{"id":230288,"date":"2025-09-16T02:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T02:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/230288\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T02:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T02:49:10","slug":"follies-with-marvelous-singing-first-offering-at-the-joan-in-liberty-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/230288\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Follies,’ with Marvelous Singing, First Offering at the Joan in Liberty Station"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"LeighLeigh Scarritt and Kaia Bugler in \u2018Follies,\u2019 now playing at the Joan. (Karli Cadel Photography)<\/p>\n

By Sandi Masori\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Sandi Masori<\/p>\n

SAN DIEGO \u2014 As a dedicated reader of this publication, you may already know all about Cygnet\u2019s new theater in Liberty Station, The Joan.\u00a0\u00a0Follies\u00a0by James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim is its opening show.<\/p>\n

Being that it\u2019s Sondheim, you know it\u2019s a musical.\u00a0 It\u2019s 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.\u00a0 The girls, or \u201cWeisman girls\u201d as they\u2019re called, were stars of yesteryear- ranging from 25-50 years before the play takes place.\u00a0 When the show opens, the ghosts of their younger past are drifting around the stage.<\/p>\n

\"\"Audrey Deubig and Sandy Campbell in \u2018Follies\u2019 (Karli Cadel Photography)<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Different actresses are highlighted and sing about their past and present while their younger self looks on.<\/p>\n

And there is an old love triangle of sorts that briefly reawakens, just long enough to cause some drama and mayhem.<\/p>\n

The show is very song heavy and the actors\u2019 voices are amazing. Almost all of the actors have several San Diego theater credits under their belts, and the entire ensemble was really good.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

The set is the backstage of a once grand, but now dilapidated theater.\u00a0 It\u2019s very detailed, and scenic designer Andrew Hull really made use of the Joan\u2019s larger deeper stage to create a phenomenal set.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s also very narrow, with only a left- and right-side aisle.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 They did for this show anyway.\u00a0 I have to admit I\u2019m a little sad about that as I always found it so charming when they would enter or exit through the audience.\u00a0 But I suppose it\u2019s worth it for the beautiful picture window stage they now have.<\/p>\n

The biggest issue I have with\u00a0Follies\u00a0is that it\u2019s really really long- clocking in at 2 hours and 45 min with an intermission.\u00a0 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\u2019s nostalgia motif, but I noticed that several seats opened at intermission indicating perhaps it was a bit too lengthy.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Follies\u00a0plays at the new Joan theater through October 5.<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Associate editor Sandi Masori is a food and theater reviewer for San Diego Jewish World<\/p>\n

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