‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: (left to right) Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff & Lindsay Mendez. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
Directed by Maria Friedman
Hudson Theatre
141 West 44th Street
www.MerrilyonBroadway.com

By David NouNou

It is easy to see why Merrily We Roll Along was savaged by critics and bombed when it opened on November 16, 1981. It used up its advance sales on 44 previews and lasted only 16 performances. It was to be a Stephen Sondheim vehicle with a no-name cast; “just Sondheim” as its selling point. This was before he was a deity. It failed on so many levels.

It lacked the grandiosity of his 1979 Sweeney Todd, or the majesty of 1976’s Pacific Overtures, or the beauty of 1973’s A Little Night Music, or the extravaganza of 1971’s Follies or the brilliance of 1970’s Company. Merrily We Roll Along was a dreary musical about three friends examining their lives in 1978 and going backwards in time to 1957 when they first met in their prime. It lacked any sets; the costumes were made up of jeans, khakis and T-Shirts with the character’s names on it. I guess because the cast was so lackluster, it was the only way the audience could identify them. Its failure was also due to the feeling of detachment from the musical itself and its characters. In 1981, audiences wanted to feel empathy for their characters and Merrily just didn’t give them that. Another blow came in the form of Michael Bennett’s explosive razzle-dazzle Dreamgirls, loosely based on the formation of the musical group Diana Ross and the Supremes. There was plenty of attachment and empathy there. The choice was simple: It came down to dreary or razzle-dazzle.

Merrily has developed a cult following over the years. With songs like the bouncy “Old Friends,”  and the haunting “Not a Day Goes By,” the musical started picking up steam. Fast forward to 2023: Sondheim is a deity now. You’ve got three leads that are big names, full of charm, charisma and audience visibility/connection. It’s a fully mounted production with a multi-functional set and costumes galore. The detachment that failed in 1981 works wonderfully for the age we live in now. However, it is Maria Friedman’s visionary direction that has reshaped a dreary musical into a full-blown, knockout production.

Having Daniel Radcliffe (Charley Kringas), Jonathan Groff (Franklin Shepard) and Lindsay Mendez (Mary Flynn) has given this musical a luster that it desperately needed. It is 1976 in Franklin Shepard’s Bel-Air mansion with all the phonies and sycophants surrounding him and extolling him. He is a producer now; he has left his roots of composing music for the glamour of Hollywood and all its pretentiousness. He is on his second marriage to theatrical actress, Gussie Carnegie (Krystal Joy Brown). She divorced Broadway producer, Joe Josephson (Jeremy Kushner), who produced Franklin and Charlie’s first musical hit, Musical Husbands.

Also at the party is a second member of the original trio, Mary Flynn, who has always been in love with Franklin but he has always been blind to it. She has written a bestseller and has now become a critic. Also, she loves her liquor. She is the mirror that Franklin has to look into to see what he has turned into; not the brilliant composer he always wanted to be. He is a success as a moneymaker, but a total failure as a man, a friend, a husband, and a father.

Moving backwards in time to 1973 at NBC Studios in Manhattan, Charley Kringas is awaiting the arrival of his composing partner and friend Franklin for an interview, but instead Franklin is late due to another venture of moneymaking. They are asked what it is like to be working together, and Charlie interrupts by “if I may…” and sings “Franklin Shepard, Inc.,” the showstopping number of the show, which incidentally sounds much like the style and tempo of “I’m Not Getting Married Today” from Sondheim’s Company.

Going further back to 1967, a courthouse where Beth Shepard (Katie Rose Clarke) is divorcing Frank and he asks her if she still loves him, and she sings the heart-wrenching “Not A Day Goes By.” End of Act I.

Act II is the weaker of the two. It starts in 1964 with Franklin and Charley’s first huge success, and keeps moving backward to 1960 when they formed their first revue at a downtown club in New York City where Beth auditions for them and Frank ends up proposing to her, until it’s finally 1957 on an NYC rooftop where the trio (Franklin, Charley and Mary) first meet, and sing about their bright future which is ahead of them in the song “Our Time.”

