Friday Briefing: The last night of Follies, the joys of theatrical reunions and rock musicals

The last night of Follies

I've written before elsewhere of how, "As a critic, I am used to going to first nights - you could say it's my workplace. They may be glamorous occasions for some, but I'm there to do a job of work -though I also hope to derive pleasure from it, too. (In fact, that's my hope every time: that I'm going to have a great evening).  But it's not for that reason alone that I like last nights much, much more. As a serial repeater of shows I love, there's nothing quite like going to the last night. Of course, there's inevitably something a bit bittersweet about them, too: that a show you love is not going to be there anymore. And the cast, who've bonded over the previous several months of rehearsals and then a run, won't be seeing each other again after the weekend, either."

And I went on: "So there are inevitably tears. But there's also joy: removed of the tension of the first night (and the impending reception it will receive from us dastardly critics!), the audience and cast alike can just enjoy themselves one last time. They're also uniquely democratic as well as celebratory; anyone can buy a seat to be there, rather than requiring privileged access, as invitation-only first nights do."

And last weekend I celebrated that unique combination of joy and sadness again as I attended the last night of Follies at the National. So I was there from the first preview to both first night's (when it originally opened in 2017, then when returned earlier this year) and both last night's, too. After I tweeted some curtain call pictures, star Janie Dee replied: "Thank you for documenting this night. The end of a truly inspirational experience. Fulfilling and wonderful and challenging and triumphant at every turn. So grateful. Thank you for making the journey with us... Love Janie". The gratitude is mutual.

Theatrical reunions

A few months ago, I attended a remarkable reunion: Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz, the original leads of Marvin Hamlisch, Carole Bayer Sager and Neil Simon's 1979 wonderful Broadway musical They're Playing Our Song were reunited, 40 years to the very night, that the show originally opened to perform a concert version of the show at the Music Box Theatre, one door down from the Imperial that was its first home. (Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone could do the same thing here with its original London cast Tom Conti and Gemma Craven - the latter of whom won the Olivier for her performance - that opened the show at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1980?)

This week, just two nights after Follies closed at the National, some of the cast were reunited for a wonderful cabaret called On Reflection at the Underbelly's Spiegeltent on the South Bank, in which they told some background stories to their lives that brought them to Follies, and sang a song of particular resonance to them. There was something rather wonderful in a show about a theatrical reunion having one so soon after it had closed: perhaps a sign of not wanting to let go, of course, but also a warm celebration of their own humanity and (in many cases) humility, too.

I was really moved - and inspired - by some of the personal stories they told, including gay dad Ian McLarnon, whose adopted a daughter with his partner - an experience, he said, that sometimes brought him to his knees, before he movingly sang "I've Grown Accustomed to her Face" from My Fair Lady with an overwhelming sense of love. Another was Adrian Grove, who showed us a photograph of him delivering a baby and told of making a mid-career switch from doctor to actor! We can all clearly change our lives at any time.

Acting is often a daily struggle. Christine Tucker, who played young Phyllis in the show and had begun her career as a child actor in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, told of how, during a long period of unemployment, she rang Caroline Sheen (who had played Truly Scrumptious in Chitty when she did it) who urged her to keep going. Calling Sheen her inspiration, she then sang a song from The Light in the Piazza that Sheen had starred in the British premiere of at Leicester's Curve, The Beauty Is. And by a beautiful coincidence, that song will be heard soon just a few yards from the Spiegeltent in the show's London premiere at the Royal Festival Hall next month.  

The cabaret evenings were put together by the aforementioned Janie Dee, who this Sunday will also be part of another reunion, when she and her Follies co-star Joanna Riding return to the roles they originally played in the National's 1992 revival of Carousel, for a concert performance at Cadogan Hall.

When I interviewed Riding back in February, she told me another inspiring story of mentorship that occurred then, saying of Dee: "She took me under my wing and I've adored her ever since. She sensed someone who was a rabbit in the headlights, and she looked after me. I made a complete tit of myself daily in front of Mr Hytner."

I can't wait to see them as Julie Jordan and Carrie Pipperidge again, over 25 years after they first played them.

And while we're talking of reunions: Harry Francis, soon to play what he's called his dream role of Mr Mistoffelees in an international tour of Cats, tweeted earlier this week: "Putting this idea out there... the 40th anniversary of Cats is in two years... I think there should be a massive anniversary version like Phantom at the Albert Hall ... Hundreds of dancers... performed in the round... I think it would be epic!" I agree. And maybe I could get to see his Mistoffelees without having to go to Shanghai or Beijing....

Rock musicals

The West End currently has shows featuring the classic hits of Michael Jackson, Tina Turner and Abba, while Broadway also showcases hits made famous by Cher, Carole King and The Temptations. As Mamma Mia! famously trumpets, "You already know you are going to love it." Familiarity, as I always say, breeds content (and contentment); and although I will always love brand-new musicals, with original scores, ahead of jukebox compilations, there's definitely a market for them.

But there's also room for original rock musicals - shows crafted by contemporary writers who are rooted in a pop sensibility. Last Sunday at Hammersmith's Eventim Apollo a glorious parade of songs born in this milieu were presented in a charity concert called The Best of... Rock Musicals, stretching from Hair, the show that ushered in this new age in 1967, to Dear Evan Hansen. In between came Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, Tim Rice's collaboration with Abba writers Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus Chess and the Rice/Elton John partnerships on Aida, plus Grease and of course The Rocky Horror Show.

As I wrote in a programme note for the show, "Pop music and its musicians are an ongoing source and resource for musicals as we move on into the 21st century. Musicals are in a constant state of evolution and revolution - and pop music provides an anchor both to the past and a bridge to the future." So there was much to celebrate as we heard a fantastic cast that included some of our very best rock musical voices including Kerry Ellis, Jon Robyns, Rob Houchen, Debbie Kurup and Emma Hatton, joined by Broadway actors Judy Kuhn and Adam Pascal, the latter of whom both sang songs they had originated on Broadway in Chess and Rent respectively.