Merrily We Roll Along is one for the Sondheim diehards, according to Sondheim novice Richard Davies
For all Sondheim fans out there, the Yvonne Arnaud’s production of “Merrily We Roll Along” is surely a treat. The cast of mainly local performers have given their all to create a very polished version of one of Sondheim’s less frequently performed musicals, thanks to the expert direction of Charlotte Conquest and choreography of Jordan Lee Davies.
But if you are a newcomer to Sondheim, as I must confess I am, this is probably not the place to start. When first performed in 1981, “Merrily We Roll Along” was a major flop that closed after only 16 performances, and to be honest, it’s not hard to see why.
The story begins in a debauched New York party in 1976, where we get to know the three main characters: Franklin, a composer who has become a money-grabber and serial philanderer; Charley, his lyric-writing partner who has suffered a nervous breakdown triggered by his resentment towards his friend and Mary, a writer who once shone a light for Franklin, but who has now become a shambolic drunk.
This seems a strange way to start a show, for the simple reason that it’s hard to see why we should care about any of them. From here, we travel backwards through time, so that scene by scene, we discover how it all went wrong for a group of talented, naïve and idealistic young people. The rather blunt message is that showbiz is a tough industry that chews you up and spits you out. If we were in any doubt on this question, it is further demonstrated with the character of Joe, the producer who we first see as a down and out, but later discover was the big shot who gave Frankie and Charlie their big break, in the days when he was married to Gussie, the Broadway star who ditches him for the up and coming Frankie.
Sondheim aficionados will appreciate that the show contains some of his best loved songs, including “Old Friends” and “Our Time”, sung by the three pals on a New York rooftop in 1957 as they watch the Russian Sputnik fly over their heads, with the ironically prescient line “We’re the movers and we’re the shapers, We’re the names in tomorrow’s papers.” Similarly bittersweet is the song “Not a Day Goes By” sung by Franklin’s first wife Beth, first in a divorce court but later (earlier) as a love song on her wedding day.
Overall, the musical standard of this production is undoubtedly very high, supported by a very proficient nine piece band. I particularly enjoyed the performances of Lee Thomas as Franklin Shephard, Anna Twaits as the intimidating seductress Gussie and Claire Salter, who shone as Franklin’s estranged wife, Beth - possibly the only likeable character in the whole show. For me, the main problem with Merrily We Roll Along (again an ironic title) is that, rather like a novel about novel writing, it feels very self-regarding – a musical about the life of people who create and perform in musicals.
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