Past, Present Collide in an Erratic ‘Follies’

The greatest ashes-in-the-mouth musical America ever produced, “Follies” (1971) uses the Ziegfeld showgirl era as ghostly nostalgia, stalking our present-day disillusionment. Stephen Sondheim’s score, a marvel of pastiche, remains one of his most penetrating. James Goldman’s book can’t quite match it, which remains the reason “Follies” will always have a few problems.

Even so, it’s a rare bird, and it doesn’t come in for a landing often. Or easily.

Late in Act 1 of the erratic East West Players production, a performer hits the stage with the song “I’m Still Here.” In the show’s context this survival anthem (tailored for the original Carlotta Campion, Yvonne DeCarlo) is sung by a former Follies girl who, now well past a certain age, has come to a Broadway reunion just before the old Weissman Theatre is demolished.

In director Tim Dang’s staging, Carlotta is played by the excellent Emily Kuroda. She portrayed the Vegas change-maker in Luis Alfaro’s “Straight as a Line” at Playwrights’ Arena; here, tearing into a song designed to tear through the self-pity afflicting the four main characters, Kuroda is equally pungent.

Such passages of complete confidence are too rare in this production.

Long before he took on “Follies” director Dang proved himself a committed Sondheim champion. Previously he directed “Pacific Overtures,” as well as “Sweeney Todd,” “Merrily We Roll Along” and “Into the Woods.” More so than “Overtures,” even, “Follies” exists in style and atmosphere. However stripped-down, intimations of the old Ziegfeld swank must come through, as aching counterpoint to the Follies girls, Phyllis (Freda Foh Shen) and Sally (Linda Dangcil), reuniting after many years.

Phyllis is caught in a venomous disloyal marriage to former diplomat Benjamin Stone (Sab Shimono). Sally, who’s held the torch for Ben for decades, comes to the reunion accompanied by her wastrel salesman husband, Buddy (Robert Almodovar). The performers have reassembled, as aging impresario Dimitri Weissman (Jack Ong) says, to “stumble through a song or two, and lie about ourselves a little.”

“Follies” culminates with an extended Act 2 “Loveland” nightmare, allowing each of its variously despairing characters a turn of their own. The present-day (i.e., 1971) versions of most every character comes with a younger mirror image, so that Past and Present intermingle all evening. Without tons of money, the designers nudge this concept along, with particularly inventive work from costume designer Susan Watanabe.

Librettist Goldman called the show a “graveyard” atmosphere. Dang and company capture only some of that. Everything in “Follies” should unfurl easily, and yet uneasily, like a fluid but unsettling dream. The East West production isn’t helped by its dead air and clunky transitions; Dang’s ensemble could use a speed-drill or two.

There’s some nice, thoughtful work in the leads, particularly Shimono’s guarded Ben and Shen’s sardonic Phyllis. But singing/dancing/acting triple threats are hard to find generally and they’re not over-plentiful here. In the supporting ranks you appreciate Kerry K. Carnahan and Linda Igarashi as elder and younger Heidi, who handle the Sigmund Romberg-styled duet “One More Kiss” with panache. Marilyn Tokuda’s Stella and Amy Hill’s Hattie are fun to have around. In the chorus ranks, Denise Iketani provides plenty of old-style charisma.

I wish more of the score, handled by musical director Scott Nagatani, were played on traditional piano rather than a fairly cheesy-sounding synthesizer. Synth fills don’t evoke old-style revue entertainment; they evoke an electronic keyboard trying to sound like a string section.

That’s an improvable issue, as are many. Even with an uneven cast and an uncertain rhythm, the material can haunt you for days. Goldman and Sondheim may not envision much in the way of life between the extremes of “birds in spring” and “hara-kiri,” to quote one lyric, but there’s real power and poetry in seeing those extremes collide.

* “Follies,” East West Players, David Henry Hwang Theatre, Union Center for the Arts, 120 N. Judge John Aiso St. (formerly San Pedro, between Temple and 1st). Thursdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends June 25 (no 2 p.m. performance this Saturday). $20-$35; some $20 rush tickets available one hour before curtain. (800) 233-3123. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes.

Sab Shimono: Benjamin Stone

Freda Foh Shen: Phyllis Rogers Stone

Robert Almodovar: Buddy Plummer

Linda Dangcil: Sally Durant Plummer

Paul Martinez: Young Ben

Ai Goeku: Young Phyllis

Ben V. Gonio: Young Buddy

Yumi Iwama: Young Sally

Emily Kuroda: Carlotta Campion

Marilyn Tokuda: Stella Deems

Amy Hill: Hattie Walker

Book by James Goldman. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Directed by Tim Dang. Musical direction by Scott Nagatani. Choreography by Reggie Lee. Scenic design by Bradley Kaye. Costumes by Susan Watanabe. Lighting by Frank McKown. Sound by Joel Iwataki. Production stage manager Ricardo Figueroa.