MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG Reviews- Page 5

[JasonC3]

Posted: 10/16/23 at 11:56am

I don't see it until next week, but the "difference" I've seen many mention, including many of the critics' reviews, is the emotional depth and resonance in the leads' performances, not necessarily the book or the staging. Obviously, that is subjective.

[KConradG]

Posted: 10/16/23 at 5:24pm

MemorableUserName said: "A few days ago the front row seats on Halloween were a comparatively low $287--or maybe even $252--(less than any other day within a month of that date) for some reason. I thought maybe if I went to the box office I could avoid the fees and get one for an even lower price. Needed to wait until pay day tomorrow...and naturally they're up to $399 now (with a single $327). Sigh. Oh well. Snooze, lose, and all that."

I just got a pair of front row seats (w/ Ambassador Lounge) for $252 each for 12/5. The prices for other days during that week ranged from $400-$600.

 

[Bigserver1]

Posted: 10/16/23 at 6:09pm

I found a ticket for Tuesday 11/7, front row dress circle (I think it's row A 109?) and it was $349. Other days that week are $499-$599 in that same area. Not sure why but I am available to see it that night so there you go lol

[yyys]

Posted: 10/16/23 at 6:38pm

which is better for this show: house right or house left?  center seats are more expensive.

[sparklingtonic2]

Posted: 10/17/23 at 11:48am

My apologies if this has already been discussed (I'm trying not to read this thread in detail to avoid spoilers), but does anyone know if there are nights when any of the leads are off?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/17/23 at 12:13pm

All three leads are scheduled for all performances. Groff and Radcliffe have always had excellent attendance. (I don't know about Mendez... But I don't remember hearing anything negative about hers )

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 10/17/23 at 7:59pm

'Merrily' mendacity: Jonathan, Lindsay and Daniel have some laughs taking lie-detector tests for Vanity Fair.

''Now you know ... people love you and tell you lies...''

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcu2R62i9-E

Updated On: 10/17/23 at 07:59 PM

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 10/17/23 at 8:12pm

Wayman_Wong said: "'Merrily' mendacity: Jonathan, Lindsay and Daniel have some laughs taking lie-detector tests for Vanity Fair.

''Now you know ... people love you and tell you lies...''

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcu2R62i9-E"

"Daniel Radcliffe explains shipping to Jonathan Groff" was not on my 2023 bingo card

[Springtime]

Posted: 10/17/23 at 8:35pm

There’s also a Buzzfeed interview with the lead trio and puppies:

Buzzfeed interview

 

[AnythingYouDo]

Posted: 10/17/23 at 9:30pm

One small lyric change that I haven't seen commented upon: in "Opening Doors," Frank's "Chinese laundry" greeting to Mary has been updated to "Russian Tea Room."

Minor as the alteration is, I wonder what the process and thinking behind it was.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/17/23 at 11:35pm

I'm guessing that they felt "chinese laundry" gave a racist undertone?

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 7:21pm

I am one of the people who saw this show 40+ years ago and absolutely hated it.  The production was so bad that I could only appreciate a couple of songs the first time.  I saw several productions of this in the past 15 or so years, including essentially the same Maria Friedman production when it was performed at Boston's Huntington Theatre with a very competent cast.  I came to love the score at some point in time, not sure when.  I play the Encores production quite frequently and love it.

With that history, nothing prepared me for the performance that I saw earlier this week.  It really was one of the most perfect productions I can remember seeing in decades.  In this century, I would say that there are three productions which for me were perfection: The Producers with Nathan Lane and the entire original cast; Hamilton with the original cast; and this.  I asked myself how that could be and concluded a few things:

