In a piece of programming guaranteed to excite musical theatre lovers, Victorian Opera will present Australia’s first ever fully staged production of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman’s glamorous, nostalgic, bittersweet musical Follies this coming February.

To date, the only professional Australian productions have been performed in concert, among them a legendary one-night-only performance at the 1993 Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, directed by Tony Sheldon.

Melbourne has also seen concert stagings by The Production Company in 2008, directed by Roger Hodgman, and StoreyBoard Entertainment in 2016, directed by Tyran Parke.

Some of Roger Kirk’s costume designs for Follies. Images supplied

Meanwhile, in Sydney, Stephen Lloyd Helper directed three concert performances at the Sydney Opera House in 1998 as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Asked why we’ve only seen in-concert versions, VO’s Artistic Director Stuart Maunder doesn’t mince words.

“Easy . . . it is just so expensive to produce. ‘Commercial’ is one word you would never use to describe Follies.”

In 2018, Maunder saw the National Theatre’s fully staged production in London, which featured a cast including Imelda Staunton and Philip Quast. “Wonderful,” he says.

“Alas,...