Merrily We Roll Along - Roundabout Theater production in NYC

[edjames]

In today's NYTimes, this announcement....

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/theater/merrily-we-roll-along-to-be-revived-off-broadway.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ftheater&action=click&contentCollection=theater&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront

‘Merrily We Roll Along’ to Be Revived Off Broadway

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A scene from Fiasco Theater’s “Into the Woods”; the company is tackling “Merrily We Roll Along,” another another Stephen Sondheim musical, next.

 

“Merrily We Roll Along,” a Stephen Sondheim musical that abruptly flopped on Broadway in 1981 but has become a much-loved show in the decades since, will be revived Off Broadway next winter by the Roundabout Theater Company.

 

The musical, a rueful deconstruction of the unraveling of a three-way friendship, will be a production of Fiasco Theater, which is Roundabout’s company in residence. Fiasco, known for its stripped-down productions, often with simple props, did a well-received production of “Into the Woods,” another show with a score by Mr. Sondheim.

 

“Merrily,” which is based on a play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, features a book by George Furth. Its original production, which closed just two weeks after opening, was the subject of a 2016 documentary, “Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened.”

 

Noah Brody, Fiasco’s co-artistic director, will direct a cast that includes members of the company. The show will open Feb. 19 at the Laura Pels Theater.

 

“Merrily” is the seventh production announced by Roundabout for its upcoming season.

On Broadway, where the theater operates three spaces, Roundabout will present “Bernhardt/Hamlet,” a new comedic play by Theresa Rebeck about Sarah Bernhardt’s famous 1899 performance as the Prince of Denmark, starring Janet McTeer and directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel. Revivals of “True West” and “Kiss Me, Kate” are part of the season as well, with a fourth Broadway production still to be announced.

 

Off Broadway, in addition to “Merrily,” Roundabout will present “Toni Stone,” a new play by Lydia R. Diamond, starring Uzo Aduba (“Orange is the New Black”) and directed by Pam MacKinnon, about the first womanto play as a regular on a big-league professional baseball team; and “Apologia” by Alexi Kaye Campbell, starring Stockard Channing and directed by Daniel Aukin. “Usual Girls,” by Ming Peiffer and directed by Tyne Rafaeli, will be presented at the Roundabout Underground theater for emerging artists.

[Doe Be Doe]

I saw the Encores revival in 2012. Lots of good music. Lin Manuel-Miranda was in it.

[+ WilliamM]

I saw a preview of "Merrily" before it opened on Broadway. I liked it more than the reviewer, but the "book" was confusing.

[Treehorn]

Wish it wasn’t Fiasco as I wasn’t crazy about their Into The Woods - especially at their lack of singing ability (and arrogance about being actors not singers....well....sometimes you gotta be both ). And as the best part of the show is the score (as an aside...I’d love to see a production that played the events in Correct time...as I’m of the mind backwards never works, except for Momento)

[bostonman]

I’d love to see a production that played the events in correct time

 

It wouldn't work, even if it were allowed. The show drives to "Opening Doors" and "Our Time" as the 11:00 and closing numbers, and the first scene, structurally, would make for a terrible finale. The show goes back in time chronologically, but its arc is pretty much traditional otherwise. (A similar case for the act break - "Now You Know" is the obvious and strong Act I Finale, but running the show in chronological order would change that arc entirely.) You'd essentially have to restructure the whole show to make it run smoothly in chronological order, and I doubt even Sondheim would allow that much change. (Plus, sorry, but the POINT OF THE SHOW is that it goes backwards in time, just as the original Kaufman and Hart play did. The title of the show is deliberately ironic in that sense - the plot chronologically gets less and less merry as it rolls along, but in reverse, it gains idealism as it goes. And all the while, the characters ironically warn us to "never look back, or that partnerships as they develop in time can be a "good thing going...going...gone." It's actually quite clever if you really look at it.)

 

That said, I do think we all agree that the score is much stronger than the book in all ways and all versions. And though I do feel that the revised version (now the only one available for performance) does make some improvements on the original, there was also a lot in the original that didn't really need to be fixed. (Don't forget that a good deal of the problems in the original production were also due to things like the costume design, the choreography, and some of the casting.) And I absolutely miss the original framing device - the high school graduation scenes with "The Hills Of Tomorrow," gone forever at this point.

 

I would also debate that Pinter's Betrayal (written to go backwards) works perfectly.

[nsguy45]

Saw the excellent UK production directed by Maria Friedman when it played in Boston last summer at the Huntington Theatre, with the London cast intact. There was talk of that production advancing to Broadway.

[bostonman]

Saw the excellent UK production directed by Maria Friedman when it played in Boston last summer at the Huntington Theatre, with the London cast intact.

 

Only the Frank (Mark Umbers) and the Charley (Damian Humbley) were from the London production. Mary was played by Broadway actress Eden Espinosa. The rest of the cast, including the other principal roles, were local Boston actors. I enjoyed Espinoza and Humbley a lot, but unfortunately felt Umbers was entirely miscast. The Boston actors did themselves proud - particularly 3 colleagues that I've worked with many times - Aimee Doherty as Gussie, Jen Ellis as Beth, and Christopher Chew as Joe. One also has to take into account that only in recent years has the Huntington NOT treated local actors primarily as spear carriers or understudies - they should be roundly applauded for finally coming to their senses lol.

 

I enjoyed the production in general, but I did think the set designer should be shot for that behemoth of a useless, boring white wall that dominated the stage. (Same set that was used in London, unimproved.)

[body2body]

In the mid 80s they did a commendable revival at the La Jolla Playhouse. Sondheim and Furth revisited the score and the book. The opening High School graduation scene was cut among other changes. The excellent leads were John Rubinstein as Frank, Chip Zien as Charley, and Heather MacRae as Mary. The Direction was in the hands of James Lapine. The show was trimmed, and I enjoyed every moment of it. My companion at this performance had seen the original on Broadway, and thought this production was greatly improved but still flawed. This revival happened during a period when Des McAnuff was the Artistic Director at La Jolla Playhouse and they had buckets of money and did many wonderful productions.

Edited May 29, 2018 by body2body