| "All Things Bright and Beautiful," cut from Follies. | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 11:33 am EDT 08/09/20 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 11:22 am EDT 08/09/20 | |
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| In a discussion about the prelude to Follies -- one of my favorite Sondheim melodies -- I brought up the source, the never used "All Things Bright and Beautiful" and went back to the Sondheim text for a reminder of why it was composed. I was again struck by the original intention in the Goldman book: rather than an unbidden intrusion -- of a stylized Follies imbued with cathartic psychodrama, seemingly summoned subconsciously by the individual and collective angst in the quartet -- the song was an 11th hour triggered flashback to a decisive event, when Ben and Sally were discovered making love by Buddy and Phyllis. It also reminded me that the concept for the show was somewhat more linear and traditional: Sally organized a make-shift Follies -- a performance by the women for men, using a trunk of old costumes and props -- rather than triggered a show-within-a-show via invocation. As the show became more of the piece we know now, it slowly abandoned the pretense of traditional plotting. Goldman's original instincts were to ground the evening in action and behavior. One of the reasons the show is so mysterious is its ability to illustrate how memory, once unleashed, simply won't be silenced, and makes the players confront the past, whether they like it or not. My appreciation of all that Follies became is strengthened again. | |
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| Previous: | I don't think that's it, but it expresses a similar enough sentiment... - DanielVincent 12:57 pm EDT 08/09/20 |
| Next: | re: "All Things Bright and Beautiful," cut from Follies. - ARM25 09:36 am EDT 08/10/20 |
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