the joy that was follies

ok, i know that i am so belated with this post of the follies concert at city center encores!, but i will just make this brief.

BARRY AND FRAN WEISSLER SHOULD NOT COMMERCIALLY PRODUCE A REVIVAL FOR BROADWAY.

people, we need to learn how to let well enough alone. j.j. and i attended a DELIGHTFUL concert version of the apple tree with kristin "POWERHOUSE" chenoweth and malcolm gets at a previous season of encores!. it was superb. well staged and simple. then what happened? someone said, "Hey! That was GREAT! Let's revive it in a full production on Broadway!" then what happened? everyone REALIZED why the apple tree was never revived on broadway. the musical blows! the book is stupid and the three different acts are lame! in a simple concert staging, you get to enjoy the music without feeling obliged to like the show. it was a perfect example of a bad show turned good in a simple production. the commercial broadway production just sours the experience. seriously, no one i know that has seen it enjoyed it.

now, the follies concert was a delight. vicki clark was unbelievable and donna murphy was a dish. encores! is obsessed with victor garber. sure, he's cute, but i don't LURVE him in these musicals. (he was in last season's completely useless of thee i sing.) but, all in all it was a great, great concert. the one moment i wish i could cash in for a refund was christine baranski singing "i'm still here." she acted the shit out of it, but the ending was painful -- she does not have the pipes. i don't know if she ever did, but she does not have the singing chops for that kind of song. it was not good.

my favorite moment was "too many mornings" with clark and garber. as far as i am concerned, anything vicki clark touches turns to gold. she has the ability to coerce you -- with her vibrato -- into believing anything she sings and i just adore watching her perform. so, barry and fran: why don't you stay focused on finding more out of date celebrities to play roxie, velma and billy in your dead revival of chicago. yes, it's still playing. leave follies alone. kthxbye.

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city center, encores!
w 55th street btw 6th & 7th
upcoming shows include face the music
and stairway to paradise

**upcoming posts** london avenue q, a very common procedure at mcc and adrift in macao at 59E59. note the addition of glenn close to the celeb tracker ... spent 90 minutes sitting next to her and her hubby today as she was supporting her old sunset boulevard co-star alan campbell in macao.