Leigh Scarritt and Kaia Bugler in ‘Follies,’ now playing at the Joan. (Karli Cadel Photography)
By Sandi Masori
Sandi Masori
SAN DIEGO — As a dedicated reader of this publication, you may already know all about Cygnet’s new theater in Liberty Station, The Joan. Follies by James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim is its opening show.
Being that it’s Sondheim, you know it’s a musical. It’s an older one, both written and set in 1971. The plot is a little confusing, and takes a bit to understand, but basically the showgirls and their husbands from various theater eras gone by are invited to revisit the theater before its demolition. The girls, or “Weisman girls” as they’re called, were stars of yesteryear- ranging from 25-50 years before the play takes place. When the show opens, the ghosts of their younger past are drifting around the stage.
Audrey Deubig and Sandy Campbell in ‘Follies’ (Karli Cadel Photography)
Eventually we understand that the middle age- senior women are looking at the ghosts of their younger selves and reminiscing about who they were and what they had hoped to be when they were in their heyday and comparing it to where they are now.
Different actresses are highlighted and sing about their past and present while their younger self looks on.
And there is an old love triangle of sorts that briefly reawakens, just long enough to cause some drama and mayhem.
The show is very song heavy and the actors’ voices are amazing. Almost all of the actors have several San Diego theater credits under their belts, and the entire ensemble was really good. Some standouts were Audrey Deubig as young Sally, Sandy Campbell as current Sally, Leigh Scarritt as current Carlotta Campion, Nio Russel as young Phyllis, David S. Humphrey as current Ben Stone, and Russell Garrett as current Buddy Plummer.
The set is the backstage of a once grand, but now dilapidated theater. It’s very detailed, and scenic designer Andrew Hull really made use of the Joan’s larger deeper stage to create a phenomenal set.
Speaking of the new theater, the seating in it is nice, wide seats, with a deep raking (the incline from one row to the next), but it’s also very narrow, with only a left- and right-side aisle. Since the audience area is so long and narrow, I suspect that the actors will stay on the stage and not venture out into the audience the way they did at The Theater in Old Town. They did for this show anyway. I have to admit I’m a little sad about that as I always found it so charming when they would enter or exit through the audience. But I suppose it’s worth it for the beautiful picture window stage they now have.
The biggest issue I have with Follies is that it’s really really long- clocking in at 2 hours and 45 min with an intermission. I know that this is an old Sondheim classic, but I think a few numbers could easily have been cut to make a tighter, shorter show. Being that much of their audience is older, I can see the appeal of this particular show, and it’s nostalgia motif, but I noticed that several seats opened at intermission indicating perhaps it was a bit too lengthy.
Other than that, the singing, acting and dancing were well done, and leaving the theater I overheard several people reminiscing about their own misspent youths.
Follies plays at the new Joan theater through October 5.
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Associate editor Sandi Masori is a food and theater reviewer for San Diego Jewish World