Four-time Tony nominee Jan Maxwell will play Phyllis Rogers Stone opposite previously announced star Bernadette Peters as Sally Durant Plummer in the Kennedy Center’s 2011 revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies. Additional casting and a two-week extension have been announced for the production, which will now run May 7-June 19 at the Eisenhower Theater, directed by Eric Schaeffer and choreographed by Warren Carlyle.
In addition to Maxwell, the musical will feature Terrence Currier as Theodore Whitman, opera star Rosalind Elias as Heidi Schiller, Florence Lacey (Hello, Dolly!, Evita) as Sandra Crane, Tony winner Linda Lavin (Collected Stories, Broadway Bound, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife) as Hattie Walker, London musical star Elaine Paige (Evita, Cats, Chess) as Carlotta Campion, discotheque pioneer Régine as Solange LaFitte, David Sabin as Dimitri Weismann, Susan Watson (The Fantasticks’ original Luisa) as Emily Whitman and Terri White (Finian’s Rainbow, Barnum) as Stella Deems. No casting has been announced for the leading male roles of Benjamin Stone and Buddy Plummer or for the four actors who play the younger versions of Sally, Phyllis, Ben and Buddy.
The story of a reunion of Ziegfeld Follies showgirls and their mates, Follies features a book by James Goldman and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1971 and ran for 522 performances, winning seven Tony Awards. Originally directed by Harold Prince with choreography by Michael Bennett, the show includes such favorites as “Losing My Mind,” “I’m Still Here” and “In Buddy’s Eyes.” The Kennedy Center production will feature the theater’s 28-piece House Orchestra conducted by James Moore.
Maxwell is currently starring in Second Stage’s production of Wings. She was a double Tony nominee in 2010 for The Royal Family and Lend Me a Tenor and was previously nominated for Tonys for her performances in Coram Boy and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Other Broadway credits include Sixteen Wounded, A Doll’s House, The Sound of Music, The Dinner Party, Dancing at Lughnasa and City of Angels.