This week’s run of the Pied Pipers’ (an amateur local musical theatre club) annual Easter show offers a slight variation to the ADC calendar. Unfortunately for the Pied Pipers, it also offers a slight variation to the calibre of productions that we have come to expect and anticipate from the ADC. It should perhaps be noted, that Sondheim and Goldman’s collaborative production has always been somewhat of a divisive musical. While it is true that Time Magazine did praise its score as ‘the best…on Broadway’ (the press line plastered across all of show’s publicity), the New York Times viewed its ‘extravaganzas’ as ‘exhausting’ and ‘tedious’, likening its plot to a pebble.

I’m afraid to say that I am inclined to lean towards the latter, finding Follies repetitive, relentless and disjointed – and that was only the first half. The premise in itself isn’t disheartening: a reunion of aging showgirls and their other halves gather in a ghostly musical hall on the eve of its destruction. Amongst them weave and wander the spectres of their previous, more glamorous selves, pausing only relive brief flashes of the years gone by. Included in the guests are two couples, estranged for years after an entangled youth: Sally and Buddy Durant, a wistful housewife and her perpetually cheery husband, and the professionally successful, unhappily-married Ben and Phyllis Stone. In summary, Buddy loves Sally, Sally loves Ben, Ben doesn’t really love anyone and the audience doesn’t care.

The snippets of revelation are too brief to allow for character development, and any moments of flashback seem rudimentary snapshots of the default stages of a relationship, implying that we should all just sit back and fill in the blanks. Unfortunately, I can’t say the acting does anything to help. While I appreciate the relevant expectations that should be applied to the realm of amateur theatre, and the inherent difficulties of Sondheim (quite a step up from last year’s production of ‘The Sound of Music’), the cast failed to deliver the depth of performance needed to save the sinking ship of a story line. Toni Grantham’s Sally was appealing enough, though lacked dimension; her voice, although pleasantly sweet and by far the best on stage, lacked the strength to convey true emotion. Since the majority of the story unfolded through song, this was a major flaw for all of the central characters, whose singing was overwhelmingly too weak to be capable of injecting significant feeling into their performances. (It’s hard to share in the sentiment of a duet when both performers are ever so slightly off key.) As for the others, while Steve Waring’s Buddy was a shining light of chuckling joviality, a veneer stretched thinly over an surging internal turmoil of frustration and disappointment, Matthew Chancellor’s (admittedly slick and disillusioned) Ben was without any of the necessary charisma that could have explained Sally’s growing obsession.

The rest of the cast were largely irrelevant to the plot, appearing in brief, reminiscing interludes, interspersing drama with disjointed performances from the past. In general, their performances veered towards caricature but were lively and enthusiastic. There were several moments of impressive tap dancing and, if their voices were noticeably weak or strained, this can perhaps be chalked up to a happy coincidence with their characters. My final quibble would be the overall staging. Obviously, Follies has an unavoidably large cast, but their constant, seemingly disorganised presence was a distraction, as was their over-enthusiastic background acting and conversations. On top of all of this, although I appreciate the efforts towards ambience, the persistent and remarkably loud accompaniment of an onstage piano was simply another deterrent from what little drama did occur.

Overall, I’m not sure Follies was for me. It’s certainly a step down from the ADC’s usual standard. However, it was an ambitious feat for an amateur production and, what’s more, it was performed and enjoyed with gusto. Solos were received with the raucous applause of family members watching their loved ones having fun, and the audible smirks and stifle giggles told me that many thought there was nothing better than watching their friends all dressed up to the nines. The theatre was packed as I’ve ever seen it and somehow I think it will continue to be for the rest of the week. After all, while we are all locked up in our college libraries, with the stage far from our mind, why can’t the rest of Cambridge be allowed to enjoy such an impressive and sophisticated space?