`Wharton Follies' turn 25

Business school has never been more musical. For 25 years, the Wharton Follies have given audiences a satirical glimpse into business school life. The Follies, which began in 1977, have grown into a hallmark of the Wharton community and are now one of the largest and oldest groups on campus. For their latest production this past weekend, the Follies spent almost two-and-a-half hours on a stage adorned with a larger-than-life TI-85 calculator. Using reworked pop songs by artists such as Britney Spears and David Bowie, the troupe poked fun at everything from pre-term to Palm Pilots to "how little work they really have to do to pass here." In celebration of their anniversary, the student-run Follies had all of their music professionally recorded two weeks before the show -- making the anniversary CD available at every performance. This was a major undertaking for the cast and crew, since it required a tighter deadline for perfecting both their writing and music. Other anniversary highlights included an a cappella piece celebrating 25 years of Follies -- sung to the tune of Boyz II Men's "Motown Philly" -- as well as a spoof of VH1's Behind the Music -- a 10-minute video depicting a mock history of the Follies. Work for this production began last summer, but the final script was not delivered until right before Christmas. Since mid-January the cast has been practicing six days a week. "It has been a very condensed schedule from a cast perspective," said Andy Stack, a cast member and third year MBA student. The intense schedule was not without its benefits. The cast and crew said they were elated with their final product. "I'm very happy with it," Stack said. "It was a very well-rounded show in that all 23 cast members were given their chance to shine. The clever writing and incredible directors helped us to pull off a show with a very good plot that was able to really come together in the end." Nearly 200 cast and crew members were needed for the show. "We made sure that we selected an extremely talented cast that was well balanced and could interpret the show as artistically as possible," said Artistic Director Priscilla Yu, a second-year MBA student. The Follies presented five shows this past weekend at the Seaport Museum on Columbus Avenue. A sixth show will run this coming Saturday in New York City. "The New York show should be a significant one this year because of the anniversary," said Yu. "We are expecting a lot of Follies alumni."

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