"Follies" is Sondheim at the very peak of his songwriting prowess. It's a virtuoso turn with a series of pastiche songs relating to musical theater numbers in a variety of styles. His later works became less reliant on individual songs moving towards an operatic style, which he achieved so beautifully in both "Sweeney Todd" and "Passion". Song for song, you would be hard pressed to come up with a musical as impeccably written as "Follies".
It's a great shame that there is no existing video, or even complete recording of the original Broadway production. It's one of those magical occurrences where it call comes together. There certainly have been bigger stars than Alexis Smith, Dorothy Collins or Yvonne de Carlo and yet the performances of the 1971 production, almost inexplicably, remain distinctly definitive.
From the start "Follies in Concert" was intended by all concerned to become the definitive "Follies", with an all star cast backed by no less than the New York Philharmonic. This was in fact the motivating factor for the event being staged at all. The concert was most certainly a terrific theatrical event. The stars did not disappoint and the orchestra sounded great. But despite this, it widely failed in its quest to become the definitive version. Once again, this is not easily explained. There simply wasn't the legendary magic with which the original production was blessed. You cannot make magic in the theater by employing the very best; it either happens or it doesn't.
The documentary section of this film is of great interest. The musical theater stars such as Barbara Cook, Elaine Stritch, Phylis Newman as well as film stars Lee Remick and Carol Burnett all come across with a rarely seen naturalness. It's as if they are truly humbled by the material itself.
The performance segments are too short for my liking. It's a treat watching these professionals at work, singing such glorious music.
But when all is said and done, this is no match all for the much loved 1971 Original Broadway production.