Spanning three decades in the entertainment business, Merrily We Roll Along charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends — writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. An inventive, cult-classic ahead of its time, Merrily We Roll Along features some of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal songs.
That said, there’s much to be grateful for here, not least a genuine feeling for the material that plumbs the emotional depths without wading into cheap sentiment. The three leads alone will be cause for rejoicing among the Sondheim faithful, while newcomers to this flawed but beautiful musical might be left scratching their heads over its commercial failure. With Richard Linklater’s film adaptation — starring Ben Platt, Blake Jenner and Beanie Feldstein, and shooting at regular intervals over the next decade — at least 10 years away from completion, it’s good to have the show back in what appears to be viable form to rewrite its Broadway history.
The backwards chronology is not the problem; it’s that the book is thuddingly literal, filled with cliches, and runs its thinly sketched characters on the same autopilot tour of The Cost of Success we’ve been playing since the Year One. That we know just where the story will end doesn’t help, of course, sapping any possibility for catharsis, but there is still room for nuance and deft characterization to surprise us. Furth and Sondheim do not fill that in. Thus the entire show hinges on believing the trio’s ties, and that a combination of the unruly sands of time and the fickle fingers of fate were able to undo them. Despite the main cast’s able efforts, they do not pull this off. Each has their own charm, Radcliffe especially shining with a vibrantly angsty energy, but I never really believed these people were ever close, or held each other to the lofty artistic standards they did back in their youth.
1981 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
1985 | Regional (US) |
Regional Production Regional (US) |
1990 | Regional (US) |
Regional Production Regional (US) |
1992 | Regional (UK) |
Regional Production Regional (UK) |
1994 | Off-Broadway |
York Theatre Company Production Off-Broadway |
2000 | West End |
Donmar Warehouse Revival West End |
2002 | Regional (US) |
Sondheim Festival Production Regional (US) |
2012 | Off-Broadway |
Encores! Concert Off-Broadway |
2012 | West End |
Menier Chocolate Factory Production West End |
2013 | West End |
Menier Chocolate Factory Production West End |
2016 | Los Angeles |
Wallis Annenberg Center Production Los Angeles |
2019 | Off-Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Company Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2022 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Revival Production Off-Broadway |
2023 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Musical | Maria Friedman |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical | Jonathan Groff |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical | Lindsay Mendez |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Maria Friedman |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | Lindsay Mendez |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | Daniel Radcliffe |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | Jonathan Groff |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Merrily We Roll Along |
2023 | The Lortels | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical | Krystal Joy Brown |
2023 | The Lortels | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical | Reg Rogers |
2023 | The Lortels | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical | Lindsay Mendez |
2023 | The Lortels | Outstanding Revival | Merrily We Roll Along |
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