Thursday, November 5, 2015
GERRY
FROM PAGE 12 meaningful to Hutchinson residents and set to popular tunes – were the most memorable. Previous Follies were produced by a New York company, but the 1971 Follies was totally Hutch – and completely Gerry. She took a very
controversial issue – the merger of Hutchinson’s two hospitals to form Hutchinson Hospital – and created a production that applauded the decision to merge. Both hospital auxiliaries set aside their egos, said Gerry, who wrote the United Fund Follies in a beauty shop. “I talked about lighting with Hayden (Hitchcock),” the man who cut and styled
THE BEE Gerry’s hair and who was well versed in theater production. Hitchcock was like many who crossed Gerry’s path for that Follies and the ones that followed. There were so many people who had expertise in other areas of theater, she said. The Follies became – and remain today – a community event. Gerry’s last Follies came in February 2000 – the Millennium Follies,
recognizing the passing of 100 years. Gerry had decided that she would pass the torch to a new generation, one of whom – Mimi Meredith – finally picked it up after a 15-year Follies cold spell.
HUTCHBEE.COM PAGE 13 Gerry has taken several bows over the years and especially after each Follies run. Her mother likely and eventually would have been proud of her only daughter’s accomplishments and the deserved accolades that
came Gerry’s way. Gerry Stoskopf Hollingsworth, this curtsy is for you. Mary Rintoul is the former managing editor of The Hutchinson News. Email: mrintoul@cox.net.