Follies - Versions

Versions

Goldman continued to revise the book of the musical right up to his death, which occurred shortly before the 1998 Paper Mill Playhouse production. Sondheim, too, has added and removed songs that he judged to be problematic in various productions. Ted Chapin explains: "Today, Follies is rarely performed twice in exactly the same version. James Goldman's widow made the observation that the show has morphed throughout its entire life...The London production had new songs and dialogue. The Paper Mill Playhouse production used some elements from London but stayed close to the original. The 2001 Roundabout Broadway revival, the first major production following Goldman's death in 1998, was again a combination of previous versions."

Major changes were made for the original production in London, which attempted to establish a lighter tone and favored a happier ending than the original Broadway production. According to Joanne Gordon, "When 'Follies' opened in London...it had an entirely different, and significantly more optimistic, tone. Goldman's revised book offered some small improvements over the original."

According to Sondheim, the producer Cameron Mackintosh asked for changes for the 1987 London production. "I was reluctantly happy to comply, my only serious balk being at his request that I cut "The Road You Didn't Take" ... I saw no reason not to try new things, knowing we could always revert to the original (which we eventually did). The net result was four new songs...For reasons which I've forgotten, I rewrote "Loveland" for the London production. There were only four showgirls in this version, and each one carried a shepard's crook with a letter of the alphabet on it."

The musical was written in one act, and the original director, Prince, did not want an intermission, while the co-director, Bennett, wanted two acts. It was originally performed in one act. The 1987 West End, 2005 Barrington Stage Company, the 2001 Broadway revival and Kennedy Center 2011 productions were performed in two acts. However, the August 23, 2011 Broadway preview performance was performed without an intermission. By opening the 2011 Broadway revival was performed with the intermission, in two acts.