This one was a mamoth undertaking, but more beloved than we as producers anticipated.
When we announced doing a Broadway appreciation show, we had no idea how many of the current cast members of The Follies Girls saw this as an incredible opportunity to play their favorite characters or roles. We were flooded with act submissions, on top of our already determined group numbers. It was something almost every single member of the cast wanted to do and it felt amazing to work hard at giving each person a chance to shine.
One of the most notable changes for this show was our stage manager taking the reigns as emcee, and Marian McDees on her first go round handled it with charm and grace and like a pro. On top of that having Whip Stitch take on Stage Management as well as serving as our seamstress was a huge score for us, plus soon to debut performers: Honey B, Sweetheart Buffet and Sister Sin rounded out the very much appreciated volunteer behind the scenes core we needed to pull this off.
First up were some special projects that were on two of the choreographer's minds: "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago, "Look at Me I'm Sandra Dee" from Grease, and "Take Me or Leave Me" from Rent were numbers that both Charm Chartreuse and Swanky Bubbles wanted their opportunity to interpret, and it allowed them to curate the cast for each - with all three of those targeted goals for them being SHOWSTOPPERS! Including in those the official Follies debut of Swanky singing. Nipsy Tussle wanted another bold opportunity to showcase her choreography to "Mein Herr" from Cabaret, which was beautifully matched by Charm Chartreuse's choreography for "Sexy" from Mean Girls and "Fame" from the movie musical of the same name. These challenged our Advanced Jazz Team to channel their theatrical skills while also digging deep into some serious jazz technique. In addition, "Twenty Four Hours of Lovin" from Best Little Whorehouse in Texas choreographed by Nipsy Tussle - showcased our new All Levels Jazz Team, and "Little Showgirls" as a unique spin on the timeless Annie song was a fun send off to the Wednesday night team thanks to Zeta Byte. In addition, we retired the TAP team until we potentially get new dance flooring with "The Nicest Kids in Town" and it was a flirting and fun number from Swanky Bubbles yet again.
Additionally we were extremely proud to see a bunch of self-starter collaboration numbers including "Candy Store" from Heathers created and showcasing Tzippi Piscis, Blitz Eros (on her debut as a member of The Follies Girls), and Mallory Bon Morte; on top of our solo submissions from our performers. Since group numbers are a huge part of our four BIG shows each year, it was really lovely to see so much collaborative energy from everyone and they did their inspirations proud.
The solos were truly a highlight from this show. Heartfelt performances by: Tzippi Piscis with "Challenge" from the Tiktok Musical: Epic, and "Chava's Ballet" of Fiddler on the Roof from Mallory Bon Morte were only matched by the powerful "Waiving Through a Window" of Dear Evan Hansen from Katerina in her first solo. Watching her growth as both a woman and a performer are a joy to watch, and she paid tribute to those people who've always seen her waiving through that window - reminding us that we are never truly alone. Frenchie Lickyer brought her occasional co-star Thunder Pete up to the stage for a lovely turn on Phantom of the Opera, and the first solos from Blitz Eros with "Hard to be the Bard" from Rotten, and "Losin Streak" from Hazbin Hotel lovingly tributed by Dolly Decay with a reconfigured garment by our incredible seamstress Whip Stitch, we're very true to each of these wonderful performances from performers on the rise.
On top of these, our beloved Orion Anarchy Mars did wonderful renditions of Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast (complete with Mrs. Potts), and Your Song from Moulin Rouge - without them on our performers list it is very hard to stage a show when so many performers have group work and teams, they are pretty much our secret sauce to every show and we appreciate them beyond words - plus in all fairness the creativity they bring on top of incredible make-up skills is bar none!
In addition some of our seasoned performers got to step into character shoes from performers and characters they are passionate about with Swanky Bubbles giving the advice in "Dance Ten, Looks 3" (hardly for Swanky), from A Chorus Line, Roxi Hart taking on "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun" from Annie Get your Gun, Ivy Aphrodyte finally inhabiting the shoes of Dr. Frankenfurter to bring us "Sweet Transvestite", and Amethyst Winx showing off her Rockette's kickline training in the aptly named "Show Off" from The Drowsy Chaperone with an EPIC costume loaned to her thanks to Roxi Tart's friend who recently performed that character in a recent show.
The show continues to cement the incredibly tight choreography and concepts from Charm Chatreuse, providing the vocals as well on "Sexy" from the musical Mean Girls. We also loved seeing her challenge the girls with some uber-technical jazz on "Fame" which definitely reminds me of these womens' power and potential beyond The Follies Girls world with every show with an additional shout out to Swanky Bubbles for pulling in a ton of numbers to boot.
It was a blessing to see a full house this show, after fighting our way back 1 year ago from a loss to The Follies roster that took with it a lot of our first adopter patrons. However it's a testament to these women's abilities to shine, work incredibly hard and live our some big dreams on the small stage. All in all it was a stunning day of entertainment and a reminder that BROADWAY and MUSICALS are still very much alive and thriving and this CAST AND CREW are really going somewhere as a force within this community. xox