Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 23, 1995 TAG: 9501250020
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
After all, in his lifetime, Rogers was famous for his roping tricks and sharply pointed barbs at politics, not dancing girls and lavish production numbers.
But on closer look, maybe the concept isn't such a stretch. For it was with the dancing girls and big productions of Florenz Ziegfeld that Rogers first broke into show business in 1915, and where he developed the formula that assured his place in history.
So, why not a musical?
Why not a musical in the style of the Ziegfeld Follies, the most extravagant of the musical variety shows that defined the vaudeville era. In that context, the concept makes sense: It's the story of Will Rogers as it might have been presented by Florenz Ziegfeld.
``The Will Rogers Follies.''
Tuesday and Wednesday, the touring production of this concept comes to the Roanoke Civic Center auditorium. This is the first time ``The Will Rogers Follies'' has played in Roanoke since it opened on Broadway in 1991.
On Broadway, the show won six Tony Awards, including best musical, best score, best costumes and best lighting. The original Broadway cast starred Keith Carradine as Rogers. Mac Davis and Larry Gatlin also played the role.
In Roanoke, stage actor Bill O'Brien will play Rogers.
The show follows Rogers from his childhood in Oklahoma, to his marriage to Betty Blake, his rise from traveling wild west shows to vaudeville to international celebrity. Along the way, the story is boosted by a parade of dancing girls in extravagant costumes and cowboys with spinning lariats.
Throughout, the Rogers character steps forward from the razzmatazz to offer up his trademark roping tricks and homespun brand of humor.
Rogers became famous for his commentary on the news of the day, a routine he developed when he was with the Ziefield Follies to keep his material fresh for audiences that included many of the same people night after night. He always started his act with the line, "I only know what I read in the papers ...''
Rogers eventually turned his topical comedy into a syndicated weekly newspaper column, a national radio commentary, a series of books, and a movie career.
Some of the lyrics to the musical numbers in``The Will Rogers Follies'' were taken from the humorist's famous one-liners. Two of the songs are titled "Never Met a Man I Didn't Like" and "Give a Man Enough Rope."
Reviews of the show generally have been good, although some critics have said the bus-and-truck edition of the show doesn't quite match the polish of the Broadway original.
The story ends in 1935 with Rogers boarding a flight to Alaska with his friend, pilot Wiley Post. The Wiley Post role will be played in Roanoke by Kenny Shelton, an announcer for country radio station WYYD, as a promotional gimmick.
It was with Post that Rogers died in a plane crash at age 55.
``The Will Rogers Follies'': Tuesday-Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Roanoke Civic Center Auditorium. Tickets, $30.50, $25.50, $15.50, available at the box office (981-1201), at TicketMaster outlets, and charge-by-phone (343-8100).
by CNB