• As I have said previously, the greatest director of musicals in my lifetime couldn't figure out how to stage it and made several catastrophic decisions.  
• Everything he did wrong, Marie Friedman did right (I honestly don't know how much the book has changed...I remember thinking that it was incomprehensible, and that George Furth was a complete hack, but I really don't know if Furth shared responsibility for the mess with Prince, and whether Friedman introduced many revisions to the script or whether his original script has largely survived).
• Because of the brilliant work by Friedman, if there was still any doubt, you realize that SS's score is a masterpiece, with not a single weak link.  Even a silly song like the Kennedy number (maybe it was too soon for a lampoon song) is a near show-stopper in this production.
• You hire the most perfect cast imaginable, starting with Groff, Radcliffe and Mendez.  Groff was heartbreaking and sang the score beautifully.  No matter what other performances come this season, I will be mega-disappointed if he does not win the Tony in a mere 8 or so months.  I am rarely one to get emotional in a show...Groff had me fighting back tears three separate times.  I have seen Radcliffe several times, but nothing prepared me for this performance.  The sheer joy he exhibited when he was filled with optimism, coupled with the despair in the earlier scenes, was palpable.  He deserved to stop the show cold in Franklin Shepherd Inc.  Lindsay Mendez's contribution is hard to describe.  Every time I have seen Merrily, the Mary was just too shrill and too over the top in the first scene, with the result up to now is that I have always disliked the first scene.  By being quieter in her disgust and drunkenness, she accomplished what she needed to and the entire show got off to a much better start than might have been the case.  If you don't believe me, watch the first scene of the production on You-Tube.  That first scene was really hard to get through.  Their great individual performances were strengthened by the perfection of their team-work...you truly cared about them in a way that rarely happens (at least for me). 

I have babbled too long, but I never would have believed 40 years ago that a show that I angrily hated could be turned around the way this has been.

One last point.  I wish Paul McCartney would finish that damn musical version of It's a Wonderful Life that he has been working on (I haven't heard anything for a long time, so who knows).  If he does, I want Jonathan Groff to be cast as George Bailey without even interviewing anyone else for the role.  

PS -- Kudos also to Reg Rogers and the woman who played Gussie.  I know some posters here did not like her.  I thought she was perfect.

 

 

Updated On: 10/21/23 at 07:21 PM

[bear88]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 4:42am

I appreciate Jarethan's historical perspective as someone who actually saw the original musical. The story of Merrily We Roll Along has sometimes threatened to overtake any proper assessment, in part because it's become so regarded as Sondheim's often-brilliant but fatally flawed musical even though it has changed over time. I had become fascinated by the show in recent years, via videotaped performances, and saw both the brilliance and the flaws.

Watching it on Wednesday night was a revelation. Everything about the show worked, even its most tricky elements. And the framing device, with Frank coming out alone - surrounded by everyone else in the cast and setting the stage - is simple yet so ingenious. It establishes the story as a memory play and helps lead to its poignant conclusion.

What makes it all work is Jonathan Groff, who can make you feel badly for Frank even when he's behaving terribly, mostly because his sins seem more like those of weakness than of avarice. You almost forget that his relationship with his son is basically non-existent, and if I have any quibble with the show, it's that the repeated lines for young Frank Jr. encourage the audience to forget the actual teenager who has no relationship with his father.

Gussie is always a tricky role, because it's easy for her to sort of take over the show and let Frank off the hook a bit (i.e. he's the victim of a manipulator). But Krystal Joy Brown, as the musical progresses, makes it clear that she's invented herself from scratch and isn't terribly happy at any point. I thought Brown did a terrific job, as did Reg Rogers as her husband Joe.

I smiled at Jarethan's remark about "Bobby and Jackie and Jack," because - while it seems pretty accurate about Kennedy-era comedy - this show was the first time I really enjoyed that song and the very entertaining performance.

The main credit for the show's success must go to director Maria Friedman and the leading trio - Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez - who had me completely buying in to the show's ode to their friendship, whether strained or intact. Stephen Sondheim's score remains fantastic, both in the beauty of the songs and in the way they connect together in reprises that trace back to earlier events to often-devastating effect.

I remember a thread not long ago asking which shows make up Sondheim's "Top Five." This production of Merrily We Roll Along makes a strong case for its inclusion. Is this a great revival of a flawed show, or a great revival that reveals a great musical? Either way, it was one of the best musicals I've had the privilege to see on Broadway.

