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| WWW.PSFOLLIES.COM | APRIL 2007 |
 Darlin's, This year, I think I've outfoxed her by scheduling a Follies matinee performance on that fateful day. This will give her hours of enjoyment (she loves the opportunity to critique her eldest son's efforts) and a place to show off her finest Mother's Day bonnet. (Yes, I know hats are hard to find nowadays, but Mother keeps an entire collection from the 1940s. She's convinced that any year now, they'll come back in style.) You, too, may share in my holiday stratagem, as a few good seats remain for the Mother's Day matinee on May 13. Bring your mom to the Follies this year, and then you'll have 365 days to think of a way to appease her next year. (But try not to sit directly behind my mother. Her bonnets have been known to block out cell-phone transmissions and even the sun itself!)
Another day to mark on your calendar is May 4. At
7 p.m. that evening, in partnership with the UCLA Center on
Aging, we will present our much-anticipated panel discussion, Living
Better Longer. World-renowned gerontologist, Dr.
Gary Small, will give the keynote
We've added new items to our online souvenir store, so be sure to purchase clothing and objects bearing the Follies' Gotta Dance! logo while they're still available. You will find other interesting information below, including a report on celebrities who have attended the Follies of late and an account of recent activities at the Follies Forum. I'm also pleased to report that freshman cast member Leonard Crofoot has been included in an extraordinary new recording of Broadway showstoppers; that CD is also detailed below.
We don't want to disappoint anybody, so we're offering this reminder: fewer than four weeks of shows remain before the Follies' 16th Season closes on May 20. Don't miss Mimi Hines, the Dancing Gauchos, the amazing "magic transformation" of Tatiana and Victor Manjos, and Gotta Dance! Procrastinators take heart: the early arrival of Spring this year sent some of our beloved snowbirds home early. So a few good seats are still available for most performances. Reserve yours today by calling our box office at (760) 327-0225 or by purchasing tickets online at www.psfollies.com. 
 Okay, so last Mother's Day you gave Mom a coffee machine so you could have cappuccinos on holiday mornings. And the year before that, you gave her an Xbox that you play with when you're supposed to be visiting. And the year before that, you gave her "quality time" with the grandkids while you took a Caribbean cruise.
Just bring your mother to the Follies matinee at 1:30 p.m. on May 13 and tell her, "Mom, today is all about you!" And while she sits beside you at the Plaza Theatre - thrilled by the show and moved by your generosity - you may just find out that a trip to the Follies is really a gift for you after all. (Note: May 13 is also the 228th anniversary of the armistice ending the War of Bavarian Succession. If you're too busy celebrating that, a Follies gift certificate will suit Mom just fine!) 
Mr. Crofoot played General Tom Thumb in the original Broadway production of Barnum in 1980. His unforgettable rendition of the Cy Coleman song, “Bigger Isn’t Better,” is included on the Scene Stealers CD. Also included are performances by a very young John Travolta, as well as Cyril Ritchard (Peter Pan), Andre De Shields (Ain’t Misbehavin’) and others.
We at the Follies are pleased, but not surprised, that Mr. Crofoot has been recognized as a “scene stealer.” He stops the show at every performance of the Follies with a series of ballet leaps that has to be seen to be believed!
As many of you know, it isn't unusual to find yourself sitting next to a celebrity during a Follies performance. Just in case you recognized a famous face at the Plaza Theatre but couldn't recall the name (and were too polite to ask), here are some of the stars who have visited us lately:
 The Follies box office is open seven days a week and can be reached by calling 760-327-0225 or you can purchase tickets online 24 hours a day at www.psfollies.com and see your exact seat location at the time of booking. The Follies box office, located at the entrance to The Historic Plaza Theatre, is also open seven days a week. |
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April
may be the "cruelest" month! On the one hand, our Desert
days are balmy, butterflies are bustling and the Joshua trees are in
bloom. On the other hand, my Mother calls me every couple of hours
to "hint" that Mother's Day is just around
the corner.
Speaking
of special days and special hats, today is April 25,
once again the official "Red Hat Society Day." As
is their wont, the Red Hat ladies will be congregating at venues large
and small throughout the nation. (Birds of red-and-purple feather do
indeed flock together!) One very popular venue for Red Hatters is the
Follies, so we will give two performances to accommodate them. These
irrepressible women have become nothing less than a national phenomenon,
so we extend our heartfelt congratulations and eagerly await their
imminent arrival at the historic Plaza Theatre.
address
and - along with members of our cast - take questions from the audience.
