l-r: Timeca Seretti, BeckiJo Neill, Shannon Sedwick, Patrick King, and Shaun Branigan, raising a righteous ruckus at the Follies’ packed reopening on June 17 (Photo by John Anderson)
It s Thursday, June 17, 2021, the COVID pandemic finally dwindling in the rear view mirrors – and, in the bustling Downtown of Austin, the Esther s Follies comedy troupe is preparing to return to their live stage for the first time in 15 months.
More than a year of unplanned downtime has passed, with the writers and performers secluded in quarantine, each sheltering in their separate (or sparsely shared) abodes. More than a year in which a pivot toward Patreon-supported video content has been their sole means of connection with an audience, any audience. More than a year in which the internet has been the company s only connection with those for whom the Follies mix of music and madcap sketches skewering the topics of the day is what makes life, no matter how harsh, more tolerabl