MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG First Performance...

I'll be there as well! Looking forward to it.

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I went to the dress last night -- I have never seen a production of Merrily and I love the OBC album. The show seemed really tight to me. It seems to follow the 94 revival as far as the music....don't know the book well enough to comment.

The performances were great across the board....although the wigs may need a little work....Lin-Manuel looks a bit like an extra in a blaxploitation film....or Edward James Olmos in Stand and Deliver.

The centerpiece of the set is a jumbotron....my plus one didn't care for it....I thought it added to the idea of progress and commercialism which is a central conflict in the story.

The renovation of City Center is stunning. Seats are comfortable. I can't comment on access in the balcony but the one change that will take getting used to is the elimination of the aisle between the grand tier and mezz.....if you are in the center section of either...be sure to enter through the door closest to the seats....hint: the numbers for the center section rise from stage right to stage left.

Can't wait to hear anyone else's thoughts.

I'm not sure if its really being publicized or not but on the performance on Valentine's Day, there is going to be a reunion with 15 members of the OBC attending. If you're on the fence still in terms of picking a date to go - I'd spring for that one!

I work with an original cast member. Ran into him in the elevator and asked if he was seeing the show. He told me about the reunion. Alas, my tickets are for the next night. Still...his stories are FABULOUS.

My Kringas is despondent that his daddy won't be able to make it to NYC to see the character for whom he was named.

I think one could say that FOLLIES basically has a staged overture, albeit one intertwined with "All Things Bright and Beautiful." Staged overtures were quite the trend in the early 70s--so much so that NIGHT MUSIC essentially has two: the lieder singers' warm up and then the "Night Waltz".

I hope this reunion thing is true as I have had my ticket for next Tuesday for a while.

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It is absolutely, without question, categorically true! Enjoy!

I'm going tonight, and I'm really excited. :)

Holy hell!!!!! It's amazing!! 23 piece orchestra with strings!! They sound amazing. They did the full 1981 overture.
It feels like a fully staged production. Scripts were only used for the first half of act 1 and now are gone.
The leads are nailing it. Colin Donnell is perfect. Lin nailed 'the song.' Stanley is a fierce Gussie. Everyone is great. Tons of projections, but they really work to set the scene. Encores! Has outdone themselves.

More later.

Updated On: 2/8/12 at 08:55 PM

So any chance this will make a transfer to a Broadway run?

Maybe they can start "backwards" win the tony for best revival, then open?

Thoughts?

Kind of an obscure question, but it's driving me crazy (well, a little crazy)...for anybody who saw it last night or tonight, is "Good Thing Going" now a duet? On the BWW video preview both Frank and Charley are singing it, as opposed to just Charley. I know they sing it a second time together, but the video footage seemed like it was definitely the first go round.