Who's That Woman

[BaritoneBlogMan]

Mary McCarty had a wonderful earthy voice that was simply perfect for the role of Stella Deems. She's certain not an elegant woman, but damn it, she's a fun one! Life hasn't gone her way 100%, yet she laughs and smiles and ends up being more in control of her life than Phyllis, who has more money and fame than she. Go figure! And of course, the Michael Bennett choreography is the pinnacle of staging and sophistication!

[MrRollerBladeAddict]

It's like an impressionist painting meets a 19th century moving image ... energy and color moving around in some kind of ecstatic reverie - or artifact from another era ... I guess that adds to the myth and mystery that surrounds this show. Whatever ... it's really great to see and hear this. The original intent and spirit is palpable in this clip. The fact that it has been handed down from one fanatic to another just adds to the legend. It's really incredible. "Lord, lord, LORRRRD ... "

[mitchellivers]

@MrRollerBladeAddict Love this comment: "energy and color moving around in some kind of ecstatic reverie." Thanks.

[teddymckenna]

Thank you!! Great footage-however fractured.

[companythemusical]

i crave being old so i fully get this show..half way is a stunner..so moving

[aasjb4ever]

As much as I love (read: LOVE) the revival at the Kennedy Center, the original never ceases to amaze me.

[helicalepile]

The ghosts of the old girls ... they actually are in black and white standing right next to their modern counterparts... and the sassy one in the back mocking the moves of Mary McCarthy... great showmanship... a marvel even by today's standards.

[mitchellivers]

@helicalepile Not just a "marvel even by today's standards"...nothing today matches the greatness of its showmanship.

And it's McCarty (with no "h")

[BabyDillGerkin]

@mitchellivers completely agree -- just saw FOLLIES at The Kennedy Center -- i don't think the world will ever see a FOLLIES that matches the original 1971 masterpiece

[ngarymass]

I remember seeing the original production in 1971 and was truly mesmerized; the sets, staging, actors, all top notch. Because it was very dark and expensive to produce it didn't last long; the 1987 revival was equally impressive but not as dark. One of my favorites. Thanks for posting this.

[dreamofmzjeanie]

Mary was my Musical Comedy Teacher at HB Studio during the run of the show. I was still a teenager. We never realize we are living a miracle until it's gone. This was a truly miraculous time. The orignial FOLLIES....no topping it!! Miss thos wonderful people...Bless them all.

[ducdebrabant]

Mitchelivers, I cannot thank you enough. I came to NYC a few years too late to see this show, but I knew people who did. I've read it, I've listened to it, I've read Ted Chapin's marvelous book about it. I'd given up hope of seeing any video from it. From the bottom of my heart, a thousand thanks! It's unbelievably hard to visualize these numbers from their descriptions. As imperfect as this is, it's as close as I have any right to dream I'll ever come to being in that audience.

[ashpashley]

Amazing! Incredible! Thrilling! Genius!

[pctctExAS]

Thank you so much for posting this!

[andrewtarekrussell]

HOLY...!!!! I can't believe I was just able to watch that! I never thought.... I saw the Broadway revival almost ten years ago but this blows me away! You did an amazing job restoring the number and I saw it fully realized finally! Also reading these posts from people who saw & loved this production is equally amazing. Thank you!!!!

[UncleCharlieOakley]

I was another of those lucky enough to see the original production multiple times, in Boston tryouts and then in New York. It remains the single greatest theatrical experience of my life. The show lifted me right out of my seat, it was so electrifying. Even now, I watched this clip getting chills and tearing up. Thank you for posting something I thought I'd never see again in my lifetime!

[TarotMage]

Thank you SO SO much for posting this! I only wish my brother was here to see this film. He loved the show so much and "Who's That Woman?" was his favorite show number of all time. Now I know why.

[midtowner]

Absolutely thrilling to see this! Thank you so much for posting! If you have anything else from teh original production it would be so wonderful to see this groundbreaking production...

[jjarndyce]

Re the Paper Mill Playhouse DVD: get it if only for the magnificent song, 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', cut from FOLLIES and used only partially in the show's prologue

May I just say how watching this clip from the original gives me chills, every time?

PS Bennett had dancers tapping in the Winter Garden basement, to amplify the taps onstage and to add more of a 'ghostly' quality.

[MrRollerBladeAddict]

@jjarndyce

Is that true? Dancers in the basement? Can you imagine what that cost? (Wish I'd been there ...) What chutzpah ...

[mitchellivers]

@MrRollerBladeAddict There was no additional cost. The dancers were already in the show: some of the showgirls as well as Young Buddy/Sally/Phyllis/Ben. Michael Bennett had been involved with Promises, Promises and Company, both of which used offstage singers to boost the sound during group numbers. (And in West Side Story, Jerome Robbins had used an offstage singer during "Somewhere.") Using offstage tappers was a logical extension. (Well, logical to Michael Bennett's genius's mind!)

[jjarndyce]

After many years of searching, I've never seen any footage from this incredible show. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. Just to see Smith, Collins, the real stuff...it's so exciting.

[ItalianDivo101]

OMG, thank you so much for posting this!

[nornsnornsnorns]

Thank you so much - this is sheer magic and priceless, so evocative.

[dreamofjeanie]

Lucky me. I took Mary McCarty's musical comedy class at HB Studio during the run of FOLLIES. She was such a kind person ~occastionally getting us passes and inviting us to her night club Mary Mary in the E 60's. How wonderful to see this # again. FOLLIES is my all time favorite Musical.

Thanx,

Jeanie

[sporran564]

37 years ago this month I stood in back of the orchestra of the Winter Garden theatre and watched this very number. I went back again and again (standing room was $3 then) and it never failed to transport me and the rest of the audience into something approaching ecstasy. I'm not exaggerating! I can't thank you enough for posting this -- perhaps I'll yet see another "Follies" that lives up to artistic intention of the original, but how could anyone afford to produce it? Perhaps at City Opera?

[mitchellivers]

I was in high school and saw it 6 times from the last 2 rows of the balcony, which Hal Prince sold for $2.

[3276541]

We saw FOLLIES THREE TIMES. it was the greatest musical i have ever seen.the original cast--fantastic.Dorothy Collins,She was pure magic. i shall always remember Collins singing Losing My Mind-wow...That Mary Mccarthy number-Whose That Woman?wow.that blew me away.--seeing the great cast of follies girls singing and dancing- i saw this in new york city,living there at that time,and we saw it at the wintergarden theater in the early 1971-72 period. great---beyond words...3276541.thanks.

[Fivethirtyeight]

You are not exaggerating. I saw the original production too.  Ecstasy is correct. I wish I could explain it better. Every time, this number took everyone in the audience to some place that we never expected but always suspected was possible. Thanks for the video and thanks for the comment.

[an7iguy]

A wonderful video, any and all media from this production is truly a gift.

[B3TA07]

Easy. Mirrors.

[unclealand]

Okay, I'm old. I was, however, lucky enough to see "Follies" at the Schubert Theater in Century City. I wish there were words for the experience.  Thank you for even these hoary, blurred videos. It is all that remains of something that was one of a kind. That said, does anybody have Dee Hotey singing "Ah, But Underneath" from a revival twenty years later?

[jv92]

By the way, how were those shots from the wings accomplished? Did some smart cast member sneak a camera backstage?

[mitchellivers]

I don't think anyone will ever know. These videos have been handed down from collector to collector and no one knows where they originated or who added the audio track.

[meganailsa]

Thank you - this is wonderful.Any more clips would be greatly appreciated

[jv92]

Pure genius. Thank you.

[grubbyboy]

This gave me goosebumps. Thanks!