REVIEW: Sondheim’s ‘Merrily’ musical is revived, in more ways than one
Photo: Merrily We Roll Along stars Lindsay Mendez, Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe. Photo courtesy of Joan Marcus / Provided by Matt Ross PR with permission.
NEW YORK — At long last, director Maria Friedman’s stellar revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s rewarding musical Merrily We Roll Along makes its way to New York City, courtesy of the New York Theatre Workshop. This reviewer first caught the production at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London several years ago, with a completely different cast, but the hop across the Pond has not reduced the enjoyment factor of how Friedman has dusted off this Sondheim chestnut.
Audiences seemingly can’t get enough of the late composer’s work (Company recently played Broadway, and Sweeney Todd is waiting in the wings), and this Merrily deserves an even larger audience than the off-Broadway house can provide.
Merrily We Roll Along feels like one of the most personal works for Sondheim. His music and lyrics, along with Furth’s book, turn an original play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart into an exploration of a songwriting duo who fall apart when they begin their journey toward fame. Jonathan Groff (TV’s Manhunter and Broadway’s Hamilton) plays Franklin Shepard, the protagonist of the piece. He starts his career in humble beginnings with his best friend, Mary Flynn (Lindsay Mendez, Tony winner for Carousel), and writing partner, Charley Kringas (Daniel Radcliffe, of Harry Potter fame). Their first songs are witty and humorous, and thanks to a producer sitting in the crowd (Reg Rogers), they catch a big break and are catapulted to new heights.
But the road to fame eventually leads to infamy, with Franklin’s marriage to Beth (Katie Rose Clarke) falling apart thanks to an affair he’s having with Broadway star Gussie Carnegie (Krystal Joy Brown). Meanwhile, Charley doesn’t want to sell out and simply create shows for their producer friend; he’s after art and self-respect, and this causes a major divide between the two writers. Mary, on the other hand, has a best-selling book under her belt, but that seems to have been the peak of her career. She increasingly turns to alcohol as she tries to figure out her place in the world and within this friendly trio.
What makes Merrily We Roll Along so complicated to stage — and stage well — is that Sondheim and Furth, following the lead of Kaufman and Hart, have the plot unfold in reverse. Audiences first meet Franklin after he’s split from Charley, and Mary makes a drunken scene at a posh Hollywood party. This is the “after” image of how everything fell apart, but it comes first, and then scene by scene, theatergoers travel back in time, eventually arriving at the year when the trio first becomes a trio.
Friedman, an exquisite performer herself, has largely solved any wobbliness that might exist with this reverse chronology. Her focus is on the build up and disintegration of this friendship, and she achieves a wonderful intimacy along with the skilled performers. Yes, the focus is on Franklin, whose arc becomes the main arc of the musical, but Charley and Mary receive a lot of time in the spotlight. And in some ways Mary’s descent into sorrow (or ascent into happiness, depending on one’s perspective) feels like the most heart-breaking and moving of the show. This is chiefly because Mendez is such a talented actor, who not only can sing these Sondheim songs with obvious skill, but also bring a heartfelt and authentic characterization to her central role. She is the highlight of this highlight-filled production.
Groff and Radcliffe are equally superb in their respective roles. Charley is the quieter of the two, the real artist of the duo, someone who refuses to sell his dignity for a big payday. Radcliffe is rightfully earthbound with the role, refusing to let the success get to his head, focusing instead on his family and his art form. He recognizes that the “Shepard-Kringas” team sometimes need to complete a project that is more commercial, but he always has an equation in his mind: One for them, so we can do one for us.
The problem is that Groff’s Franklin character is enticed by the money, the big house and the gifts that come with more commercial fare, and this creates the wedge. Groff, with perhaps the meatiest and toughest role of the show, is perfectly cast as Franklin. He’s believable as a young go-getter who tries to draw a paycheck from his witticisms and cleverness, but he’s also believable as the divorced, ruined and distant “success story” who loses his friends, his wife and almost his son.
Supporting work from Brown, Clarke and Rogers is much appreciated and helps to fill out this two-and-a-half-hour musical. The Gussie character is given new life thanks to Brown. She’s comfortable playing the Broadway starlet, but thanks to some perfectly positioned scenes and songs, the real Gussie also comes through, helping the audience see the person behind the marquee lights.
This New York Theatre Workshop show, which originated at the Menier Chocolate Factory, has been announced for a Broadway run in fall 2023, and that’s good news indeed. What was once considered a lesser Sondheim musical has thankfully been rechristened as one of his best, and that’s in no small part to Friedman. Perhaps it took a performer like herself to find the poetry and pathos behind what Sondheim and Furth’s show tries to convey: Friends can be a life-saving commodity in today’s hardscrabble world.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Merrily We Roll Along, directed by Maria Friedman, features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth. Based on the original play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Starring Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, Daniel Radcliffe, Krystal Joy Brown, Katie Rose Clarke and Reg Rogers. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes with one 15-minute intermission. Currently playing at the New York Theatre Workshop in New York City. The production will transfer to Broadway in fall 2023. Click here for more information and tickets.
