Jim Walton offers Frank comments about the new Broadway revival of 'Merrily We Roll Along' and recalls the original 'Like It Was'

Jim Walton, the original Franklin Shepard, shares his insights and memories of ''Merrily We Roll Along,'' then and now, and recalls the times he sang for Sondheim. Plus, Jonathan Groff, the current Franklin Shepard, chimes in with a word or two.

https://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/rialto/past/2023/walton.html

Updated On: 11/27/23 at 10:57 AM

If you're a true trivia buff of ''Merrily,'' here are two more behind-the-scenes stories Jim Walton has revealed about how he really got cast as Franklin Shepard.

1. Jim Walton wasn't James Weissenbach's understudy as Frank; David Cady was. Walton says Hal Prince told him he was happy with Weissenbach's work, but the producing team wanted to see someone else as Frank, so Prince was going to offer Walton two performances to try out the role. Walton was thrilled at the opportunity, but it also was awkward. While Walton was learning the role of Frank during those 4 days, he was still performing the role of Jerome opposite Weissenbach at night. And Weissenbach knew Walton was trying out for his role. Imagine how stressful that must've been for both of them. Even after ''Merrily'' closed, Walton said in another interview, that he still had dreams about running into Weissenbach. Anyway, if Walton didn't work out as Frank, he would've gone back to playing Jerome. Maybe Weissenbach would've continued as Frank. Happily, for Walton, it worked out in his favor!

2. Earlier this week, Jim Walton and Ann Morrison appeared at ''Sondheim Unplugged,'' the N.Y. revue at 54 Below. And Volume III of the show's CDs, which briefly features Walton, was just nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop. Anyway, it was touching to see Walton and Morrison reunited onstage and reprising ''Not a Day Goes By'' from ''Merrily.''

But moments earlier, Walton stole the show with his solo of ''Rich and Happy,'' also from ''Merrily.'' To set up the song, he told the story of how Hal Prince approached him about trying out the role of Frank and replacing James Weissenbach. Walton was thrilled at the big break, but admits he also secretly thought: ''Isn't Kevin Kline available?'' Kline had recently won a Tony for ''On the 20th Century,'' which Prince also directed. Walton wondered if ''Merrily'' would benefit more from Kline's energy and star power, but he kept quiet.

So Walton dedicated his rendition of ''Rich and Happy'' to NOT casting Kline and other alternate possibilities. He then performed the song with a twist: by interspersing it with his comic impressions of: Paul Lynde, William Shatner, Walter Brennan, Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, JFK, Bill Clinton, Louis Armstrong, Elmer Fudd, Bert Lahr, Jim Carrey and more.

He was a riot. And with all those impressions, Walton managed to turn ''Rich and Happy'' into ''Rich (and) Little.''

Updated On: 11/29/23 at 11:46 AM

I'm sorry to say but I think replacing James was the right idea...from what I've seen of clips (I can't remember if it was in the Merrily documentary or elsewhere), he looked awkward and out of place. And if we compare it to Jonathan Groff, well it was like a bad community theatre performance...

 

 

''Poor James Weissenbach. He got shafted because a bad production was laying an egg.''

It's hard not to feel bad for Weissenbach. No doubt ''Merrily'' had its fair share of problems beyond him. But ''The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened,'' Lonny Price's 2016 documentary about the show, also points out why Weissenbach was a notable issue. ''Merrily'' castmate Amy Pogrebin recalls that things weren't going all that well with Weissenbach, even in rehearsals: ''He was very stiff. And he could not move.'' Ann Morrison recalls Ron Field telling her that she and Lonny Price might be fired because they were looking too polished and professional, next to Weissenbach. Then, the producers realized Weissenbach needed to go.

For his part, Weissenbach says things were going ''pretty smoothly. I was basically told I was doing great.'' Hal Prince told Walton he was happy with Weissenbach's work, but it sounds like Prince had to bow and deal with his producers' wishes for a new leading man. It was awkward for all of 'em. In the documentary, Weissenbach even remembers having trouble getting a table at Joe Allen's a few days before he was fired. Apparently, the word already was out, even at Joe Allen's, that his days were numbered at ''Merrily.''

''It's a bit sad Sondheim never did anything for him, and has used Walton any number of times.'' 

Sondheim doesn't sound like he was the motivating factor behind Weissenbach's firing, so I don't think he was obligated to do something for Weissenbach. And Sondheim used Walton ''any number of times'' because he appreciated Walton's ''great voice'' and musicality. And that's showbiz. 

Updated On: 12/1/23 at 01:33 PM

joevitus said: "
Since Prince and Ruth Mitchell were the only producers, I'm not buying that argument."

Actually, Hal Prince stopped producing his shows ("in association with Ruth Mitchell") with 1976's Pacific Overtures.  He said it just became too expensive.  Merrily is one of the only shows after that where they are among the producers (usually their names don't appear at all,) but the credits are:

Produced by Lord Lew Grade, Martin Starger, Robert Fryer and Harold Prince; Associate Producer: Ruth Mitchell and Howard Haines 

(Weird to see Lord Lew Grade there--his other Broadway credit is Starlight Express--who was an eccentric British producer and impresario mostly known for TV and film work, instigated the creation of The Muppet Show, produced the first two Muppet movies, Dark Crystal, Boys from Brazil, On Golden Pond, and Sophie's Choice as well as infamous flops like raise the Titanic and Saturn 3.)

But I digress, I still don't think the producers were responsible whatsoever for this cast change (or Ron Field being fired but obviously he wasn't responsible for the cast change either...)  I'm pretty sure it was 100% Hal Prince's decision.

 

 

''Merrily'' fans: Here's video of Ann Morrison and Jim Walton's last Sunday (Nov. 26) appearances at ''Sondheim Unplugged'' at New York's 54 Below. Ann sings ''The Moon Is Blue'' (from Sondheim's ''Mary Poppins''). Jim gives his own comic twist to ''Rich and Happy,'' from ''Merrily''; Ann and Jim do a duet of ''Not a Day Goes By,'' and ''Sondheim Unplugged'' host Rob Maitner joins Jim and Ann for ''Our Time.''

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SGKTe82kxM&t=783s