The musical was problematic from the onset. It had a difficult book to navigate through and the characters were most unlikable in its original formation—a no-no in musical comedy. However, over the years the book has been revised a few times, and there is no overlooking Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez. They are the oomph this show so desperately needs. Their charisma and charm make you overlook a lot of their character flaws and that’s perfectly okay, because everyone is flawed in some form or another. They work in harmonious sync. They complement each other’s performances. This is a tremendous asset to this complicated show. They smooth out the wrinkles and give it an easy flow.

In addition to Maria Friedman’s excellent direction, there is the sublime live orchestra—not pre-recorded tracks that are used in so many musicals today to cut costs—conducted by Joel Fram, and the divine orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick carry this musical into melody heaven. This is how you take a flop, reimagine it, cast it with a splendid trio, and turn it into an incredible memorable revival.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 23, 2023
Reviewed at October 22, 2023 press performance.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: Katie Rose Clarke & Jonathan Groff. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: (left to right) Reg Rogers, Katie Rose Clarke, Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe & Lindsay Mendez. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: Krystal Joy Brown & Jonathan Groff. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: (left to right) Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, Reg Rogers
& Krystal Joy Brown. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: (left to right) Krystal Joy Brown, Reg Rogers, Natalie Wachen & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

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‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Gideon Glick, Rebecca Naomi Jones & Lindsay Mendez. Photo: Joan Marcus

SIGNIFICANT OTHER
Written by Joshua Harmon
Directed by Trip Cullman
Booth Theatre
222 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.SignificantOtherBroadway.com

By David NouNou

My God,  present-day millennial gay dating is fraught with so many obstacles and so much angst and pressure, it’s a wonder Jordan Berman, the show’s lead, comes out of it alive. I thought it was tough in the 1970s and 1980s navigating through one-night stands, but it was a breeze compared to what poor Jordan has to go through. What with having to see his three BFFs getting married one at a time and attending their engagements and bridal showers, it’s a wonder he has any time to go out and find a date for himself. When he does land a date, it’s with a coworker who may or may not be gay. Let’s also not forget the pressures one has to endure with social media.

Basically that is the plot of Significant Other. It is a harmless comedy that tries to show a gay 29- year-old, who is good-looking, fun, life of the party. Jordan Berman (Gideon Glick) sees his three BFFs Kiki (Sas Goldberg). Vanessa (Rebecca Naomi Jones) and his closest, Laura (Lindsay Mendez), getting married off and with each loss, he becomes more morose and sinks into a deeper funk.

The three BFFs: Kiki, the Jewish girl; Vanessa, the black girl; and Laura, the white girl are not so much as real characters as they are stereotypical TV sitcom characters; so the actresses that are playing them, Ms. Goldberg, Ms. Jones, and Ms. Mendez respectively do their best to define these roles. In the lesser male roles, playing multiple parts each: John Behlmann (Will, the man crush, Conrad/Tony) and Luke Smith (Zach/Evan/Roger) both play their characters with distinct personalities and come off more favorably.

Which brings us to the hardest part, Jordan Berman, who becomes a buzzkill by the end of the play. As each friend gets married, he becomes more isolated and obsesses on his fellow worker, Will, which makes him even more pitiful than pitiable. He leaves these long-winded, ridiculous messages on his friend’s voicemails, who don’t pick up when he calls, throws tantrums, and becomes needier, as he sinks deeper into his downward spiral. The sad part is as each of his friends gets married and moves on, Jordan just stays in his place and clings to the past. Instead of going out and trying to meet someone, he just wallows in his loneliness. Mr. Glick skillfully changes moods like a chameleon, which is what is demanded of him, and makes the part believable.

There are funny and touching moments in Significant Other, especially the ones with his loving grandmother, Helene (the wonderful Barbara Barrie). She brings a lot of heart to the obvious Nana role. Thanks to Trip Cullman’s fast-paced, breezy and inventive direction, he keeps this otherwise obvious fluff story afloat.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 8, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on March 7, 2017

“SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Gideon Glick, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Sas Goldberg & Lindsay Mendez. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: (left to right) Sas Goldberg, Lindsay Mendez, Rebecca Naomi Jones & Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: (left to right) Luke Smith, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Gideon Glick, Sas Goldberg & John Behlmann. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Lindsay Mendez & Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Barbara Barrie & Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: John Behlmann & Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: John Behlmann & Lindsay Mendez. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Barbara Barrie. Photo: Joan Marcus

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