Stephen Sondheim's 'Follies', pen and ink on paper-lined board, 16 x 20 in., signed "HIRSCHFELD / 7" and "Boston" lower right

The drawing, of unusual small size, was likely created as a prototype during the February 1971 "Follies" Boston tryout at The Colonial Theatre. "Follies" would eventually open April 4th, 1971 at the Winter Garden Theatre, NYC and run for 522 performances. Hirschfeld's published and known illustration features the 1971 Broadway cast, Fifi D'Orsay, Ethel Shutta, Dorothy Collins, Mary McCarty, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Alexis Smith (38-1/8 x 48 in.) cast and location variation offers explanation for this version having a nearly identical structure with notably different faces and costumes.

A review of the "follies" tryout in The Harvard Crimson can be found here.