THE MUSICIANS

the musicians

Each new season of the Follies requires that over three hours of music be selected and arranged for voices and instruments. It isn’t surprising then that work on each new score begins over a year before opening night and requires the combined efforts of three of the finest musical talents.

JOHNNY HARRIS

Johnny Harris, 73, has been with the Follies since its inception, arranging, performing, and conducting the Follies’ instrumental music for all sixteen seasons. According to Harris, “Besides the Follies being so well presented both technically and artistically, the people who attend this show are starved for the music of the Golden Era the Follies represents.”

Harris started his career as a trumpet player after graduating from The Guildhall School of Music. He began writing arrangements as well, and conducted for many of the top singers of the 1960s, including Tom Jones, Petula Clark, Lulu, Connie Francis and Olivia Newton John. In 1969, Harris composed the score for the film, “Fragment of Fear.”

During the decades that followed, Harris traveled the world as music director for such artists as Paul Anka, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick and Lynda Carter; he also arranged and produced for Engelbert Humperdinck, Shirley MacLaine, Anthony Newley, Vic Damone, Nell Carter, Richard Harris and Kenny Rogers. He has produced gold and platinum albums for Anka and Shirley Bassey, and has written songs for such artists as Barbra Streisand and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Harris produced the music for recent incarnations of the “Dance Fever” and “Star Search” television shows. Of late, he has produced music for several TV shows, including “The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott” (UPN), “Queer Eye for the Straight Girl” (Bravo), and “The Entertainer” with Wayne Newton (E! Network). Harris is an Emmy Award nominee and received a Clio Award for his work in commercials.

Unafraid of new technologies, Harris is currently composing “Astrological Ringtones” for cell phones under a commission from the Disney Company. In his spare time, he and his wife, Laura, enjoy their six children, including 11-year-old son, Emerson.

EARL BROWN

Music industry legend, Earl Brown, has written all vocal arrangements for the Follies for the past 13 seasons. “Everyone I tell that I’m writing for the Follies exclaims, ‘That’s the greatest show I’ve ever seen!’ and I agree,” says Brown. “I hope it goes on forever…and that I’ll be a part of it!”

Earning a total of 13 Emmy nominations, and a Writer’s Guild Award for a Steve Martin special, Brown’s work in television as writer, composer, lyricist and/or vocal arranger includes "The Danny Kaye Show," "The Sonny & Cher Show," "The Donny & Marie Show" and "The Andy Williams Show." He worked on television specials for such greats as Jack Benny, Ann-Margret and Elvis Presley, earning a gold record for penning the Elvis hit "If I Can Dream" in response to the (then) recent assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Brown’s film work includes "New York, New York" and "The Josephine Baker Story," and he has written and arranged for top recording artists, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne and Rosemary Clooney. He contributed an original song to Diane Reeves’ Grammy Award-winning album, “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and to the George Clooney film of the same name.

For the stage, Brown arranged and/or composed all of the music for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He created a medley of legendary duets for Linda Eder and Michael Feinstein’s concert, “Two for the Road,” and worked on the New York production of “Victor/Victoria” with Julie Andrews. Most recently, he has composed a musical of his own, “Traffic,” intended for Broadway.

WAYNE ABRAVANEL

Wayne Abravanel, 51, is back for his third season with the Follies as rehearsal accompanist, and his second season as music sketch artist. In the latter capacity, he works with the producer, music arranger, vocal arranger and choreographers to notate the countless bars of music that comprise each edition of the Follies.

Locally Abravanel has been musical director for the “Musical Chairs” series and the Villa Theatre productions of “Nunsense” and “Side by Side by Sondheim.” He arranged and played for Kaye Ballard and performed in concert with the Indian Wells Symphony. Elsewhere he conducted the Alabama Symphony, the Radio City Christmas Show in New York, and the European tour of “West Side Story.” He worked on Broadway in over a dozen musicals; off-Broadway as the musical director for “The Kevorkian Café” and “The Green Heart”; and at Lincoln Center as the associate conductor of “Hello Again.” He was the musical director for national tours of “Chicago” and “Cabaret.”

Also a composer and lyricist, Abravanel has written pop songs, commercials and the scores for well over a hundred children’s videos. He and his wife, Dayna, live in the Palm Springs area and are currently collaborating on a new musical and several children’s books.