No. 47. “I’m Still Here”
FOLLIES (1971). By Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and James Goldman (book).
Spring 1971. You’re at Follies, Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, and Michael Bennett’s follow-up to Company. The opinions of both critics and acquaintances has been so mixed, you can’t imagine how they were all watching the same show. (Though everyone agrees that the poster is absolutely incredible.) The setting is the ficticious “Weismann Theater,” which held an annual Follies (à la Zigfield) in the years between the wars. (So, 30-40 years ago). Weisman is hosting a reunion of the former Weisman Girls on the eve of his theater’s demolition. The set is a literal pile of rubble. Or rather several deliberate piles of rubble mixed with scaffolding that moves in and out to create different configurations, with actors walking or riding above, around, and through. Two couples emerge as the evening’s protagonists: The wealthy and influential Stones (Ben and Phyllis) and their less glamorous counterpart, the Plummers (Buddy and Sally). Though their lives diverged, at one time Phyllis and Sally were friends and costars in the Weisman Follies with Ben and Buddy as their stagedoor Johnnies. Past and present co-exist here, with another quartet of actors playing younger versions of the couples, bringing haunting memories, and conflicts, back to life. All of the guests at the reunion have ghostly doppelgängers, and the score straddles both eras, mixing older pastiche numbers with more contemporary songs about the present-day conflicts. At times, you can see why some are calling this the greatest musical ever presented. The staging and the design is simply spectacular. It moves fluidly, and frequently, between a dozen characters in multiple time spans—sometimes you get caught up in it like a fabulous fever dream. But other times, You can see why some are calling it an insufferable slog. You’re occasionally confused as to who is talking, where/when they’re supposed to be, and why you’re supposed to care. Nor are you really rooting for the Stones or the Plummers, who seem miserable for entirely self-created circumstances. Among the many side characters is Carlotta, one of Wiseman’s biggest talents who had success in the early days of television and wears the remnants of her fame well. She’s played by Yvonne De Carlo—Lily Munster!—and the line between the Carlotta’s and De Carlo’s biographies seems awfully blurry. After regaling other party guests with a story about an old number that was cut years ago, she launches into a hymn of show business survival. When it starts off, you assume it’s a pastiche, but as it goes on, it feels like a much more pointed commentary on Carlotta’s (and De Carlo’s) present-day experience. (“I’m Still Here”)
Follies is a series of contradictions. What started as a murder mystery set at a reunion became a treatise on the how the optimism of The American Dream devolved into post-war cynicism. It mostly takes place in an empty theater, but it boasts one of Boris Aronson’s most technically complex sets and one of the most elaborate Broadway productions ever staged. It’s an ensemble piece, but it also requires every character to be played by a star (or at least a former one). It’s original production could never be equaled, and it remains a divisive show for audiences, but it’s been revived on Broadway more times than The Sound of Music. In a show centered on two couples mired in regret and stuck in the past, its most successful song is about moving forward and persevering with grit and determination.
“I’m Still Here,” is one of the all-time great star turns, but it’s sung by a character who only has about a dozen lines up to that point. And while some stars have re-written it to contain more personal references, the relevance of its commentary on the role of celebrity in America remains evergreen. It’s a star turn that explores what it means—and what it takes—to be a star.
Recommended Recording: ”I’m Still Here” Follies in Concert (1985 Cast)
This star-studded concert came about to right one of musical theater’s great wrongs—the botched original cast recording of Follies. (More on that later.) This became the first—and for 13 years, only—full recording of the score, with a behind-the-scenes documentary made for added kicks. Carol Burnett has been a beloved and revered icon since 1959. As a household name, she naturally got the biggest song in the show. With her comedic timing and powerful belt, she knocks it out of the park.
