MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG Previews- Page 5

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 9/25/23 at 9:55am

Pretty sure it’s J.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/25/23 at 12:15pm

Someone posted this on Reddit a few days ago from Row C, and it does look like the first several rows are staring up. Someone else commented they were in Row E, and any closer and they would have been looking up.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 9/25/23 at 12:28pm

round2 said: "Anyone know which row in the Hudson Theatre the dress circle overhangs the orchestra? I'm striking out trying to find that information out online, so far..."

Looks like around row L or M, with M being the first row of the side orchestra sections. With the curve of the dress circle, it looks further back than that in the center:



 

 

Updated On: 9/25/23 at 12:28 PM

[TarHeelAlan]

Posted: 9/25/23 at 2:44pm

round2 said: "Anyone know which row in the Hudson Theatre the dress circle overhangs the orchestra? I'm striking out trying to find that information out online, so far..."

Seating chart with overhang: https://media.broadway.com/series/seatmap/theater-hudson.pdf

The curve makes it hard to pinpoint the exact row, but it looks like the dress circle overhangs the Orchestra roughly around Row H. 

 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 9/26/23 at 9:58am

The production grossed $1,304,508.00 in its first week of 6 performances for the week ending 9/24, breaking the Hudson house record previously set by American Utopia.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 9/26/23 at 10:16am

TaffyDavenport said: "The production grossed $1,304,508.00 in its first week of 6 performances for the week ending 9/24, breaking the Hudson house record previously set by American Utopia."

HOLY CRAP! WOW! 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/26/23 at 10:56am

I saw this last night and absolutely loved it. Groff just broke my heart - he’s brilliant. Mendez is on her own level and I can’t imagine her having much competition come Tony time, she’s just that good. 
 

But yeah, those grosses aren’t surprising since they jacked their prices up as much as they did once they saw the demand for it.

[meaghan416]

Posted: 9/28/23 at 12:45pm

Has anyone won the Merrily lottery? I was wondering what location the seats were and if they came via email or in person pick up?

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 9/28/23 at 12:55pm

Friends in New York won the lottery over the weekend. Their seats were front row of the balcony on the far side. Partial view - they missed much of the action far stage left. Apparently, they were able to move to empty seats at intermission that were full view.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 9/28/23 at 1:27pm

I was on You-Tube looking for what they had on the revival.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the full original London production was available and that it was a professional shooting.

I decided to watch it to see if it was as good as I remembered.  It was not..you can’t repeat reaching the conclusion that a show you violently hated was actually good with the right direction and casting.  The first half-hour was a bit of a slog, but it kept getting better.  Mark Umbers, who I saw in Boston, set the bar very high for Groff, who I have always liked.  By the end, I was fully won over, and am glad that I saw it…to help manage my expectations, I.e., that the first half hour will likely still be a slog for me.
 

For anyone who is not seeing the production (because it is so expensive or you are not in NYC?), I would strongly recommend viewing it.  It is as good as any of the Sondheim productions aired on PBS (in some cases, not necessarily hard…I hated Passion, I hated the Act 2 in the Prince version (have enjoyed it in other productions though, in one case more than Act 1), and I don’t like ITW as much as most people on this board).

The physical production was identical to what I saw in Boston, so I am guessing that it is the same as the Broadway production.  (I don’t see the production until mid-October).  So, minus the specific performers (which of course is a big factor in the demand for tickets), I am guessing that it is likely to be pretty much the same as currently on Broadway.

 

[decotodd]

Posted: 9/29/23 at 11:53pm

Agree with Jordan. Saw it on Monday and absolutely loved it. Would totally see it again! Groff has a career best and the trio have wonderful chemistry. Was not familiar with Mendez who was terrific. Radcliffe fantastic. Can confirm that ideally you want to be at least 4 rows back if in orchestra. I was in second row and one had to look up. Plus Groff is a spitter so you could be in the line of fire. Production is impressive and the costumes great. 
 

by the way it looks like CBS Sunday Morning doing a piece this weekend 

[BETTY22]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 3:20pm

There is such demand for this show, press people have been assigned one ticket - not two!

 

 

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 3:35pm

I saw it this week and loved it. IMO several of the act 2 songs are skippable but I knew that already lol. I feel like the themes of a friend group growing up and the pains of that hit me really hard this time. When Charlie says “friendship is like a garden, you need to water it and tend it and care about it…” really hit me. All 3 are really brilliant-the rapport they have, Mary’s love of Franklin, the way they work as a group (or dont)-and the direction is so excellent. It’s wild that the original production was such a bomb (obviously I know there were many issues). The last moments were so good-Our Time never fails to work it’s charm. 

