Arts & Entertainment
Rickety reunion
Uneven ‘Follies’ finds footing in second half
Bernadette Peters in ‘Follies.’ (Photo by Joan Marcus; courtesy Kennedy Center)
‘Follies’
Through June 19
The Kennedy Center
$45-$150
202-467-4600
The applause begins early at the Kennedy Center’s lavish production of “Follies.”
It breaks out when the orchestra strikes up Stephen Sondheim’s gorgeous overture, and continues (loud and long) as well-known cast members like Bernadette Peters, Elaine Paige and Linda Lavin make their entrances. There’s another burst when one by one these ladies and others playfully strike stagey poses harking back to their middle-aged characters’ long ago careers as showgirls.
Eventually the clapping sufficiently quiets for Sondheim and writer James Goldman’s 1971 musical to unfold.
On the eve of the demolition of his once grand Broadway theater, aging impresario Dmitri Weismann (local actor David Sabin) has gathered a party of former Weismann (think Ziegfeld) girls and their husbands beneath crumbly, gilt proscenium for one final reunion.
Two of the couples — Sally (Bernadette Peters) and Buddy (Danny Burstein), and Phyllis (Jan Maxwell) and Ben (Ron Raines) – share a history beyond the old shows. Way back when, promising young Ben fooled around with Sally while engaged to Phyllis. Sally was in love with Ben then and remains so 30 years later. She unrealistically hopes the Follies reunion will serve to rekindle their passion and bring them together. For both couples, the evening plays out awkwardly to say the least.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party is taking a less (emotionally) messy trip down memory lane with some of the former Weismann girls performing their old numbers. As a has-been French songstress, Régine valiantly croaks “Ah, Paris!” Next up, a very energetic Linda Lavin delivers “Broadway Baby” in her own sort of offbeat, jazzy style. (Recall the theme song for Lavin’s hit TV show “Alice”? She sang that too).
In the well-received “Who’s That Woman?” Terri White, who is gay, leads some of the ladies (including a very agile Bernadette Peters) in a rousing tap routine. And finally former showgirl-turned-TV star Carlotta (Elaine Paige) directs “I’m Still Here” to a passel of beyond-charmed cater waiters sapping that visceral anthem of some of its punch.
Throughout the show, young actors playing the couples’ pre-jaded, circa 1941 selves weave in and out of the action. Also, tall lithesome showgirls from the theater’s glory days roam the stage in fabulous costumes designed by Gregg Barnes; and while these ghosts don’t create an especially haunting effect, their gravity-defying bodies certainly make a statement on the passage of time.
Directed by Eric Schaeffer and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, the first act is a little uneven, but the second act is nearly perfect. Things really get going with the powerful “Could I Leave You?” in which Maxwell’s fabulously icy Phyllis finally goes off on her rich and wayward husband. Then it’s Schaeffer’s flawlessly staged “Loveland” sequence – a revealing glimpse inside the two couples’ heads (Sondheim is big on psychoanalysis) via a number of the very entertaining, vaudeville-style numbers including Burstein’s caustically comic “Buddy’s Blues,” and Peters’ heartrendingly sung ballad, “I’m Losing my mind.”
Looking great in a tight red slip dress, Peters doesn’t appear the depressed Arizona housewife that Sally has become, but nonetheless she convincingly portrays her character’s sadness and loss of judgment. Burstein is equally good as Sally’s devoted husband who used to wait eagerly for her to meet him at the stage door, and all these years later he’s still stuck on her.
Theater
A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan stars as Duke Orsino
‘Twelfth Night’
Through June 22
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol St., S.E.
$20-$84
Folger.edu
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan (they/them)loves tapping into the multitudes within.
Currently Keegan plays the melancholic Duke Orsino in Folger Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Twelfth Night.” Director Mei Ann Teo describes the production as “sexy, hilarious, and devastating” and full of “elegant kink.”
