Show Synopsis:
Weismann Theatre is being demolished, and all the old performers from Weismann's follies have reunited for a party. As the older actors interact, their ghostly younger counterparts show scenes from their past lives working at the theatre. Sally Durant Plummer, who has spent a lot of time in rehab clinics and mental hospitals, and Phyllis Rogers Stone, her former roommate, show up with their husbands Buddy and Ben. Ben and Sally, former lovers, both show regret for how their lives have unfolded, and are kissing each other when Buddy walks in the room. Ben tells Phyllis their marriage is over, and the four dissolve in a sort of group mental breakdown that mirrors a number from their follies days. The couples depart together, hoping to work through their issues as their younger selves are seen getting ready for a night out together.
Character:
Carlotta, a former Weissmann follies girl in her 60s who went on to become a film star with a fulfilling life.
Song Context:
The former performers are reminiscing, and Carlotta amuses everyone with a story about how her big dramatic solo was cut because the audience though it was too funny. She decides to sing it for them because the song is strangely appropriate for her own life.
Fun Facts:
1) Sondheim has stated that this song is an homage to Harold Arlen, and that he attempted to compose this song as a complex art song that is also a simple blues song.
2) The complex lyrics have been rewritten for different artists over the years, most notably Barbra Streisand and Shirley MacLaine, who performed the altered version in the film Postcards from the Edge in a role modeled after Debbie Reynolds.
3) A major theme in the musical is theatricality and drama - the characters relive their glory days as performers, and the audience watches the performance, giving them one last bow. The characters in this musical are desperate to entertain and perform again.
"Good times and bum times, I've seen them all
And, my dear, I'm still here.
Plush velvet sometimes,
Sometimes just pretzels and beer, but I'm here.
I've stuffed the dailies in my shoes,
Strummed ukuleles, sung the blues.
Seen all my dreams disappear but I'm here.
I've slept in shanties, guest of the W.P.A., but I'm here.
Danced in my scanties -
Three bucks a night was the pay, but I'm here.
I've stood on bread lines with the best,
Watched while the headlines did the rest.
In the depression was I depressed?
Nowhere near. I met a big financier and I'm here.
I've been through Gandhi, Windsor and Wally's affair, and I'm here.
Amos 'n' Andy, Mah-jongg and platinum hair, and I'm here.
I got through Abie's, Irish Rose, Five Dionne babies, Major Bowes
Had heebie-jeebies for Beebe's, Bathysphere
I got through Shirley Temple, and I'm here.
I've gotten through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover.
Gee, that was fun and a half.
When you've been through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover
Anything else is a laugh!
I've been through Reno, I've been through Beverly Hills, and I'm here.
Reefers and vino, rest cures, religion and pills, and I'm here
Been called a 'Pinko', commie tool, got through it stinko by my pool.
I should've gone to an acting school, that seems clear.
Still someone said, ""She's sincere"", so I'm here.
Black sable one day, next day it goes into hock, but I'm here.
Top billing Monday -- Tuesday, you're touring in stock, but I'm here.
First you're another sloe-eyed vamp
Then someone's mother, then you're camp,
Then you career from career to career.
I'm almost through my memoirs, and I'm here.
I've gotten through, ""Hey, lady, aren't you whoozis?
Wow, what a looker you were""
Or better yet, ""Sorry, I thought you were whoozis
Whatever happened to her?""
Good times and bum times, I've seen 'em all
And, my dear, I'm still here.
Flush velvet sometimes,
Sometimes just pretzels and beer, but I'm here.
I've run the gamut, A to Z.
Three cheers and dammit, c'est la vie!
I got through all of last year, and I'm here.
Lord knows, at least I was there, and I'm here.
Look who's here, I'm still here!"