Fall Follies returns Thursday night with “Follies: 2000”

At Belmont University, the end of October always brings sketch comedy, improvisation, musical numbers and fun made at the university’s expense.

Fall Follies is Belmont’s annual sketch comedy show that brings a fresh take on life at Belmont every year.

Each fall, lines of students wait outside of the Massey Performing Arts Center to see it happen.

“The great thing about sketch and Follies is that it’s different every year, because there’s always different people doing it and different people cycling in. No two shows are going to be the same,” said Follies director Katie Davis. “Even Thursday’s show compared to Friday’s show is going to be different, because I think we really let ourselves have fun with it.”

This year, the theme is “Follies: 2000,” with sketches inspired by the decade and the idea that it might be the end of comedy.

“It might be the last comedy show of all time,” said player Brenna Adams.

At the final rehearsal on Wednesday, the Follies cast put the finishing touches on its opening musical number.

The cast gave an energetic performance while Follies player Peri Manill offered choreography notes like “You’re a hip-hop dancer from Hong Kong” and “You are a Jabberwocky.”

New jokes and ideas are added to each run-through, so each one is different.

“Some jokes are weirder than ever. There’s a lot of weird stuff,” said Johnson.

Part of that is because of the support of Dean of Students Dr. John Delony and other members of Student Affairs, said producer Abby Johnson.

“I think we’ve had a lot more creative freedom than we’ve had before,” Johnson said. “They were really supportive and let us create what we wanted to.”

Fall Follies opens Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in MPAC, with shows also on Friday and Saturday night. Tickets are free, but it is recommended students show up early to guarantee a seat.

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This article written by Lindsey Falgoust.