Broadway Follies

Our first class trip to Broadway was exciting, especially considering I'd never been there before! We started off our day with a scavenger hunt in the theater district, and although my fellow teammates (Kristin and Rachel) and I weren't very familiar with the city, we still had a blast. For a group of directionally-challenged people, we did pretty darn well and only got lost once! The scavenger hunt was a great way to explore the Broadway district, see what shows were playing, and to learn more about all of the theaters and musicals there. Also, it was a great way to see what shows I might want to get tickets for in the future! But I quickly learned that if you aren't a huge fan of crowds, then NYC is certainly not for you. We had to battle our way through the crowds by the TKS booth, the subway station, and had to turn down dozens of bus tour offers that were waved in our faces. It was exhausting, but we had a lot of fun. We spent a few hours on the scavenger hunt before meeting by the Marquis Theater for our seminar's first Broadway show!

The Marquis Theater was a lot nicer than I had expected, and certainly a lot bigger. When we got to our seats and looked around the theater, it was a bit confusing - eerie music played in the background, ghostly figures in elaborate costumes walked slowly and silently around the stage, and the curtain seemed tattered and worn. I did a double take and looked at my program - The Addams Family Musical was playing down the street, wasn't it? But once Follies got started, the eerie setting began to make sense - it was a show about a reunion in an old theater, and all of the people who used to be a part of it. It took a bit of time for the show to pick up interest in the audience, but once "Mirror Mirror" was in full swing, the rest of the show was dazzling and spectacular. The dances were very well choreographed, the songs were incredible, and the costumes were gorgeous. My only complaint was that Sally, played by Bernadette Peters, didn't really do a whole lot for me, and I found it hard to feel sympathy for her character. Follies is geared towards an older audience, since it focuses on not worrying about the past and learning to keep going forward without regrets. It didn't really resonate with me the way it did with the older audience members but what I took away from it was that you should really think about the choices you make so that you won't be dwelling on them in the future.

Overall, I think that Follies was an outstanding musical, and even though it wasn't aimed at an audience my age, I really enjoyed it and I'll be glad to say that it's the first Broadway show I've ever seen.