Updated On: 10/22/23 at 04:42 AM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 2:01pm

bear88 said: 

I remember a thread not long ago asking which shows make up Sondheim's "Top Five." This production ofMerrily We Roll Alongmakes a strong case for its inclusion. Is this a great revival of a flawed show, or a great revival that reveals a great musical? Either way, it was one of the best musicals I've had the privilege to see on Broadway."

i really liked what you said.  Re your last paragraph, it would be interesting to see that Top 5 thread.  I could not find it, but I didn't try that hard, I have to admit.  My response would be that it is a great revival that reveals a great musical.  There were so many little things that I never noticed before, e.g., I really did not remember the reference to writing with your heart and brain, which Charlie first said to Franklin, and Franklin repeated to the person who asked for advice.  There was so much subtext in that.  There were a number of others -- i never before noticed Mary singing along with Mary about her love for Franklin, for a second example.  

(For me, the top 5 would be: (1) the original production of Follies, but not the revivals thus far; (2) Sweeney Todd; (3) Merrily We Roll Along; (4) A Little Night Music (although, performances aside, I was very disappointed by the Trevor Nunn version; (5) Company.  I have a special place in my heart for A Funny Thing, but it is not because of the score.  Re Follies, the other productions i have seen would still place it is the top 5, just not #1).

[sparklingtonic2]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 10:48pm

dramamama611 said: "All three leads are scheduled for all performances. Groff and Radcliffe have always had excellent attendance. (I don't know about Mendez... But I don't remember hearing anything negative about hers )"

Thank you so much!

Another quick question: Can anyone comment on the stage height at this theater? After poring over the photos on A View from My Seat, I think it looks high. I often sit in the front row, but for this theatre, I wonder if it's better to aim for a few rows back. Can anyone who's been comment?

[suzycat]

Posted: 10/23/23 at 12:00pm

Saw the show yesterday, what a joy! I was also delighted to discover that Jeremy Kushnier was covering Joe. He did a wonderful job. (Per his Insta it was also the 25th anniversary of Footloose!)

[MezzA101]

Posted: 10/23/23 at 8:40pm

Radcliffe/Groff/Mendez on with Colbert tonight.

[mshalo18]

Posted: 10/23/23 at 9:19pm

I sat in row D, center orchestra on the right aisle, and found myself looking up a bit the entire show. I think I would have preferred a couple of rows back, as the stage is high. 

[Springtime]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 2:25am

Jonathan Groff in the Colbert interview said they were in the recording studio last Monday. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 8:04am

Was just coming to mention that, while I do t think any of us are surprised we're getting a recording, it's nice to know it's happened! Can't wait!

(Now just let me know that HERE WE ARE is recording and I'll never ask for anything else!)

[JasonC3]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 10:21pm

Enjoyed this to pieces tonight.  Everything about it. Jonathan Groff just exudes hopefulness and is so earnest at the end, I wanted to run on stage and give him a hug.  OK, I always want to give him a hug. 

Orchestra sounded fantastic.  Was seated in Dress Circle G108, my fave seat at the Hudson as it is smack center with a pillar to the right of it, so lots of extra space. Perfect view.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 10/26/23 at 8:35pm

Maria Friedman, Groff, Radcliffe, and Mendez on Morning Joe today!

 

[BwayinVan]

Posted: 10/26/23 at 11:11pm

I know it has already extended once till mid March but what do we think the chances are of another extension? It’s now a 6 mth run, I’m going to NY at the end of April/early May and would love to see this production. Is it possible they stick around till the Tonys?

[inception]

Posted: 10/27/23 at 12:56am

The leads are rumored to have signed 10 month contracts. I don't have any definite insider info. Leave room in your trip for it if it extends again.  If they don't extend, you certainly will have many choices for shows to see this coming Spring. Not even the hottest shows on Broadway right now are 100% sold out a few weeks ahead of time.

BwayinVan said: "I know it has already extended once till mid March but what do we think the chances are of another extension? It’s now a 6 mth run, I’m going to NY at the end of April/early May and would love to see this production. Is it possible they stick around till the Tonys?"

 

[Springtime]

Posted: 10/27/23 at 7:29pm

Lindsay out of Friday’s show (lead trio did a lot of media on Thursday, including pre-recording Kelly Clarkson’s show).

Updated On: 10/27/23 at 07:29 PM