‘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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‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

TOOTSIE
Book by Robert Horn
Music & lyrics by David Yazbek
Directed by Scott Ellis
Choreographed by Denis Jones
Marquis Theatre
1535 Broadway at 45th Street
(877-250-2929), www.TootsieMusical.com

By David NouNou

Based on the brilliant 1982 movie starring Dustin Hoffman, I have to say Tootsie is one of the better adaptations of movies in recent memory. Credit must be given to Robert Horn for an intelligent, bright and imaginative book. It is fresh and to its credit veers slightly from the movie to enable it to have a different slant.

Michael Dorsey (Santino Fontana) can’t land an acting job because of his exacting and infuriating difficulty of doing a part without having to question the parts motivation. He gets fired from every audition. His former girlfriend, Sandy (Sarah Stiles) comes over one night with a script entitled Juliet’s Nurse. Michael is supposed to help her get a better understanding of the part. It is a musical based on Romeo and Juliet; this takes place after Romeo dies but, in this version, Juliet is still alive and the nurse helps her recover. Michael decides to audition for the part of the nurse, and enters as Dorothy Michaels. Of course the show is awful, but Dorothy not only lands the part of the nurse but, with sheer determination, steers the show to a resounding success.

Michael is so desperate to land an acting job that he never considers any of the complications that will arise. For one thing, he falls in love with Julie Nichols, the young lady who plays Juliet (Lilli Cooper). Further complications arise when Romeo’s brother, Chris (John Behlmann) falls madly in love with the nurse/Dorothy Michaels. Dorothy turns a flop to a huge success and has to sign a two-year contract and has to continue being a woman. Michael gets the part and the stardom that he always wanted, but he also comes to a breaking point with all the conflicts he created.

What Mr. Horn has cleverly done is taken the TV setting out, in which Michael auditions for a part in a soap opera; now Michael auditions for a Broadway show which makes it more relatable to the audience who are seeing a Broadway musical. The rest stays true to form, more or less. The book is abetted by a bouncy score from David Yazbek. Last year, Mr. Yazbek won a Tony for the score of The Band’s Visit. While that show’s score was rich and haunting, this is upbeat standard Broadway fare.

The cast, although not dynamic, is effective. Santino Fontana as Michael/Dorothy doesn’t have the luxury to develop these two characters the way Dustin Hoffman did in the movie. In the theater it becomes more of a quick-change artist rather than morphing from one character to the other. Since the audience is already in on the joke, his transitioning becomes easier and less demanding.

Lilli Cooper is charming as Julie Nichols but lacks the vulnerability of the character that draws her to Dorothy/Michael. She is too independent to be taken in. Sarah Stiles, as the neurotic Sandy in desperate need of a part and validation, comes across a tad too shrill in the beginning but is quite effective in the end. John Behlmann as Dorothy’s ardent suitor is perfect as the narcissistic brain-dead actor. Julie Halston as the show’s producer is a delight.

Credit has to be given to director Scott Ellis, as this is his second show this season, the first being the brilliant revival of Kiss Me, Kate currently at Studio 54. The man has taste and knows how to keep things moving at a quick pace. He has taken a familiar story and presented it in new terms as a musical that is worth visiting and enjoying.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 26, 2019
Reviewed at April 25, 2019 press performance.

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana & Lilli Cooper. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana & Lilli Cooper. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana (right) & company. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: (left to right) Julie Halston, James Moye, Santino Fontana, Lilli Cooper & John Behlmann. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: (left to right) Leslie Donna Flesner, Shina Ann Morris, Santino Fontana & Julie Halston. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana & Andy Grotelueschen. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Lilli Cooper & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Reg Rogers (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Lilli Cooper. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Sarah Stiles & Andy Groteluesche. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana (center) with (left to right) Drew King, Leslie Donna Flesner, Sissy Bell & John Arthur Greene. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

The post ‘Tootsie’ transformed into triumphant musical appeared first on StageZine.

‘PRESENT LAUGHTER’: Kevin Kline & Kate Burton. Photo: Joan Marcus

PRESENT LAUGHTER
Written by Noël Coward
Directed by Moritz Von Stuelpnagel
Through July 2, 2017
St. James Theatre
246 West 44th Street
(877-250-2929), LaughteronBroadway.com/

By David NouNou

No one does drawing-room comedy better than Noel Coward. Having seen Present Laughter now for the fourth time, I can honestly say that this production, although unevenly cast, is the definitive version and a must-see. Having seen George C. Scott, Frank Langella, Victor Garber, all brilliant actors playing the central role of Garry Essendine, I must give top honors to Kevin Kline. Being semi-biographical, Mr. Kline taps into the heart and soul of Noel Coward. He is vain, narcissistic, self-indulgent, prone to tantrums, sexually busy, and needing constant reassurance (no, I’m not talking about an elected official. I’m talking about Mr. Coward). Mr. Kline imbues him with an additional trait, expert athleticism.

Written in 1943, it is a comedy of both good and bad manners. Of course it was different times and as Mr. Coward has written in so many of his plays: (Private Lives, Hay Fever, Design For Living), being a snob and spoiled is not necessarily a bad thing. Case in point:Garry Essendine has a loving ex-wife, Liz (Kate Burton), who pampers and spoils him and still knows when to come and rescue him; a doting secretary, Monica Reed (Kristen Nielson), who attends to his daily needs; close confidants, producer Henry Lyppiatt (Peter Francers James) and director, Morris Dixon (Reg Rogers); and a swarm of admirers who lose their latch keys in order to be close to him, especially the devious Joanna Lyppiatt (Cobie Smulders), married to Henry and the innocent, hapless, and foolish Daphne Stillington (Tedra Millan). Also let’s not forget he has two devoted staff members; a butler, Fred (Matt Bittner), and a Swedish housekeeper, Miss Erikson (Ellen Harvey) who is more Teutonic than Scandinavian. In this mix is also a confused and crazed failed playwright, Roland Maule (Bhavesh Patel), who is obsessed with Garry and we really don’t know why. You could say Garry has a charmed life; he is the sun and all the planets revolve around him.

Moritz von Stuelpnagel, who directed the brilliant Hand to God, has a talent for the absurd and throws just the right touch of mischief to the proceedings. In the center of it all is Kevin Kline, who always adds a touch of class to all his performances. Here his deftness in narcissism touches on his previous roles in the musicals On the 20th Century and The Pirates of Penzance, one of the many reasons we fell in love with him in the first place. He makes vanity and conceit an art rather than a deadly sin.

Kate Burton as Liz is charming, vivacious and smart; she knows she has a handful with Garry. Kristine Nielson is such a lovable actress and has given so many wonderful performances that it is difficult to say that she is miscast as an Englishwoman. Reg Rogers, who usually plays an Englishman, is also one of the miscast victims. He is more hysterical than floundering as the cuckolded director who is in love with the vampish Joanna. Cobie Smulders, making her Broadway debut, makes a striking Joanna. Tedra Millan is adorable as the annoying, foolish young groupie, Daphne.

There are two English comedies currently running on Broadway; one of them is sheer mayhem; the other is a classy, lively revival by Noel Coward and starring Kevin Kline. Cheerio.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 9, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on April 8, 2017

‘PRESENT LAUGHTER’: (left to right) Kristine Nielsen, Kate Burton & Kevin Kline. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘PRESENT LAUGHTER’: Kevin Kline. Photo: Joan Marcus

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