Musicals Blog

The Will Rogers Follies (1991)

by Claire J Rottenberg


"The Will Rogers Follies," like its Tony winner predecessor, "City of Angels," had music by Cy Coleman. The lyrics were written by well-known lyricists, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and the book was written by Peter Stone, who wrote the screenplay for another Cy Coleman hit, "Sweet Charity."

"The Will Rogers Follies" follows the life and career of Will Rogers through revue-like production numbers. Flo Ziegfeld and his famous follies form the backdrop to the numbers and events in Will Rogers' life. The voice of Ziegfeld was recorded for the play by Gregory Peck.

Starring in "The Will Rogers Follies" were Keith Carradine as Will Rogers and Dee Hoty, who had appeared the year before in Cy Coleman's "City of Angels," as Rogers' wife, Betty Blake. In later productions, Will Rogers was played by popular country performers Mac Davis and Larry Gatlin. Tommy Tune was both the director and choreographer of "The Will Rogers Follies."

"The Will Rogers Follies" opened on Broadway on May 1, 1991 and it ran until September 5, 1993, playing a total of 981 performances. It won 6 Tony awards, including the award for Best Musical (winning over "Miss Saigon"), Best Original Score and two awards for Tommy Tune (Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical). The play received 5 additional nominations.