Merrily We Roll Along

Now — firstly, may I say don’t let this history of this show put you off. When Stephen Sondheim first wrote and put on Merrily, it was a flop! The largest reason being it is performed in reverse so the characters start older and get younger and the cast was initially made up of young people trying to act old convincingly and it didn’t work!
But now, thanks to the work of the amazing Maria Friedman, who has had personal permission from the man himself, Stephen Sondheim, she has produced a new arrangement of this show, with a fantastic cast including the faultless Jenna Russell in the female lead and it is great. And I managed to meet them both at the stage door after the show!
Now if you are unfamiliar with Sondheim, please don’t expect a big romp on stage. This is probably one of his more accessible shows but it is still wordy and intellectual but with comedy and heartache to boot. The big thing about Sondheim is that his songs are all about text and should come directly from the spoken text and not be just a stand alone number out of the context of the scene. I love it though and would love to do more myself!
But how about the show itself — well — like I said early, it is done in reverse time order and is focused on three friends and how they got to where they are at the beginning. And where they are at the beginning is NOT friends! Frank (played by Mark Umbers) is a Hollywood hotshot but has he given up on his true passion for song-​writing, Charley (played by the amazing Damien Humbley and does an amazing rendition of ‘Franklin Shepard Inc.’) is a writer and was the writing partner to Frank, and then Mary (played by Jenna Russell — personal hero) is also a writer and alcoholic, trying to keep everyone together but not afraid to throw out a few remarks here and there to get people back to reality. Mary also has been in love with Frank since they first met.
And so the show takes you back and back to where they all began, and it does so with set and costume changes as the days go by (!), the cast embrace the feelings and attitudes of those times but also deal with the affects of divorce, infidelity, unrequited love and the fun of friendship and writing. There is a brilliant scene where the three are all writing and working away and calling each other and … well definitely one to be seen live!
And we can’t forget the big songs that are from this show — ‘Not a Day Goes By’, ‘Old Friend’ ‘Good Thing Going’ and ‘Our Time’ — all have been immortalised by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Petula Clark, Bernadette Peters, Liza Minelli — the list is endless, but you can see them done in their original show context and you mustn’t miss it.
Take a break from all the glamour and the glitz and see some heart on stage. Not that glamour and glitz doesn’t always have heart but here is some other heart for you to enjoy!
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