Alternate Performances
Follies has received 6 cast recordings, and a proshot of a French production. The 1987 London premiere featured a heavily re-written book and a number of new songs, neither of which seemed to improve anything. It was revived on Broadway in 2001 and 2011, with only the latter receiving a recording. (The 2011 revival was staged, without awareness or irony, in the Marquis Theater, a tacky venue in a hotel that developers had to flatten two historic theaters to build.) Sondheim wrote special lyrics for a Barbra Streisand cover and for the film Postcards from the Edge, where it was sung by Shirley McClaine as a stand-in for Debbie Reynolds. Patti Lupone sang it on Pose, and Joe Mantagna, as mobster Fat Tony, sang a version of it on The Simpsons.
1971 Original Broadway Cast - When it came time to make a cast recordings for Follies, Hal Prince had some sort of beef with Columbia records, so it was recorded by Capitol Records, who didn’t want to invest in a 2-disk recording despite the immense volume of material. The end result is infuriating with many songs missing and those that remained getting trimed within an inch of their lives. But the performances are great, and something is better than nothing. “I’m Still Here” comes out more unscathed than most (it’s just missing the “I lived through Brenda Frasier” verse), and De Carlo is wonderful.
1998 Paper Mill Playhouse Cast - This late 90s New Jersey revival has a fine cast of beloved Golden-aage Broadway performers, including the incomparable Anne Miller as Carlotta. There was talk of a Broadway revival at the time, but James Goldman’s widow put the kibosh on it (though rumor is, Sondheim wasn’t enthused about a transfer either, but Goldman’s widow was more comfortable being the bad guy). Fortunately, the company made a comprehensive cast recording with an extensive appendix of songs cut from earlier drafts and/or written for the ‘87 London revival. As far as legacies go, a killer recording (one of the most significant of the ‘90s) for a production that history says “should’ve gone to Broadway” is really a best case scenario.
2018 London Cast - England’s The National Theater produced a 2018 Follies, with the (mostly) original libretto. It was more successful than most productions and navigating the fragmented party scenes—it really felt like you were watching a montage of the whole event, past and present happening at once. Tracy Bennett delivers a conversational but sensational “I’m Still Here.” The production made bewildering choices for the “Loveland” sequence (a fantasy sequence in which Buddy, Sally, Phyllis, and Ben each sing their own Follies-style number about themselves), but it’s still the best staging since the original. In addition to a cast recording, the production yielded a proshot screened in movie theaters, though it’s not commercially available at this moment.
Is it Covered by The Rat Pack, Audra McDonald, or Glee?
The Rat Pack - In Finishing the Hat, Sondheim’s collection of annotated lyrics, he mentions that Sammy Davis Jr. sang a version of “I’m Still Here,” though I can’t find any additional information about that.
Audra McDonald has not recorded “I’m Still Here” (though she has recorded the similarly-titled but otherwise VERY different “I’ll Be Here”). She is seated onstage when Elaine Stritch sings “I’m Still Here” as part of the “red dress” segment of Sondheim! The Birthday Concert. That segment featured three other Follies songs: David Hyde Pierce lead it off by signing “Beautiful Girls,” Marin Mazzie sang a deeply felt “Losing My Mind,” and Donna Murphy sang a ferocious “Could I Leave You?”.
Glee - In season 5 episode 15, “Bash,” Kurt sings “I’m Still Here” as part of his critique at NYADA. Rachel and Blaine sing a duet version of another Follies song, “Broadway Baby,” in the same episode.
In the Wings
There is honestly so much Follies to talk about, I could probably dedicate an entire Substack to it. I’ve done what I can in 10 minutes of material. If you’re willing to devote an hour, I highly recommend “The Creation of Follies” from YouTube’s Staged Right. The documentary frequently references two of my favorite books: Everything Was Possible, Ted Chapin’s memoir of being a PA on the original Follies, and A Chorus Line and the Musicals of Michael Bennett by Ken Mandelbaum. If you’re looking for a shorter assignment before song No. 48 drops, I would look up Brenda Frazier. Some renditions of “I’m Still Here” replace the reference to Frazier with the much more familiar Shirley Temple. But once you learn who Frazier was (basically the first “influencer”) you’ll understand why she was the original (and best) choice.
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