Merrily We Roll Along REVIEWS

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 9:03pm

Post em here:

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 9:08pm

Nj.com is a fan: 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nj.com/entertainment/2019/02/merrily-we-roll-along-is-an-early-contender-for-best-show-of-the-year-review.html%3foutputType=amp

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 9:13pm

Hollywood Reported like half of it:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/review/merrily-we-roll-along-theater-1187518

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 9:19pm

Vulture says it’s pretty good:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vulture.com/amp/2019/02/theater-fiascos-lo-fi-reworking-of-merrily-we-roll-along.html

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 9:23pm

Amny.com finds it satisfying:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.amny.com/amp/entertainment/merrily-we-roll-along-review-1.27510110

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 9:28pm

The Telegraph/The Wrap is not a fan:

https://www.thewrap.com/merrily-we-roll-along-theater-review-stephen-sondheim-steps-backward/

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 10:25pm

Jesse Green (NYTimes) hated it:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/theater/review-merrily-we-roll-along-stephen-sondheim.html

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 10:55pm

Ouch, that was rough. I don’t agree with him.

[BJR]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 11:05pm

I happen to agree with the review, but I cannot stand when critics are so presumptuous to pretend they understand music, or worse, an author's intentions:

"But “Merrily” was written when Mr. Sondheim was still mining the rich seam of his peak Broadway style. By the time he wrote “Into the Woods,” six years later, having reconsidered his threat to leave the theater entirely, he had adjusted his palette in response to cerebral new collaborators and stories."

What is he talking about? What is a "rich seam of peak Broadway style"? Was PACIFIC OVERTURES in that rich seam? It wasn't cerebral? Was INTO THE WOODS not peak Broadway style? Well, obviously not, because supposedly he had "adjusted his palette" by then. 

You can imagine Sondheim reading this and just rolling his eyes. What utter nonsense.

Updated On: 2/19/19 at 11:05 PM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 11:14pm

I’m glad I’m not the only one who was confused by what Jesse was trying to say.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 2/19/19 at 11:21pm

I get what he's trying to say. I think he's trying to say that stripped down musical arrangements don't work for Sondheim's score. I happen to agree with him. His scores have a richness that demand a similar richness in orchestration. I've seen stripped down versions of Sweeney Todd but when you hear the Sweeney Todd OBC (or the wonderful film with Lansbury and O'Hearn) the "chamber" Sweeney's seem bare and wrong. 

[Andremthefoozle]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 7:01am

Merrily is one of the shows I've enjoyed seeing the most in the past few months, but I understand more of that joy is coming from my own feelings about finally getting to see it live than this particular production.

While I don't necessarily agree with everything Green writes in his review, I feel like I understand his overall feelings and see where they're coming from. One point that rubs me the wrong way however, is when he writes, "Or take the bitter torch song “Not a Day Goes By,” sung by Frank in the original production. Reassigned to his betrayed wife, Beth (Brittany Bradford), on the eve of their brutal divorce, it makes better sense, in theory; but because of the reverse chronology, it’s pretty much the first thing out of her mouth and thus seems to come from nowhere."

I had thought Sondheim had said in his Hat book (or elsewhere) that this was always Beth's song but in the original production had to be reassigned to Frank when the actress couldn't handle the number. In every subsequent recorded production, Beth has sung the song. So while Green can believe it a poor structural choice to have it be her first big event in the show, to make that a strike against Fiasco's work feels unwarranted and uninformed.

But yes, I will strongly agree that we could cut the adapted scene from the original Merrily and use the gained time to either tighten the show or reinsert something that was cut.

[BJR]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 8:54am

Andremthefoozle said: "I had thought Sondheim had said in his Hat book (or elsewhere) that this was always Beth's song but in the original production had to be reassigned to Frank when the actress couldn't handle the number. In every subsequent recorded production, Beth has sung the song. So while Green can believe it a poor structural choice to have it be her first big event in the show, to make that a strike against Fiasco's work feels unwarranted and uninformed."

