EACH IN HER STYLE A DELILAH REBORN...

So earlier tonight I learned that I am not the only one who has a fantasy of winning MegaMillions just so I can invest it in a screen version of Follies.

Done right, of course. Otherwise, it becomes a screen version of A Little Night Music. (Much as I love that show, Pauline Kael is right about the movie.)

Anyway, all we need is, uh, $80 million dollars to make this happen. If you all send a mere $500,000, we're almost there.

But what a cast we developed at the bar tonight! Invest soon, or we're gonna lose a lot of them... and by "lose a lot of them," I don't mean to other projects:

Buddy Plummer: Mandy Patinkin
(He rocked in the concert version; now he's old enough to play Buddy for real)
Sally Plummer: Bernadette Peters
(No longer the coquette; time to let those lungs sing mournfully)
Ben Stone: Richard Gere
(Not a great singer, but this role could be just right)
Phyllis Stone: Meryl Streep
(Meryl singing "Could I Leave You?" OMG!)

Carlotta Campion: Goldie Hawn
(The '60s hippie is now 60-something. That works.)
Hattie Walker: Elaine Stritch
(Cliched, perhaps, but com'on!)
Heidi Schiller: Barbara Cook
(Perfect!)
Solange Lafitte: Leslie Caron
(Maybe the most tick-tock of the bunch...)
Stella Deems: Chita Rivera
("Who's That Woman?" may be the last great chance for Chita and Leslie to show off those gams!)
Dmitri Weissman: Mickey Rooney
(Perfect career symmetry: juvenile to elder; plus, we could write in a dance number for him... just for fun.)
Roscoe: Len Cariou
(Career Achievement Award)

There are a few roles -- including all The Youngs -- to cast, but weigh in now. Also, send that huge check so we can do this right!