Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's Follies completes its run at San Francisco Playhouse September 10. The show opened July 20, following COVID-related delays to the originally planned July 6 opening. The Bill English-helmed run began June 30.
Set in a dilapidated theatre on the brink of being torn down, the theatre hosts a final reunion for performers of the fictional Weismann Follies. Three-time Helen Hayes Award winner Natascia Diaz, whose Broadway credits include Man of La Mancha, The Capeman, Carousel, and Seussical, stars as Sally Durant Plummer.
Joining her in the cast are Samantha Rose Cárdenas as Young Sally, Maureen McVerry as Phyllis Rogers Stone, Danielle Cheiken as Young Phyllis, Ryan Drummond as Buddy Plummer, Chachi Delgado as Young Buddy, Chris Vettel as Benjamin Stone, Cameron La Brie as Young Benjamin, Cindy Goldfield as Carlotta Campion, Lucinda Hitchcock Cone as Hattie Walker, Jill Slyter as Solange LaFitte, Caroline Louise Altman as Stella Deems, Louis Parnell as Dimitri Weismann, Frederick Winthrop as Roscoe, Eiko Yamamoto as Emily Whitman, and Rene Collins as Theodore Whitman with Emily Corbo, Anthony Maglio, Catrina Manahan, and Anne Warque in the ensemble.
Originally slated for the Playhouse’s 2019-2020 season, the production was postponed due to the pandemic and marks Follies' first fully staged professional production in San Francisco.
Featured on the creative team are choreographer Nicole Helfer, music director Dave Dobrusky, scenic designer Heather Kenyon, costume designer Abra German, lighting designer Kurt Landisman, sound and projections designer Teddy Hulsker, properties designer Mylo Cardona, and wig designer Laundra Tyme. Casting is by Dori L. Jacob and Annina Baker, and additional casting is by Janet Foster. Danielle Levin serves as dialect coach.
Follies originally premiered on Broadway at Winter Garden Theatre in April 1971 with a score that boasts such tunes as "Beautiful Girls," "Broadway Baby," "In Buddy's Eyes," "I'm Still Here," "Could I Leave You?," "Losing My Mind," and "Who's That Woman?" Among the original cast were Dick Latessa, Alexis Smith, Yvonne De Carlo, John McMartin, Gene Nelson, and Dorothy Collins. The musical won seven Tony Awards in 1972.