[binau]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 5:29pm

Is it me or does it feel like Jonathan Groff should quickly become the front runner for the Tony?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 6:29pm

binau said: "Is it me or does it feel like Jonathan Groff should quickly become the front runner for the Tony?"

I would 100% agree with this. He is so wonderful in this.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 8:29pm

It is likely that his most likely competition would come from Brian D'Arcy James, and the lead roles in The Notebook and Water for Elephants, which are unknown quantities.  I would imagine D'arcy James will be fierce competition based on the reviews I read off-Broadway run from its.  Then there is Eddie Redmayne, Oscar and Tony winner, who won the Olivier for his role in Cabaret, if he in fact is going to be in it. 

I think I read about one more likely revival but I can't remember what it is.currently 

[kingfan011]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 8:30pm

Interesting people seem to think Radcliffe is decent now. My friend is seeing this next month, Illl be curious what he thinks

[JasonC3]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 10:09pm

kingfan011 said: "Interesting people seem to think Radcliffe is decent now. My friend is seeing this next month, Illl be curious what he thinks"

A quick review of this thread shows most everyone has thought Radcliffe was decent and more except for you and your constant trolling otherwise.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 10:29pm

At this point, Eddie Redmayne looks like the front-runner to me. He won the Olivier for ''Cabaret,'' and the Emcee is such a flamboyant and award-baity role, having won the Tony and Oscar for Joel Grey and the Tony for Alan Cumming. Since Redmayne already has a Tony (for ''Red'' ), I'd frankly rather see someone else award-worthy win.

I haven't seen ''Days of Wine and Roses,'' but I'd love to see Brian d'Arcy James win. He's a four-time Tony nominee and arguably overdue to win. In my alternate universe, he would've originated Dan in ''Next to Normal'' and won  (and the ''Billy Elliott'' boys would've been ineligible as a trio).

I'd also love to see Jonathan Groff, a 2-time nominee, win a Tony for ''Merrily We Roll Along.'' It sounds like he's a pivotal reason why this revival works. In past renditions, Frank is a thankless role, not that sympathetic and not even all that flashy, but I hear Groff's charisma helps pull it off. 

Updated On: 9/30/23 at 10:29 PM

[Jeff Tupolski]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 10:50pm

Based on what I’ve seen so far and their prior work, I’d be happiest to see Chip Zien win for a long overdue first nomination.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 9/30/23 at 11:38pm

Having seen ''Harmony'' last year at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbienne, I would be thrilled to see Chip Zien, 76, get his 1st Tony nomination. He has over a dozen Broadway credits that go back to 1974 - nearly half a century. Remarkably, the Tony nominators have never nominated him ... for the Baker in ''Into the Woods'' or Mendel in ''Falsettos.'' He's a 3-time Drama Desk nominee: "Harmony,'' "A New Brain" and "Isn't It Romantic." Fingers crossed that Zien breaks through this season at the Tonys!

Updated On: 9/30/23 at 11:38 PM

[Sammy232]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 8:38am

kingfan011 said: "Interesting people seem to think Radcliffe is decent now. My friend is seeing this next month, Illl be curious what he thinks"

Saw this at NYTW (bway later this month) and found Radcliffe's nebbishy performance as Charley as the perfect foil to Groff's Frank who is just oozing with charisma.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 9:48am

WOW! Segment on CBS Sunday Morning was glorious. Thrilling to see such quality work being embraced on Broadway.

How hard is it to get booked on this show? 

[Springtime]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 9:56am

Full clip from the show, including the first B-roll footage:

Sunday Morning segment

 

[binau]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 10:20am

I caught the show and I was SHOCKED at how well it worked. I can’t even get through the filmed version of the production, but the cast change everything. Groff is so good they have found the perfect person for the role who actually has the combination of charisma, acting chops, voice and star power to completely change the evening and make a real character there. This feels like an iconic Sondheim performance. The chemistry between the three feels so real too that it actually makes me care about them because they do seem to actually care for each other. Radcliffe could win a Tony for Franklin Shep Inc but his vocals are a little shakey during good thing going. Overall though / who cares!!!?? This is the best production of merrily we’ll ever see and it’s a hit. What more can we possible ask for besides a cast recording of course.