Christine Ebersole, Katie Finneran, Santino Fontana, Alexander Gemignani, Miguel Gil , Olivia Elease Hardy, Erika Henningsen, Grey Henson, Fernell Hogan, Jennifer Holliday , Rachel Bay Jones, Isabel Keating, Adriane Lenox, Norm Lewis , Ryan McCartan, Donna Murphy, Thom Sesma, Barbara Walsh, Nina White, Jacob Keith Watson, and Karen Ziemba.
The evening will feature the original Jonathan Tunick orchestrations played by a thirty-piece orchestra, and will also feature a selection of Michael Bennett’s original choreography restaged by original cast member Mary Jane Houdina.
This unique concert series features a different lineup of performers for each song, rather than a role portrayed by one actor for the entire evening. Additionally, in lieu of the musical’s book scenes, backstage stories and anecdotes from the creation of the original production are woven between songs.
The evening will be hosted by Kurt Peterson, who originated the role of Young Ben in the 1971 Broadway production, as well as licensing executive and theatre historian Ted Chapin, whose memoir Everything Was Possible is taken from his daily diaries during the pre-Broadway run of Follies, on which he served as intern during his senior year of college.
Follies, book by James Goldman, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, produced originally on Broadway by Harold Prince, orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, premiered on Broadway on April 4, 1971, at the Winter Garden Theatre in a production directed by Harold Prince and Michael Bennett, with choreography by Bennett. The winner of seven Tony Awards, seven Drama Desk Awards, and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for best musical, Follies developed almost immediate cult and legendary status following its closing on July 1, 1972, after playing 522 performances and 12 previews. Scores of revivals followed on Broadway, in the West End, in regional theaters, and throughout the world. This concert is presented by special arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh.
The show, which has been famously updated numerous times for its many productions over the years, features many songs that are now central to the American songbook, including “Losing My Mind,” “Could I Leave You?,” “Broadway Baby,” “Too Many Mornings,” and “I’m Still Here”
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