The follis (plural folles) was a large bronzecoin introduced in about 294 with the coinage reform of Diocletian. It weighed about 10 grams and was about 4% silver, mostly as a thin layer on the surface. The word follis means bag and there is evidence that this term was used in antiquity for a sealed bag containing a specific amount of coins. The follis of Diocletian, despite efforts to enforce prices with the Edict on Maximum Prices (301), was revalued and reduced. By the time of Constantine, the follis was smaller and barely contained any silver. A series of Constantinian bronzes was introduced in the mid-4th century, although the specific denominations are unclear and debated by historians and numismatists. The follis was reintroduced as a large bronze coin (40 nummi) in 498, with the coinage reform of Anastasius, which included a series of bronze denominations with their values marked in Greek numerals. The fals (a corruption of follis) was a bronze coin issued by the Umayyad and Abbasidcaliphates beginning in the late 7th century, initially as imitations of the Byzantine follis.
This musical, with a book by James Goldman, takes place at a reunion of the Weisman (pseudo-Ziegfeld) Follies girls, gathering at their old theatre on the eve of its leveling to become a parking lot.
The entire show is interspersed with ex-showgirls reprising their old big numbers, and the atmosphere is heightened by the presence of the ghosts of everyone's former selves, who sometimes sing along, sometimes reenact important events, and sometimes even interact with the present.
The final piece (in the original script) is "Live Laugh, Love" where Ben attempts to present the suave, man-about-town character, but is unable to continue the charade and breaks down as the chorus continues, highlighting the dichotomy between forms.
The grid of red follies create reference points and are non-contextual in their form and color, in favor of an intertextuality that leads to a dissolving of a priori meanings.
Although the follies are physically deconstructed, their intended lack of meaning relates his use of the philosophy to its essence, not stylistic applications.
The assertion that the follies lack any historical precedent is important to the idea of "non-meaning" and valid in terms of classical styles and their parts (columns, arches and so forth).
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