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Madison Beach Club Turns Into “Speakeasy” for 82nd Annual Follies Aug 3 and 4

Prohibition may be long over, but the mythical atmosphere of the Roaring 20's speakeasy still whispers to a partying crowd.

Little wonder, then, that the Madison Beach Club's theme for this year's Follies is “Flappers and Dappers” – those wild partiers of the Jazz Age. Think Gatsby. Think Daisy. Bootleggers. Secret doors opening up to secret saloon shenanigans. Liquor was flowing, jazz was blaring, swells were dancing. This was the high life in the years leading up to the Great Depression.

Follies Director Matthew Harrison, back for his second summer at the Beach Club, whimsically noted certain similarities between the speakeasies of yesteryear and the modern day Beach Club.

"When I fist walked in to the Madison Beach Club, I saw this hidden gem on the Connecticut Shoreline filled with formidable characters amid a party atmosphere. If this were the 20's, it would be a speakeasy in broad daylight,” he joked.

“No one at the Beach Club disagrees with Matt Harrison's assessment, “ laughed Follies co-chair Kim Cushing.

The Club's cast of 45 flappers and dappers, ages 14 to 84, will sing and dance to 1920's themes on August 3 and 4. The opening act, “There's No Business Like Show Business,” brings out the gaudiness of the times. “This World Will Remember Us” pays tribute to the ultimate 20's gangsters, Bonnie and Clyde. Millennials and Baby Boomers alike will be doing the Charleston and the Tango. And no gin joint would be complete without a dozen of the Club's most bodacious beauties, singing, “Hey Big Spender” while showing some leg. Legs will also be flying when the Follies kick line - a perennial Club favorite - closes the show.

The Follies has been a Beach Club rite of passage for teens along the shoreline for 82 years. “My mom chaired the Follies in the 80's, when my sister (co-chair Kim) and I were up there on stage,” says Follies co-chair Kristy White. “Now my kids Liney and Jack are doing it. How much fun is this?”

You can see for yourself how much fun The Follies are on Friday August 3 at 7:30pm, when the show is open to the public. Tickets are $7.50 for children 12 and under, $15 for adults. Tickets are now on sale at the club's front desk, at 128 Island Avenue in Madison. Portions of the show's proceeds will go to help the charitable efforts of The Madison Foundation.

All comers are urged to dress in “flappers and dappers” attire both Friday and Saturday nights.