Hamilton Follies folds after 40 years
Seniors’ troupe undone by lack of appeal to audiences
The Hamilton Follies could never shake itself of the Geritol image and all the stereotypes that went with it.
And that was the essence of the problem for the seniors’ variety show that used to be called Geritol Follies, said Follies’ board president Carol Van Caulart. The group was seen to be out of fashion and unable to compete with more modern entertainment choices.
So, after years of diminishing crowds, the board announced Tuesday it was drawing the curtain on more than 40 years of history in Hamilton.
“You cannot produce shows forever with a dwindling audience when the money is not coming in,” she said.
But within hours of the announcement, members of the organization vowed to keep the Hamilton Follies going. They’ve called a meeting for Thursday.
“We’re in shock about this. We’re trying to get legal advice … We think there are all kinds of things that can be done to keep it going,” said Kelly Fawcett, a member who has performed in the Follies. “We can tweak it to make it more appealing to audiences.”
But the board’s statement was unequivocal: “The audience is no longer interested in the type of variety show the Follies presents … not enough people have been attending the shows over the past number of years to make the organization sustainable into the future.”
Van Caulart said the group has tried changing its format, improving the quality of its performances as well as rebranding itself without the Geritol name. But nothing helped.
The follies was the brainchild of Christine Hamilton who founded the 60-plus entertainment troupe in 1974 while working at the Senior Citizens’ Centre at the YWCA.
The concept was a huge success, bringing scores of seniors to the stage while packing crowds into Hamilton Place to see them.
At one point, the non-profit group was profitable enough to donate tens of thousands of dollars for student bursaries. The Follies even went on road trips to Scotland and the U.S.
But by 2013, the group was on the brink of receivership with more than $100,000 in debts. Nearly $50,000 was owed for Hamilton Place rent, which was eventually forgiven by the city.
Van Caulart said the board slashed costs and got back in the black over the past couple of years.
But the results of the June show made it clear, she said, that the Follies was still not sustainable. The first of three shows brought out nearly 700 people to Mohawk College’s McIntyre Performing Arts Centre. But the next two performances saw a precipitous decline in attendance to a point that the final night was only half full.
Normally a Christmas show would be scheduled for December, but that’s been cancelled, she said.
Carl Horton, a former music producer for the Follies, said changing demographics make marketing the show difficult. People in their 60s these days are boomers from the rock ’n’ roll generation, who don’t see entertainment value in what some might think are “grannies on stage.”
“People don’t want to sit 2½ hours looking at entertainers who represent what they are refusing to become,” he said.