The Theater League of Utah, which is sponsoring the Salt Lake run of the Troika Organization's production of "The Will Rogers Follies: A Life in Revue," reportedly had three telephone calls the past week regarding alleged "pornography" in the show.
Another concerned reader contacted the Deseret News on the same issue, noting that some friends had seen the show in Phoenix earlier in the year and were uncomfortable about similar aspects in the production.I saw the first national tour during its stop in San Francisco, and there was very brief nudity in one number where a dancer depicting a Native American princess is topless - but it was Ziegfeldian in nature and neither gratuitous nor offensive. (It did not offend my mother, who is in her 80s, or my sister, both of whom are quite conservative.)
Deb Fiscella, who handles marketing and publicity for Troika out of its main office in Rockville, Md., said Wednesday afternoon that some of the dancers were topless in the original Broadway production and in the first national touring version, but the company that is now on tour has been toned down considerably.
Fiscella noted that there was some flak about the show when it was presented in Branson, Mo., considered the heart of the Bible belt, but that the Ziegfeld chorus girls in the current touring production wear nude-colored body stockings.
At one point, as part of Will Rogers' humorous commentary, he tells the audience that Florenz Ziegfeld hired him to keep the Palace Theatre crowd entertained "while the girls in the show change from nothing into nothing."
Well, the costumes aren't quite that revealing, and I believe "The Will Rogers Follies" is an entertaining throwback to the good old- fashioned heyday of splashy Broad-way musicals.
I don't think it could remotely be considered "pornographic."
It won six Tony Awards in 1991, including best musical, best direction and choreography (both for Tommy Tune), best score (for Cy Coleman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green), best lighting and best costumes.
It also garnered rave reviews from the hard-nosed New York press.