Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Maria Friedman’s redemptive revival of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG lands triumphantly on Broadway

• By drediman
• November 1, 2023
• No Comments

Earlier this week (on Halloween, in fact) at the Hudson Theatre, I had the great pleasure of catching up with the Maria Friedman’s acclaimed Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s much maligned musical Merrily We Roll Along. Since its notoriously troubled premiere in 1981, the musical has been tweaked and re-tweaked to only negligible degrees of success. Not until the Friedman’s redemptive and triumphant revival — first seen across the pond — has the show truly clicked. By simply listening to the material and uncovering what has always been there, Friedman (a notable interpreter of Sondheim herself) has finally found the key to unlock the misunderstood musical (you can read my review of the Off-Broadway run at New York Theatre Workshop here).

Already superb Off-Broadway, the performances by Grade A stars Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe have only gotten more grounded and integrated with the production around them. At the performance I attended, understudies went on for Lindsay Mendez and Katie Rose Clarke as Mary and Beth, respectively; both Jamila Sabares-Klemm and Leana Rae Concepcion gave admirably game performances that put their own stamp on the roles (particularly Sabares-Klemm, whose performance is more measured and overly theatrical). On the flip side, Krystal Joy Brown’s performance as Gussie now further leans in on the character’s vampy and campy dialogue, boldly highlighting the character’s underlying insecurities in broad strokes. As before, the ensemble plays a key role in moving the show forward (i.e., backwards), and it continues to do so with great heart.

As for the production, the move uptown has allowed it to expand – the Main Stem edition comes with two additional ensemble members, along with a slightly larger band (who do justice to Sondheim’s irrepressible score and Jonathan Tunick’s brassy original orchestrations) – as well as more room to breathe on the larger stage (the production did seem a tad cramped in New York Theatre Workshop’s tight quarters). Indeed, on a larger stage, you get a better opportunity to assess Friedman’s larger vision, including the interesting choice to stage the show on Soutra Gilmour’s intentionally bland set. All-in-all, the production just seems more settled and less on-edge than when it played downtown, thereby allowing the musical’s unconventional structure to unfold more naturally and confidently. To reference a song in the show, “It’s a Hit!” — at long last after all these years and numerous attempts.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
Broadway, Musical
Hudson Theatre
2 hours, 40 minutes (with on intermission)
Open run