It's 'Broadway Baby' on the Village Players Stage

After a successful opening weekend, the  are hoping the next weekend goes just as smoothly for their fall performance of .

Follies revolves around the lives of people who performed the Weismann’s Follies together at a now-rundown Broadway theater. Two couples, and their troubled relationships, are in the limelight as they return to the scene years later when the theater is scheduled for demolition. They soon find themselves caught up in nostalgia and reliving much of the past, many times with their former selves in the form of ghosts.

Thirty actors, ranging in age from 18 to mid-60s, won roles in this production.

“It was a great choice for a production because it’s rarely done, it’s exciting and puts a smile on your face,” said Bryan Conroy of Royal Oak, the show's producer. “I guarantee audience members walk away singing the songs.”

Some of the great numbers that Conroy expects the audience to know are “Broadway Baby” and “Losing My Mind.” Within the show, there is a lot of incredible music and dancing, he said, noting that “I’m Still Here” is a showstopper, and the rousing “Mirror Mirror” is fun with a lot of energy.

Director Suzie Skibicki of Bloomfield Township agreed that “Mirror Mirror” is a fun number because all of the 16 showgirls — the ghosts of their former selves and their current selves — line up together and tap-dance across the stage. The elaborate, multicolor costumes, complete with headdresses full of feathers, add to the appeal of the scene.

In Skibicki’s eyes, “Mirror Mirror” and “Buddy’s Blues” are the biggest audience pleasers.

“It is a wild, almost over-the-top vaudeville number,” Skibicki said of “Buddy’s Blues.”

Though the performances are impressive, the set is just as intriguing. One major set, a 1920s old Follies theater, stays on the stage for the majority of the show. Steve Tadevic, one of the leads in the show who plays the part of Buddy Plummer, constructed the set. 

“(Tadevic) poured himself into the production by designing the set,” Conroy said. “There was elaborate work done on it, and he led that initiative. I think there should be a round of applause every show just for the set.”

Likewise, Skibicki said, “It’s one of the best sets I’ve ever seen.”

Coincidently, the Village Players decided on Follies just as the production was being revived on Broadway. Conroy noted that even so, it is still rare to see on a local level because the elaborate costumes make it an expensive performance for community theaters to fund. The Village Players were able to find a way to make it work without cutting any of the quality, and they are pleased with the final product.

“I really think the audiences will like this one. There are a lot of familiar tunes, and it’s very melodic,” Skibicki said. “The whole thing is just a lot of fun — it kind of brings back the follies and all that nostalgia.”

Tickets are on sale at birminghamvillageplayers.com for $19 per ticket. Show times are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call the Village Players at 248-644-2075.