Fans of Stephen Sondheim thinking that this DVD contains the complete recording of the Follies concert on 6 September 1985 will be disappointed. This 90 minutes feature isn't really a musical or a concert version of the musical. Rather, it is more like a documentary that showcases the four days of preparations leading up to the concert at the Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. Only the last half of the DVD features the concert and even this merely shows the highlights of the concert (since it would have been impossible to squeeze 90 over minutes of the Sondheim score into the remaining 45 minutes).

This musical has a book by James Goldman and its story revolves around a reunion of the Weisman (pseudo-Ziegfeld) Follies girls who gather at their old theater on the eve of its leveling to become a parking lot. Sally Durant Plummer (Barbara Cook) is married to Buddy Plummer (Mandy Patinkin) but she uses this opportunity to try rekindling her old flame with Benjamin Stone (George Hearn) who is married to Sally's best friend from the old days, Phyllis Rogers Stone (Lee Remick). However, since this DVD focuses mainly on the behind-the-scenes action and some highlights from the concert, this storyline is not evident in this DVD.

The first half of the DVD  follows the star cast of Cook, Patinkin, Remick, Hearn, Elaine Stritch, Carol Burnett and Liliane Montevecchi as they undergo three days of intensive rehearsals for the concert. There are interviews with the performers as well as the composer and lyricist, Sondheim. The performers all seem to display genuine respect for one another as they listen attentively and applaud one another's performances in the rehearsal room. While watching this documentary-musical, I was reminded of how much work had to be done by such stage performers for every production that they put up. Watching a flawless performance on stage, all too often, it is easy to forget that these same performers are capable of fluffing up their lines, forgetting the lyrics and failing to hit the high notes during rehearsals as can be seen in this DVD.

The second half of the DVD features the actual day of the concert performance. We are given a sneak peek at the performers as they warm up their voices backstage and the nerves that are on display before they confidently strut on stage to belt out their numbers. Notable highlights from the concert include some complete songs like Remick's "Could I Leave You", Cook's "Losing My Mind" and "In Buddy's Eyes", Hearn and Cook's fantastic duet "Too Many Mornings" and Burnett's "I'm Still Here" but unfortunately, the highlights leave  out the acclaimed "Waiting For The Girls Upstairs". 

Stritch growls her way through the "Broadway Baby" number and although I do not dispute her legendary Broadway status, I do feel that her singing voice leaves quite a lot  to be desired. Patinkin, on the other hand, demonstrates nifty footwork in "Buddy's Blues" and Remick does excellently in the tongue-twisting "The Story Of Lucy And Jessie".

This DVD may be interesting because it takes viewers behind-the-scenes of  the staging of the Follies concert, but ultimately, it does not do justice to a musical like Follies which has so many outstanding solo numbers since it only presents highlights from the concert. Also, the production seems to look very grainy and this is more likely than not  the fault of the people doing the recording in 1985. Devout Sondheim fans will probably not hesitate to get this DVD, but for the others, I would recommend getting the Follies In Concert Recording instead.

Reviewed on 26 June 2004