So if you've wondered how the Follies Lovelies and Gentlemen keep doing
what they do, this is your chance to ask. The flyer for this occasion
can be viewed at 
Mimi Hines
The
Follies Man with Ally and Company Dance Manager Leila Burgess
Every
summer we hear from rueful patrons who tell us, "I see every
new Follies season, but this year, I just lost track of the calendar!"
Here's
a thought: maybe it's time to give Mom a present that's really for her.
The Follies matinee on Mother's Day will be jam-packed with the music,
dance and comedy of her youth. She may even hear the very
song she and your Dad played the night you were conceived - but maybe
you don't want to think about that.
Leonard
Crofoot today in the Follies
The
Follies is proud to announce that cast member, Leonard Crofoot,
has been included on a new tribute CD. Selected by the editors of Playbill magazine, Broadway
Scene Stealers: The Men features 12 show-stopping,
Broadway performances by featured male performers before they became
stars. (Playbill is the magazine that also serves as the
theater program for Broadway shows, so the editors are in a position
to know a show-stopping performance when they see one.)
A
companion recording, Broadway Scene Stealers: The Women,
features such greats as Barbra Streisand (I Can
Get It for You Wholesale), Betty Buckley (1776)
and Nell Carter (Ain’t Misbehavin’).
Both CDs are available now online and in record stores.
Kaye
Ballard was a brilliant guest star during our 14th season
and returned to see how her Follies friends were doing at the March
30 show. Fans remember Miss Ballard (with co-star Eve Arden) from
the classic TV sitcom, The Mothers-in Law, but that was
just one in a long list of stage and screen credits, including Carnival on
Broadway, films such as Freaky Friday, and the original
television broadcast of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.
Dubiously
attired celebs may cower before Mr. Blackwell and
his "10 Worst Dressed List" (now in its
47th year), but the Follies was happy to welcome the controversial
designer/fashion writer to the February 9 matinee. Now we're waiting
to see whether cast member Dick France makes the dreaded list for his
appearance as "Carmen Miranda" in our opening number...
The
brilliant singer-actress, Melba Moore, has won two
Grammy awards and starred in her own TV variety hour, The Melba
Moore-Clifton Davis Show. She is no stranger to live theater,
however, having starred in the original Broadway casts of Purlie (which
won her a Tony Award) and Hair. Miss Moore checked out the
March 22 matinee, where the Follies cast remained (mostly) clothed.
Michelle
Lee had a "monster" TV hit with the prime-time
soap, Knot's Landing, but lately she has returned to the
legitimate stage, where she once starred in the original Broadway
productions of Seesaw and How to Succeed in Business
Without Really Trying. Miss Lee took a break from recent cabaret
engagements to take in the Follies on February 10.
The "Godfather
of Fitness," TV pioneer Jack La Lanne joined
us at the Follies for the January 19 show, with his lovely wife of
53 years, Elaine. Disappointing cast and audience
and fitness fans everywhere, the Follies Man did NOT challenge Mr.
La Lanne to see who could do the most push ups.
Barbara
Rush has enjoyed several Follies seasons, including the
evening performance on February 16. Miss Rush is fondly remembered
as a film actress for her roles in such films as Magnificent
Obsession, Robin and the Seven Hoods and When Worlds
Collide, and for her TV appearances on Peyton Place, All
My Children and, more recently, 7th Heaven.
Until
recently, the Reverend Robert Certain was Rector of
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in nearby Palm Desert. Many of you
will remember him from earlier this year when he gave the moving homily
at the state funeral of President Gerald Ford. Father Certain was a
Vietnam War POW after his B-52 was shot down, and he is the author
of the inspirational memoir, Unchained Eagle: From Prisoner of
War to Prisoner of Christ. The Follies was indeed honored to host
the Reverend at a performance in January.
In case you've ever wondered what the Follies cast does backstage
during the flash act, the Long-Legged Lovelies and Gentlemen are feuding
over who has the cutest grandkids! Glenda Guilfoyle, Trina
Parks, Wendy Barry, Leila Burgess, Hank
Brunjes and Don McArdle have posted pictures
to back up their outlandish claims. Go 