Grand stage: A Stephen Sondheim and Richard Rodgers collaboration would appear to be a sure bet for any Broadway investor, yet 1965’s Do I Hear A Waltz? fell far short of critical acclaim. The redeeming factor is that it caused Sondheim to only accept projects where he could write both the music and lyrics, and led to Follies, one of the most ambitious musicals of his career. The award-winning musical evolves from the reminiscences of showgirls, and is based on a story about the reunion of some performers from the Ziegfeld Follies. It features a stylistic revival of the theatrical revue productions that defined old Broadway, and director and accomplished thespian Robert Chapel says, “I deeply admire Live Arts’ chutzpah in accepting the challenges producing this grand musical brings.”
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