Ziegfeld

Who is Ziegfeld?

The character is drawn from Florenz Ziegfeld, the real life impresario famous for the Ziegfeld Follies, the extravagant revues that defined an era of Broadway spectacle. In The Will Rogers Follies, the conceit of the show is that Will Rogers's life story is being staged as one of Ziegfeld's own productions, so Ziegfeld hovers over the action as an organizing, sometimes unseen, theatrical force.

This framing device gives the character a unique function: part narrator, part stage manager of the story itself, blurring the line between the world of the musical and the world backstage. It is a clever bit of structure that lets the show comment on its own showbiz artifice while celebrating it at the same time.

Playing Ziegfeld on stage

As a supporting role, Ziegfeld typically appears in brief but memorable moments rather than driving the plot scene by scene. The part calls for a commanding, theatrical presence, someone who can suggest old school showmanship and authority with relatively few lines, since much of Ziegfeld's influence in the show is felt through staging and spectacle rather than dialogue.

Audiences and performers alike tend to enjoy the character because he embodies the glamour and ambition of the golden age of Broadway revues, giving the production a wink toward its own theatrical lineage.

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