Washington-based, Keegan enjoys a busy and celebrated career. Her vast biography includes Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress) and Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive, both at Round House Theatre; Diana Son’s Stop Kiss directedby Holly Twyford for No Rules Theatre Company; and Contractions at Studio Theatre, to name just a few.
In addition to acting, Keegan works as a polyamory and ethical non-monogamy life and relationship coach, an area of interest that grew out of personal exploration. For them, coaching seems to work hand in hand with acting.
WASHINGTON BLADE: You’re playing the lovesick Orsino in Twelfth Night. How did that come about?
ALYSSA KEEGAN: The director was looking to cast a group of actors with diverse identities; throughout auditions, there were no constraints regarding anyone’s assigned sex at birth. It was really a free for all.
BLADE: What’s your approach to the fetching, cod-piece clad nobleman?
KEEGAN: Offstage I identify as completely nonbinary; I love riding in this neutral middle space. But I also love cosplay. The ability to do that in the play gives me permission to dive completely into maleness.
So, when I made that decision to play Orsino as a bio male, suddenly the part really cracked open for me. I began looking for clues about his thoughts and opinions about things like his past relationships and his decision not to date older women.
Underneath his mask of bravura and sexuality, and his firmness of feelings, he’s quite lonely and has never really felt loved. It makes sense to me why his love for Olivia is so misguided and why he might fall in love with the Cesario/Viola character.
BLADE: As an actor, do you ever risk taking on the feelings of your characters?
KEEGAN: Prior to my mental health education, yes, and that could be toxic for me. I’ve since learned that the nervous system can’t tell the difference between real emotional distress and a that of a fully embodied character.
So, I created and share the Empowered Performer Project. [a holistic approach to performance that emphasizes the mental and emotional well-being of performing artists]. It utilizes somatic tools that help enormously when stepping into a character.
BLADE: Has changing the way you work affected your performances?
KEEGAN: I think I’m much better now. I used to have nearly debilitating stage fright. I’d spend all day dreading going onstage. I thought that was just part of the job. Now, I’ve learned to talk to my body. Prior to a performance, I can now spend my offstage time calmly gardening, working with my mental health clients, or playing with my kid. I’m just present in my life in a different way.
BLADE: Is Orsino your first time playing a male role?
KEEGAN: No. In fact, the very first time I played a male role was at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va. I played Hipolito in Thomas Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy.
As Hipolito, I felt utterly male in the moment, so much so that I had audience members see me later after the show and they were surprised that I was female. They thought I was a young guy in the role. There’s something very powerful in that.
BLADE: Do you have a favorite part? Male or female?
KEEGAN: That’s tough but I think it’s Maggie the Cat. I played the hyper-female Maggie in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House. In the first act she didn’t stop talking for 51 minutes opposite Gregory Wooddell as Brick who barely had to speak. That lift was probably the heaviest I’ve ever been asked to do in acting.
BLADE: What about Folger’s Twelfth Night might be especially appealing to queer audiences?
KEEGAN: First and foremost is presentation. 99% of the cast identify as queer in some way.
The approach to Shakespeare’s text is one of the most bold and playful that I have ever seen. It’s unabashedly queer. The actors are here to celebrate and be loud and colorful and to advocate. It’s a powerful production, especially to do so close to the Capitol building, and that’s not lost on any of us.
The Washington Blade hosted the inaugural WorldPride Boat Parade at The Wharf DC on Friday, June 6. NBC4’s Tommy McFly served as the emcee.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2025 Capital Pride Honors awards ceremony and gala reception was held at the National Building Museum on Thursday, June 5. Honorees included Cathy Renna, Jerry St. Louis, Ernest Hopkins, Lamar Braithwaite, Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Kriston Pumphrey, Gia Martinez, Kraig Williams and SMYAL. Presenters and speakers included U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Amber Ruffin, Raven-Symoné and Paul Wharton.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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