‘Merrily We Roll Along’ Broadway Review: Reversal of Fortune
metroweekly.comMerrily We Roll Along. Sondheim acolytes are well versed in the show’s difficult past that dates back to the original 1981 Broadway production.Hal Prince, a longtime collaborator with Sondheim, mounted the show with a teenage cast who played the characters as both their younger and adult selves.
It didn’t work. Critics killed it. Audiences avoid it. It shuttered after only 16 previews and 44 performances.The experience was so legendary that it spawned a 2016 documentary called The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened, directed by original cast member, Lonny Price.
In an ironic twist, life reflected art. The experience was so harrowing that it fractured the relationship between Prince and Sondheim. (The two rekindled and collaborated on Bounce in 2003.)So, what’s changed?
For starters, the tuner was reworked, rewritten, and reimagined after its ill-fated debut. Although it never appeared back on Broadway until now, several regional and off-Broadway companies produced it.Perhaps it took a British touch to infuse and ground it with intellect and clarity, all while maintaining the heart and sincerity.
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