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'Will Rogers Follies': How funny he was, how unfunny we are

Michael DeFlorio as Will Rogers and Paul Weagraff as Clem Rogers with his Zeigfeld Girls  in "The WilL Rogers Follies" at the Broadway Pitman Theatre.
Michael DeFlorio as Will Rogers and Paul Weagraff as Clem Rogers with his Zeigfeld Girls in "The WilL Rogers Follies" at the Broadway Pitman Theatre.Read more

Back in the day, Will Rogers was more popular than Shirley Temple.  Having attained fame in vaudeville, he starred on radio and in movies and wrote a daily syndicated newspaper column.  And in his stand-up routine, he virtually invented what became late-night political comedy.  "I don't tell jokes," he memorably said. "I just watch the government and report the facts."

The original Will Rogers Follies (1991) won multiple Tony awards, with book by Peter Stone and music by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Cy Coleman.  Mike DeFlorio shines as the lasso-wielding maverick in the sparkling revival now running at the Broadway Theatre of Pitman.

But in this musical, Rogers is a star within another star -- the Follies themselves.  The back screen features two large stars, and both the screen and the grand lighted stairs dramatically change color with shifting scenes.  

Yet the treatment of the Follies is not simple homage.  True, you applaud lavish chorus numbers thanks to director/choreographer John Stephan -- all those dancing women and tuxedoed men!  And as "Ziegfeld's Favorite," Kelly Boeckle is a delightful grace note; you look forward to her cameo struts. 

At the same time, the Follies are a satirical metaphor for political unreality.  You hear only Florenz Ziegfeld's booming, Godlike voice promoting his formulaic production.  When Wall Street crashes and all the lights go out, he is too lost in fantasy to grasp what is happening.

As wife Betty Blake, Katie Hughes is a yearning and heartfelt singer.  Paul Weagraff as Clem Rogers brings out the strained relationship between father and son.  But as the play approaches  Will's airplane death in Alaska, it is his political presence that comes into focus.

Rogers even ran for president in 1928. Creating his own "Anti-Bunk" party, he made only one campaign pledge: to immediately resign if he won.  When the Depression hit, President Herbert Hoover invited the comedian to make a national radio address, but I doubt Hoover was amused with the outcome. 

All but omniscient, Will even shows up at his own funeral to make bemused comments on the eulogies.  I do not overlook the schmaltz aspects of the Will Rogers phenomenon, but in this presidential election year, you cannot watch The Will Rogers Follies and not be struck by how sick our political process has become.

The Will Rogers Follies. Through Nov. 20 at Broadway Theatre of Pitman, 43 S. Broadway, Pitman, N.J.  Tickets: $28.  Information: 856-384-8381 or broadwaytheatreofpitman.org