Trivia / Follies

• Acclaimed Flop: The original 1971 Broadway production ran for over 500 performances and got rave reviews, but it had been expensive to mount, and ended up losing nearly a million dollars.
• Hostility on the Set: Choreographer and co-director Michael Bennett clashed with Sondheim and co-director/producer Harold Prince. Bennett wanted to bring in Neil Simon to rewrite the book and make the show more commercial, while Prince and Sondheim overruled him.
  • Also there were a lot of mini fights between the supporting actresses some of which were real stars in their prime for example Fifi D'Orsay ^note  who played Solange believed that she was still the star, however when Ah, Paris! was moved from the end of the Montage to middle with Broadway Baby in its place she threatened to quit, only for Ethel Shutta ^note who was Hattie to put her in her place offering to reprise Broadway Baby in French.
• Wag the Director:
  • For the 1985 concert version, Mandy Patinkin asked to redo "The God Why Don't You Love Me Blues" song as a solo, even though the original version featured back-up singers for the characters Margie and Sally.
  • Part of the reason for "Ah But Underneath" being created was to play to actress Diana Rigg's strength as a singer, as the actress had problems with her choreography for her character while doing the play.
  • Alexis Smith, the original Phyllis, asked the creative team to give her a chance to show off her legs in her final number, which heavily influenced the writing, staging and costuming of "The Story of Lucy and Jessie."
• What Could Have Been:
  • The original concept was a murder mystery.
  • There was plans of a National Tour of the original production, however that production folded in LA.
  • A movie version of Follies was planned starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.
  • The 1998 Papermill Production which was the last production James Goldman worked on before his death was going to be a Broadway Revival, that was the reason it has a Cast Recording however Goldman’s widow refused to give permission.