Stage Review: Merrily We Roll Along

How did you get there from here?
What was the moment?

There are quite a few musicals I love that aren't done often, or at all. Merrily We Roll Along is one of these musicals. This is one of Stephen Sondheim's least known musicals, and I believe it is one of his best scores.

I saw it many years ago at the University of Utah. It was a student production, and they did a good job. Then, a few months ago I discovered that BYU was doing a student production of the show, and I knew I had to go.

In Merrily We Roll Along we follow three friends over the space of 20 years as they follow their dreams of succeeding in the musical theatre, movie, and publishing worlds, and how they try to keep their friendships intact, and how they are not always successful. The story is told backward, and this conceit makes the end (which is really the beginning) more poignant as we hear what they want in their lives and we already know who they will be and what they will have 20 years later.

This production was excellent. It was performed in a black box theatre, which lent itself well to the intimacy of the musical itself. There was just a single piano to accompany the cast, and it was placed very prominently on the stage. The pianist was excellent, and I'm sure it's a difficult score to play.

The set consisted only of blocks and a few stools. There are signs that are changed to indicate when and where the scenes are set, so there is no need of a complicated set. The minimalistic set worked very well.

The cast was all dressed in black, with a few characters wearing a touch of purple. There were no costume changes, and there was really no need. The costumes were very generic, nothing period. Although there were a few references (other than the signs) to let us know that the story is set between 1957 to 1976, other than those references, it could have been set any time.

The five main leads were wonderful. They embraced their characters' personalities, and they were very distinct.

A few stand-out musical numbers were "Franklin Shepard, Inc," which is a very difficult song, and Peter Layland, who played Charley Kringas, did an excellent job.

The first time we hear "Not a Day Goes By" is when Beth is divorcing Frank, and she is telling him she will always love him. Becca Ingram's performance was so moving, I felt the emotion in her voice. The second time we hear it is when Beth and Frank are getting married (remember, the story is told backward), and it has such a different meaning, especially when Mary joins in as we know that she loves Frank also.

"Opening doors" was also a stand-out. The three best friends, Frank, Charley, and Mary are singing of how they are trying to make it in New York, and we hear about their successes and failures.

The last song, "Our Time" is one of my favorite musical theatre songs of all time. It encompasses the feelings we all have after High School when we are just starting out in the world and we have so many dreams and we think they will all come true. It's so emotional for me every time I hear that song, as I remember a High School friend with whom I wrote a few songs, and we hoped to be successful with our music. Life had different ideas and we lost touch with each other, and we found our individual successes in different areas. But I still feel sad when I think how we lost touch with each other. Those dreams we had in High School can still feel so real, even years later.

Something is stirring
Shifting ground
It's just begun
Edges are blurring
All around
And yesterday is done

Feel the flow
Hear what's happening
We're what's happening
Don't you know
We're the movers
And we're the shapers
We're the names in tomorrow's papers
Up to us man to show 'em

It's our time breath it in
Worlds to change and worlds to win
Our time coming through
Me and you, pal
Me and you

Merrily We Roll Along was an excellent production, and was well received by the audience. I wish that it were done more often.