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'Springtime for Harker' by
Wharton Follies; 30 Years
of a Wharton Tradition!
On February 12, winter's first big snowstorm arrived in Philadelphia
just in time for the Wharton Follies 30th Reunion performance at
the Zellerbach Theater. To the delight of the audience and returning
alumni, the 2006 Follies production of "Springtime for Harker"
braved the weather and went on with the show. The event showed
the lighter side of Wharton's 125th anniversary celebration as the
Follies themselves reached a 30-year milestone.
The Follies have become one of the defining traditions at
Wharton and are regarded as a "must-see" event. The Follies were
inspired by Charlie Seymour, WG'75, who worked with classmate
Larry Wilson to produce a string of theatrical productions at
Houston Hall, International House, and Annenberg's Prince Theater.
With more than 100 students serving as producers, performers, writers,
and crew, Follies is now both one of the largest clubs and highest
profile organizations within Wharton, staging one of the most elaborate
productions of its kind at any professional school.
This year's plotline parodied "The Producers" with backstage
comedy framing the musical numbers. In this alternate universe,
Graduate Division Vice Dean Anjani Jain and MBA Program
Director Peggy Lane hatch a plot to create a Follies show so expensive
and disastrous that its failure will oust their Dean, Patrick
Harker, as payback for his taxing the pair with useless tasks, such
as attending to his dry cleaning or cleaning his office. As the Follies
preparations balloon out of control, Harker finds no idea too absurd
and no cost too great. The scheming duo hopes that he will finally
be exposed for his profligacy.
Needless to say, the lavish show-within-a-show "Springtime for
Harker" becomes an unqualified success, thanks to some last-minute
downsizing and "outsourcing" of skits. Harker ultimately ends up
reaping all the accolades, despite the efforts to sabotage him, ensuring
a new Follies production (and a new challenge for the onstage
Lane and Jain) in 2007.
If you missed the show and wish to appreciate the performance
from the excellent cast, you are in luck. The 2006 Wharton Follies
DVD is available for sale online at store.yahoo.com/wga/follies2006dvd.html.
— Martin Thibodeau
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