The Camana Bay Cinema is actually bringing three live-recorded shows to its screens this month. “Peter Pan,” as directed by Sally Cookson, is returning so that a younger audience can appreciate it (the first screening in November was for 18 and older only) and “The Nutcracker,” performed by the Bolshoi Ballet, will make its annual appearance on Dec. 24.
One show that has not yet been seen by local audiences, however, is scheduled for one night only: Dec. 16. “Follies,” based on the book by James Goldman and featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, is sure to appeal to any fan of the classic musical. It is the first time this production has been staged at the U.K. National Theatre, and it was recorded live to enable audiences around the world to see it in cinemas.
Story
New York, 1971. There’s a party on the stage of the Weismann Theatre. Tomorrow the iconic building will be demolished. Thirty years after their final performance, the Follies girls gather to have a few drinks, sing a few songs and lie about themselves.
Tracie Bennett, Janie Dee and Imelda Staunton play the magnificent Follies in this dazzling new production. Featuring a cast of 37 and an orchestra of 21, it is directed by Dominic Cooke (“The Comedy of Errors”).
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist known for more than a half-century of contributions to musical theater. Sondheim has received an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer, including a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre), eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has been described by Frank Rich of The New York Times as “now the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theater.” His best-known works as composer and lyricist include “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Company,” “Follies,” “A Little Night Music,” “Pacific Overtures,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Into the Woods,” “Assassins,” and “Passion.” He also wrote the lyrics for “West Side Story” and “Gypsy.”
Sondheim has written film music as well, contributing “Goodbye for Now” to Warren Beatty’s 1981 “Reds.” He wrote five songs for 1990’s “Dick Tracy,” including “Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)” by Madonna, which won the Academy Award for Best Song.
The composer was president of the Dramatists Guild from 1973 to 1981. To celebrate his 80th birthday, the former Henry Miller’s Theatre was renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Sept. 15, 2010, and the BBC Proms held a concert in his honor. Cameron Mackintosh has called Sondheim “possibly the greatest lyricist ever.”
‘Follies’ will be shown on Dec. 16. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Only 18 and older will be admitted. Tickets are $40 and include a glass of bubbly. There is a fully licensed bar on premises. Tickets can be bought at the Camana Bay Cinema box office.
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