Follies

Review by Kirsty Bennet

I have to admit I wasn’t relishing the prospect of an Imperial Opera concert performance – at five o’clock – of Sondheim’s Follies. It’s a show I know well, and thought I knew too well to appreciate in a half hearted format. I was utterly wrong: the idea, which enabled David Phipps-Davis to cast performers (and, on the whole, cast them beautifully) in parts they would not normally be given, was an inspired way to use the diverse talents of the group and meant that as production complications were minimised the show was focused on the performances.

Randy Nicholls got us off to a great start, and set the standard with Beautiful Girls. Sue Foister’s Broadway Baby and Denise Cupps’ Who’s That Woman were great fun, and I particularly enjoyed Kuan Hon, who was exquisitely cast as the aged Heidi Schiller, and the glorious squeaking of Sarah-Jane Emslie as Margie. Cassie Tillett gave us her rendition of I’m Still Here, which she sings perfectly, and as hard nosed as can be – which is a perfectly acceptable characterisation, but gives the lie to the line Still someone said ‘She’s sincere’…… Claudia Flach was suitably impressive as the young Heidi.

As to the main players, Ashley Mercer’s Ben was pivotal, holding together everything appertaining to plot. His singing was a joy – he was spot on without ever making us think about what he is doing with his voice, just what is needed for Sondheim, and he gave an incredibly mature performance – including amusing cane work! Andre Refig was also very strong, his three dimensional Buddy loose limbed and easy, but with a real touch of pathos – in particular his rendition of The Right Girl, which was truly poignant; a very believable characterisation. Pamela O’Brien looked stunning and acted the part of Phyllis superbly. Jo Webber gives her usual manic performance, which is indeed appropriate for Sally. The young counterparts of these four were most satisfactory.

All in all, I hope the cast enjoyed the show as much as I did. Oh, and the five o’clock performance was actually a great idea – it didn’t interfere with the rest of the day and I had the evening free. I would suggest Imperial always did a show at this time, but I guess they were utterly exhausted at the end of the day.

Review by Karen Jemison

It is always a treat it see a production of Sondheim’s Follies and once the audience was able to find the Network Theatre, the Imperial Opera’s production was no exception. Follies easily lends itself to a successful semi staged production because the quality of the show stands alone without the need for elaborate sets or complex choreographed numbers.

The male lead characters of Ben and Buddy were solidly played by Ashley Mercer and newcomer to Imperial Opera Andre Refig. Both Ashley and Andre were vocally strong and able to deliver the emotional scenes convincingly. They also did well in shifting between flashback scenes and the current day. Jo Webber played Sally with the right amount of girlishness and vulnerability and had a good on stage chemistry with Ashley.

Follies also allowed many of the company to play featured roles as opposed to simply being one of many performers in large chorus numbers. There were several stand out performances on the night.

David Phipps-Davis’ casting of Denise Cupps as Stella Deems was a master stroke. Due to the indisposition of another cast member, Denise heroically stepped in to deliver a stand out number of ‘Ah, Paris’. Denise brought a suitably high dose of ‘diva’ to the show.

Kuan Hon and Claudia Flach sang a beautiful version of ‘One More Kiss’, Cassie Tillett’s delivery of ‘I’m Still Here’ was sung with conviction and Sarah-Jane Emslie played a lovely and perfectly annoying Margie.

Musical Director Richard Link should also be commended for the high quality music and vocals. And well done to all the ladies in the cast who were decked out in their ‘best frocks’ to transform into ‘Beautiful Girls’.