In 2016, I was invited to a production of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along at the Wallis in Beverly Hills, directed by Michael Arden. I fell in love with it. It was my gateway into the world of Sondheim fandom. So I was equally excited and nervous about the latest Merrily revival. Will it tarnish my opinion of the show? I was tempted to skip this one and to forever cherish the production I had seen, but I couldn’t resist.
Merrily We Roll Along, a musical based on a 1934 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, tells the story of three friends over the course of 20 years, presented in reverse order. The three leads in this production, Jonathan Groff (Frank), Daniel Radcliffe (Charlie) and Lindsay Mendez (Mary), are all notable Broadway stars; this show is a hot ticket. I happily discovered that the new production is brilliant. Basically perfect in just about every way.
This version leaves out the opening number, The Hills of Tomorrow, where Frank Shepherd, the troubled central character, tells a graduating high school class to be practical about their dreams and to accept compromise. The class revolts, “How did you get there from here, Mr. Shepard? How did you get to be you?” Skipping ahead to the title song is how the show has been done since the 1985 James Lapine-directed revival at the La Jolla Playhouse. As much as I miss that song, I found having Charlie and Mary sing these lines directly to Frank in the opening number is equally, if not more, effective.
What Works?
The standout for me was Jonathan Groff’s performance as Frank. He has the looks and charisma to play Frank. Some of his scenes with his character’s sometimes-estranged son are heartbreaking.
Reg Rogers’s performance as Joe, the ill-fated producer/manager, stood out for other reasons. As an actor, he seems like a total weirdo, everything about him. But it just kind of works. Inspired casting!
I’m not a fashion expert, but it seemed like the aesthetic this production was going for was early 70s. It’s fun. The slightly chubby actor wearing an ill-fitting polyester shirt was a win. The three leads wear the same outfits throughout the show with some minor alterations to vaguely match the time period of each scene. Maybe this is an intentional reflection of the original production, where the leads just wore plain shirts with their names on them.
What Doesn’t Work?
As exciting as it was to see Daniel Radcliffe (omg Harry Potter) in the show, and as fine as his performance was, I did feel let down by his big number, Franklin Shepard Inc. It’s very similar to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s more aggressive performance in the Encores! production, a few years ago. Lonny Price’s version, going back to the original cast recording, is so raw and fragile. I’m spoiled by it.
I was later scolded by a colleague of mine who felt Radcliffe’s performance was the standout, “Well, you’re judging his whole performance based on THE SONG.” Fair enough.
9.5/10
Merrily We Roll Along, directed by Maria Friedman, is currently playing at the Hudson Theatre in New York City.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrily_We_Roll_Along_(musical)