Encore

Pretty ironic—that the revival of Stephen Sondheim's 1971 flop, Follies, should bring together warring theater factions Nederlander (Arthur Rubin) and Shubert (Bernie Jacobs, Gerald Schoenfeld). A troupe of fans lined up in a frenzy at four P.M. , hoping to snare a ticket to Lincoln Center's twonights-only event. Two things were accomplished: RCA Records set theater history straight by rerecording the show with a stellar cast, and a black-tie supper afterward raised $216,000 for two charities. In sharp contrast to the bare-bones staging of the show, the Promenade was a splashy backstage for the dinner's performers, including Michael Bennett, John Guare, Comden and Green, Wendy Wasserstein, and Andre Gregory. Benefiteers ate raspberry soup at mock vanity tables strewn with old photos, sheet music, and glitter. Sondheim starred, of course: the friends hugging him had already forgotten that Mandy Patinkin had fluffed the lyric on "The Right Girl" just hours earlier.