Florence Henderson is planning to return to Broadway after a 40-year absence as the star of The Broadway Follies, aiming to open in spring 2006. The show, a tribute to the golden age of vaudeville featuring a chorus line of mature performers aged 55 to 90, will also star a series of special guest stars.
The Broadway Follies premiered in late 2003 at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale under the title Florida Follies with Henderson as star. The revue-style show is loosely based on The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, which is now in its 15th year at the Historic Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs, California.
Henderson is best known for playing Carol Brady on the classic TV sitcom The Brady Bunch and its many spin-offs. She made her Broadway debut in 1952, playing The New Girl in the musical Wish You Were Here at the Imperial Theatre. She also had leads in the musicals Fanny and The Girl Who Came to Supper on the Great White Way and in the 1961 national tour of The Sound of Music, playing Maria. In recent years, Henderson hosted Country Kitchen on the Nashville Network for nine seasons, Speaking of Women's Health on Lifetime and NBC's Later Today. In 2003, Henderson was a guest star at off-Broadway's short-lived Singular Sensations.
The Broadway Follies is directed by Jean Ann Ryan. Johnny Harris is musical director and arranger, with sets designed by Tom John, costumes by Daniel Storey and lighting by James K. Ryan III.
