The Will Rogers Follies
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| The Will Rogers Follies | |
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| Original Broadway Playbill | |
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| Music | Cy Coleman |
| Lyrics | Betty Comden Adolph Green |
| Book | Peter Stone |
| Productions | 1991 Broadway |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award for Best Score Drama Desk Outstanding Musical Drama Desk Outstanding Music |
The Will Rogers Follies is a Tony Award-winning musical with a book by Peter Stone, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman.
It focuses on the life and career of famed humorist and performer Will Rogers, using as a backdrop the Ziegfeld Follies, which he often headlined, and describes every episode in his life in the form of a big production number. The Rogers character also performs rope tricks in between scenes. The revue contains snippets of Rogers' famous homespun style of wisdom and common sense and tries to convey the personality of this quintessentially American figure whose most famous quote was "I never met a man I didn't like."
After thirty-three previews, the Broadway production, directed and choreographed by Tommy Tune, opened on May 1, 1991 at the Palace Theatre, where it ran for 981 performances. The original cast included Keith Carradine as Rogers, Dee Hoty as Betty Blake, Dick Latessa as Will's father Clem, and Cady Huffman as Ziegfeld's favorite chorus girl. Replacements later in the run included Mac Davis and Larry Gatlin as Rogers, Mickey Rooney as Clem, and Susan Anton and Marla Maples as Ziegfeld's favorite. The recorded voice of Gregory Peck was heard as Ziegfeld. The show also enjoyed a number of national tours.
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[edit] Synopsis
- Act I
Rogers frequently speaks directly to the audience and to Florenz Ziegfeld himself, who often interjects to question the progress of the show and to give some directorial advice. After introducing the audience to his friends and family, Rogers discusses leaving home at 19 to become a cowboy in Argentina. Ziegfeld tells Rogers that he must "meet the girl". Although Rogers met Betty Blake at a train station, Ziegfield creates a more “theatrical” meeting by having her lowered romantically from the moon.
Because Betty is eager to marry Rogers, the show moves forward several years to a time when Rogers is playing in a small Wild West revue. The couple is about to be married, but Ziegfeld interrupts, saying that the wedding has to be delayed, because it must occur in the first act finale. So, as Rogers' success continues to grow, he and Betty travel around the country performing and produce four children. Rogers gets his big break when he is invited to join the Ziegfeld Follies and, by the early 1910’s, he is a big vaudeville and radio star. He is about to leave for Hollywood to start a career in film, when it is at last time for the finale and the wedding.
- Act II
Rogers is at the zenith of his popularity, the country's biggest and highest paid star of every medium of his time – stage, screen, radio, newspapers, and public appearances – and is even asked to run for president. This doesn't leave him much time for Betty, and she begins to feel neglected and starts singing the blues. Rogers comes home with "a treasury of precious jewels," and all is forgiven. The good mood doesn't last long, however, as bill collectors and creditors come knocking at the door. Ziegfeld has lost his fortune, and the Great Depression is in full swing. Herbert Hoover asks Rogers to give a speech to the nation, and everyone is inspired. Rogers also reconciles with his estranged father. The show ends with the tragic plane ride in Alaska that he shares with Wiley Post, a character whose cheerful invitation, "Let's go flyin'!" is heard throughout the show.
[edit] Songs
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[edit] Characters and original cast
- Will Rogers - Keith Carradine
- Betty Blake - Dee Hoty
- Clem Rogers (Will's father) - Dick Latessa
- Ziegfeld's Favorite - Cady Huffman
- Mr. Ziegfeld (voice) - Gregory Peck
- Wiley Post - Paul Ukena, Jr.
- Will Rogers, Jr. - Rick Faugno
- Mary Rogers - Tammy Minoff
- James Rogers - Lance Robinson
- Freddy Rogers - Gregory Scott Carter
- Betty's sisters; Will's sisters; some of the New Ziegfeld Girls; The Will Rogers Wranglers, etc.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Tony Award for Best Musical (winner)
- Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Original Score (winner)
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Carradine, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Hoty, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Huffman, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Choreography (winner)
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (winner)
- Tony Award for Best Scenic Design (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design (winner)
- Tony Award for Best Lighting Design (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Carradine, nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestration (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music (winner)
[edit] References
- Information about The Will Rogers Follies
- The New York Times review by Frank Rich
- Information about the show and the cast album
[edit] External links
- IBDB production information
- Information about the show and national tours
- NODA's synopsis of the show
- Information about the cast album
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by City of Angels by Cy Coleman and David Zippel |
Tony Award for Best Original Score 1991 by Cy Coleman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green |
Succeeded by Falsettos by William Finn |
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