Yes, and it's been hers again since, what, the Lapine production in the late 80s? Even at Encores, it's Betsy Wolfe. 

I also found it bizarre that he wasn't aware of any revision since the original even when he states he's seen them all. 

[vampire musical]

Posted: 2/20/19 at 3:26pm

I (shamefully) have never seen this show on stage. For some reason or another I've missed various opportunities to see productions both professional and amatuer over the years.

All I want to know is: If you've never seen the show and aren't that familiar with the music but want to see a production, is this a "good enough" production to see? Or should I hold out? I hate seeing terrible productions of good shows as a first experience. 

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 2:15pm

vampire musical said: "I (shamefully) have never seen this show on stage. For some reason or another I've missed various opportunities to see productions both professional and amatuer over the years.

All I want to know is: If you've never seen the show and aren't that familiar with the music but want to see a production, is this a "good enough" production to see? Or should I hold out? I hate seeing terrible productions of good shows as a first experience."

Can somebody answer this question? This is one Sondheim show I'm unfamiliar with except for the song "Our Time" and I'm interested in seeing this production. However, the NYTimes review really turned me off. I don't want my first experience with this show to be with a bad production.

 

[ImAProphet]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 2:38pm

Hopefully someone who is more familiar with the show can come along later and give you a more substantive answer, but I thought I'd weigh in as someone who was in your place a week ago. I went in almost completely blind (listened to a little of the OBC before buying a ticket) and had a lovely time. I felt like the characters could have been fleshed out a little more, but not knowing what was cut I don't know if I can attribute that to the stripped-down production or not. Overall I got the sense that the emotional heart of the show was intact, and I teared up a bit at the ending song.

[Hamilfan2]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 3:04pm

Personally I don't think that this is a great first introduction to Merrily.  My advice would be the watch the Sonia Friedman version, which was recorded professionally in London.  That is pretty much acknowledged as the best version of the show to date.  If you like that, then I would say that you should see the Roundabout production for a completely different take.  And if you don't like that one then you definitely won't like the Roundabout production.  In my opinion, a lot of the emotion has been sucked out of the Roundabout production (much of the music is WAY too fast), and while its cool to see the story told in a completely new way, it doesn't have the power that other productions, specifically the Sonia Friedman production, have.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 3:20pm

Hamilfan2 said: "Personally I don't think that this is a great first introduction to Merrily. My advice would be the watch the Sonia Friedman version, which was recorded professionally in London. That is pretty much acknowledged as the best version of the show to date. If you like that, then I would saythat you should see the Roundabout production for a completely different take. And if you don't like that one then you definitely won't like the Roundabout production. In my opinion, a lot of the emotion has been sucked out of the Roundabout production (much of the music is WAY too fast), and while its cool to see the story told in a completely new way, it doesn't have the power that other productions, specifically the Sonia Friedman production, have."

I had no idea that was available on video. I will look for it. Thanks!

 

[LuminousBeing]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 5:51pm

vampire musical said: "I (shamefully) have never seen this show on stage. For some reason or another I've missed various opportunities to see productions both professional and amatuer over the years.

All I want to know is: If you've never seen the show and aren't that familiar with the music but want to see a production, is this a "good enough" production to see? Or should I hold out? I hate seeing terrible productions of good shows as a first experience."

DEFINITELY hold out. This production decimated the book and even added scenes from the original source material that were never meant to be a part of the show, resulting in a toothless, emotionally confused, tonally inconsistent mess. Seek out a video of the Friedman production that was filmed by the National Theatre instead.

"Merrily" is probably my favorite show, and this production showcased very little (for me) of what there is to love about it. I desperately wanted to love this new production, but I couldn't because of what this company put up instead. There were a few very nice and effective moments, but overall, this isn't "Merrily, We Roll Along," and doesn't even come close to achieving what that Friedman production created.

