Presented by Four Seasons Theatre in cooperation with the Wisconsin Union Theater, the concerts of the classic Stephen Sondheim musical will be offered Feb. 22 and 23, 2008, at 7:30 PM. Katrina Williams-Brunner will direct the concerts, which will boast a 27-piece orchestra conducted by artistic director and musical director Andrew Abrams.
Joining Wopat onstage will be Marja Barger as Phyllis Rogers Stone, Joe Dahl as Buddy Plummer, Tamara Brognano as Sally Durant Plummer, Beau Martin as Young Ben, Amanda Poulson as Young Phyllis, Daniel Graupner as Young Buddy, Jamie Pitt as Young Sally, Margaret Ingraham as Heidi, Christina Harrop as Young Heidi, Lori Poulson as Carlotta, Gay Thomas as Solange, Amy Welk as Hattie, Donna Kuelz as Stella Deems, Sharon Brolin as Dee Dee West, Roberta Riportella as Sandra Crane, Anne Katz as Meredith Lane, Vicki Williams as Christine Donovan, Cindy Severt as Vanessa, Amelia Buragas as Young Vanessa, Doug Mackey as Vincent, Michael Buragas as Young Vincent, Doug Swenson as Roscoe, Michael Birkley as Weissman, Louise Stout as Emily Whitman and Jack Poulson as Theodore Whitman.
The ensemble comprises Sarah Bartlett, Colleen Beyler, Angela Birritella, Rebecca Chicoine, Lorah Haskins, Kiley Hearn, Michael Birkley, Tom Henson, David Kuelz, David Lawver, Steve Myck, Jack Poulson and Adam Wolter.
Follies, with songs by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman, was originally directed by Harold Prince on Broadway in 1971. Since then, it has received a legendary star-filled concert at Lincoln Center in 1985, a Roundabout revival on Broadway directed by Matthew Warchus in 2001, and numerous regional mountings, including a Paper Mill Playhouse engagement that featured Donna McKechnie and the late Ann Miller. The most recent staging was presented by City Center Encores! and featured Victoria Clark, Donna Murphy, Victor Garber and Michael McGrath.
Song titles include "Beautiful Girls," "Don't Look at Me," "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs," "Rain on the Roof," "Ah, Paris!," "Broadway Baby," "The Road You Didn't Take," "Bolero d'Amour," "In Buddy's Eyes," "Who's That Woman?," "I'm Still Here," "Too Many Mornings," "The Right Girl," "One More Kiss," "Could I Leave You?," "Loveland," "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow," "Love Will See Us Through," "The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues," "Losing My Mind," "The Story of Lucie and Jessie" and "Live, Laugh, Love." Tom Wopat received a Tony nomination for his role as Frank Butler opposite Bernadette Peters in the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun and has also appeared on Broadway in I Love My Wife, City of Angels, Guys and Dolls, Chicago, 42nd Street and Glengarry Glen Ross. Perhaps best known for his seven-season run on "The Dukes of Hazzard," Wopat has also released several albums with CBS and Capitol Records. His latest disc is entitled "Dissertation on the State of Bliss." Wopat will return to Broadway later this season in the new musical A Catered Affair.
Tickets, priced $15-$25, are available by calling (608) 262-2201 or by visiting www.uniontheater.wisc.edu.
The Wisconsin Union Theater is located in the west wing of the Memorial Union on the campus of UW-Madison. The address is 800 Langdon Street in Madison, WI.
