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.
With the Off Broadway run (through Jan. 22) all but sold out, and commercial producers teed up for a transfer, we may yet find out what “Merrily” can be at its best. For now, it’s just at its best so far. That means some scenes work as they never have; the Act II opener, “It’s a Hit,” which often lays an egg, is for the first time hilarious, thanks in large part to Reg Rogers as Frank and Charlie’s producer. The unlikely progress through the story of Gussie Carnegie — the producer’s secretary, then wife, then star, then ex, but in reverse — suddenly seems clear and, in Krystal Joy Brown’s fetching performance, charming if not credible. Yet at the same time, some things that used to work no longer do. The supporting characters, heavily doubled, are mostly a blur. The song “Old Friends,” which at its root is about the fatal compromises that keep people together, has a case of fake giddiness. And “Bobby and Jackie and Jack,” a comedy number about the Kennedy family that the three friends perform in a downtown club in 1960, lays the egg that “It’s a Hit” no longer does.
Has “Merrily” finally been fixed? Not really, and it never will be. But its storied problems have not only become part of its lore, but also a messy asset in our dismal era of mechanical, assembly-line musicals produced by movie studios. “Merrily” is an affecting oddball that hits you hard emotionally, even when it creatively misses. Here’s to it. What’s like it? Damn few.
| 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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