Updated On: 2/27/19 at 05:51 PM

[Robbie2]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 10:18pm

ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: "Hamilfan2 said: "Personally I don't think that this is a great first introduction to Merrily. My advice would be the watch the Sonia Friedman version, which was recorded professionally in London. That is pretty much acknowledged as the best version of the show to date. If you like that, then I would saythat you should see the Roundabout production for a completely different take. And if you don't like that one then you definitely won't like the Roundabout production. In my opinion, a lot of the emotion has been sucked out of the Roundabout production (much of the music is WAY too fast), and while its cool to see the story told in a completely new way, it doesn't have the power that other productions, specifically the Sonia Friedman production, have."

I had no idea that was available on video. I will look for it. Thanks!

"

Here's a sample ...2nd and 3rd scene

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/video/2014/apr/12/watch-scenes-olivier-nominated-merrily-we-roll-along-video

 

http://www.soniafriedman.com/productions/merrily-we-roll-along

 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 10:20pm

LuminousBeing said: "vampire musical said: "I (shamefully) have never seen this show on stage. For some reason or another I've missed various opportunities to see productions both professional and amatuer over the years.

All I want to know is: If you've never seen the show and aren't that familiar with the music but want to see a production, is this a "good enough" production to see? Or should I hold out? I hate seeing terrible productions of good shows as a first experience."

DEFINITELY hold out. This production decimated the book and even added scenes from the original source material that were never meant to be a part of the show, resulting in a toothless, emotionally confused, tonally inconsistent mess. Seek out a video of the Friedman production that was filmed by the National Theatre instead.

"Merrily" is probably my favorite show, and this production showcased very little (for me) of what there is to love about it. I desperately wanted to love this new production, but I couldn't because of what this company put up instead. There were a few very nice and effective moments, but overall, this isn't "Merrily, We Roll Along," and doesn't even come close to achieving what that Friedman production created."

 

^This...agree!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATAJlK-lUxk&list=RDATAJlK-lUxk&start_radio=1&t=8

Updated On: 2/27/19 at 10:20 PM

[Andy51]

Posted: 2/28/19 at 12:54pm

ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: "vampire musical said: "I (shamefully) have never seen this show on stage. For some reason or another I've missed various opportunities to see productions both professional and amatuer over the years.

All I want to know is: If you've never seen the show and aren't that familiar with the music but want to see a production, is this a "good enough" production to see? Or should I hold out? I hate seeing terrible productions of good shows as a first experience."

Can somebody answer this question? This is one Sondheim show I'm unfamiliar with except for the song

"Our Time" and I'm interested in seeing this production. However, the NYTimes review really turned me off. I don't want my first experience with this show to be with a bad production.


This show is far from being a "terrible production."  Most of the reviews, including the negative ones, have noted that every production of the show has had serious flaws.  I personally think this production is "good enough" to be worth seeing, at least if you are a serious Sondheim fan.  It could be years before there is an opportunity to see another production in NY, and there's no guarantee that it will be any better.  Moreover, I attach weight to the fact that Sondheim participated in the creation of this production (even though his role was limited), and it may well be the the last production of this musical you'll have an opportunity to see that Sondheim had a hand in.

 

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 2/28/19 at 3:26pm

Andremthefoozle said: "But yes, I will strongly agree that we could cut the adapted scene from the original Merrily and use the gained time to either tighten the show or reinsert something that was cut."

Bring [clap emoji] back [clap emoji] "Honey"!

[BenElliott]

Posted: 3/3/19 at 10:53am

I finally caught this last night and really loved it. The score sounds fantastic. It's impressive that an 8 piece band and a cast of 6 can fill a space so well. It sounded shockingly lush and full. The set is gorgeous and the lighting is stunning. It's got wonderfully inventive staging. I think the piece shines here. I think Merrily has always wanted to be an intimate piece about a group of friends and it finally feels like it. The cast is great. They've all got unique, but lovely singing voices and they're all great actors. I'm shocked that this recieved a negative review from the NYT. I see nothing here that would warrant such a scathing review, especially considering that I've seen them give some real crap critic's pick. This is a wonderful production of Merrily and I recommend seeing it if you can.