San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced casting for Follies by James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim. The musical will run on the San Francisco Playhouse Mainstage from June 30 through September 10, 2022. Bill English will direct, with music direction by Dave Dobrusky and choreography by Nicole Helfer. This marks the first fully staged professional production of Follies in San Francisco.
The cast features three-time Helen Hayes Award winner Natascia Diaz* in the role of Sally Durant Plummer, alongside local favorites Samantha Rose Cárdenas* as Young Sally, Maureen McVerry* as Phyllis Rogers Stone, Danielle Cheiken as Young Phyllis, Ryan Drummond* as Buddy Plummer, Chachi Delgado as Young Buddy, Chris Vettel* as Benjamin Stone, Cameron La Brie as Young Benjamin, Cindy Goldfield* as Carlotta Campion, Lucinda Hitchcock Cone* as Hattie Walker, Jill Slyter as Solange LaFitte, Caroline Louise Altman* as Stella Deems, Louis Parnell* as Dimitri Weismann, Frederick Winthrop as Roscoe, Eiko Yamamoto as Emily Whitman, Rene Collins as Theodore Whitman, and Emily Corbo, Anthony Maglio, Catrina Manahan, and Anne Warque in the ensemble. An additional ensemble role will be announced soon.
Originally slated for the Playhouse’s 2019/20 Season and canceled due to Covid-19, the show marks the first fully staged professional production of Follies in San Francisco. The musical, which won seven Tony Awards in 1972 and has been heralded by the New York Times as “one of the greatest musicals ever written,” closed on Broadway after 522 performances and never went on a national tour.
THE MUSICAL: Follies
Book by James Goldman
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
It’s 1971, and theatrical impresario Dimitri Weismann is hosting a reunion of former Follies performers in his crumbling theatre, about to be demolished to make room for a parking lot. The artists gather for one last time, reminiscing about the past and contemplating their future, before the theater dims its lights for good. Surreal, sophisticated, compelling, heart-wrenching, and epic in scope, this legendary masterpiece uses musical theatre as a metaphor for the collapse of American innocence and naiveté.
THE CAST:
Natascia Diaz* as Sally Durant Plummer
Samantha Rose Cárdenas* as Young Sally
Maureen McVerry* as Phyllis Rogers Stone
Danielle Cheiken as Young Phyllis
Ryan Drummond* as Buddy Plummer
Chachi Delgado as Young Buddy
Chris Vettel* as Benjamin Stone
Cameron La Brie as Young Benjamin
Cindy Goldfield* as Carlotta Campion
Lucinda Hitchcock Cone* as Hattie Walker
Jill Slyter as Solange LaFitte
Caroline Louise Altman* as Stella Deems
Louis Parnell* as Dimitri Weismann
Frederick Winthrop as Roscoe
Eiko Yamamoto as Emily Whitman
Rene Collins as Theodore Whitman
Emily Corbo as Ensemble
Anthony Maglio as Ensemble
Catrina Manahan as Ensemble
Anne Warque as Ensemble
WHEN: In-person performances:June 30 – September 10, 2022
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:00 P.M., Fridays at 8:00 P.M., Saturdays at 3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Sundays at 2:00 P.M.
WHERE: San Francisco Playhouse
450 Post St., San Francisco CA 94102
TICKETS: Tickets ($30 – $100) are now available. For tickets or more information, the public may contact the San Francisco Playhouse box office at 415-677-9596, or online at https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/2021-2022-season/follies/
