I say good riddance and refer instead to the wisdom of George Burns, “You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.” As an entertainment vehicle, this slogan for living is brought to joyous life by The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, http://www.palmspringsfollies.com/. An inspiring dance company, 17 men and women strong, sing, dance, and perform their way mightily through classic ballads of the 20s through 40s. With all participants unbelievably aged 55 to 80+, they bring a passion to romantic melodies and lyrics that represent beauty and poetry in motion.
All performers had been active on stage in their 20s and 30s. After some period of retirement, or, for others, no retirement, they are going stronger than ever today. They’re all in great shape and obviously love what they do. The Follies staff provides fabulous costumes, choreography, and sets for the numbers. On stage, the performers look as attractive and eye-catching as any younger groups such as the Rockettes or a Broadway musical company.
Founders Riff Markowitz and Mary Jardin started the Follies extravaganzas in the early 90s, in Palm Springs’ Historic Plaza Theater. The current cast puts on about 10 shows per week for 7 months every year.
By now, the fame of the Follies has spread far and wide beyond Palm Springs. Its founders claim over 2 million attendees to date. This confirms that the public still has an appetite for music that doesn’t deafen your ears and lyrics that are witty and uplifting.
Therefore, I say, keep your 60s and give me more and more of the Follies entertainment and love of life. I’m sure George Burns would tip his cigar to that.
Norman E. Hill
http://www.noralyn.com/
