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This past Saturday, Zoetic Stage’s masterful production of Merrily We Roll Along brought me one step closer to realizing my personal dream of seeing every Stephen Sondheim musical. Famously, the show wasn’t initially one of the composer’s biggest hits and was in fact a rather notorious flop, closing after 44 previews and only 16 regular performances. Since then, though, Merrily has found somewhat more success, most recently in a major Broadway revival that took home four awards at last year’s Tony’s.
Besides that bit of history, what the show is perhaps most known for is its unusual structure: the show begins at its story’s ending and then proceeds chronologically backwards to eventually end up at the beginning.
This means we first meet the show’s main character, Franklin Shepard, when he is a materially successful but emotionally destroyed man in his 40s. By the end of the show, he and his two former best friends—Charlie Kringas and Mary Flynn, the show’s second most central characters—are starry-eyed 20-somethings dreaming of their big break.
Storytelling wise, this gambit comes with both advantages and disadvantages, but is overall less confusing than one might initially expect. Not only do the lyrical transitions helpfully signal where we are in time, but the changing date is projected onto one side of the set as an additional signpost.
Pacing-wise, though, this strategy doesn’t always pay off. For instance, because the story unfolds in reverse, some of the musical’s most emotional ballads arrive before the audience has fully absorbed the relational context that gives them their narrative weight.
In covering a 20 year period, I also at times felt like the show was sacrificing depth for breadth and speeding through pivotal changes in character dynamics, though the flip side of that is how well the show conveyed complex shifts with efficient one-liners.
Finally, the foregone conclusion made it difficult to “root for” characters or outcomes as one might traditionally, which robbed the show of some suspense but shifted my perspective as a viewer in a way that I ultimately found refreshing. In other words, since I didn’t have to wonder what was going to happen, I was free to follow the script into its contemplation of the juicier “whys” and “hows.” How did Franklin go from a young, idealistic artist to a cynical Hollywood sell-out? And how did he destroy his marriage, family, and most precious friendships along the way?
Even in showing Franklin’s transformation piece by piece, Merrily can’t quite answer that question for him emotionally and philosophically. But, artistically, this production succeeds in large part because it makes the plot’s backwards progression feel like an authentic expression of it—as a question the character is haunted by himself.
In the hands of director Stuart Meltzer and the talented team of designers he assembles here, the musical moves through time as if propelled by Franklin’s regrets. That’s, at least, the impression I got from Jacob Brown’s suggestive vs realistic scenic and Natasha Lopez Hernandez’s sparse but effective property design, and particularly from Lauren Danielle Horgan’s evocative musical staging of the show’s frequent transition sequences and scene-setting opening number.
In one particularly effective touch, the ensemble emerges for that number in all-white costumes (designed by Dawn C. Shamburger) that are particularly striking against the blackbox backdrop. These serve as a sort of base costume for the actors throughout the play but are gradually enhanced by eye-popping accessories or replaced by more realistic costumes throughout the play—as if Shepard’s older memories are more colorful and vibrant than his recent past or ruined present.
As Shepard, Alex Jorth gives a strong and nuanced performance, keeping the character surprisingly sympathetic despite his morally questionable choices. John Reed is by turns lovably quirky and quietly intense as Charlie Kringas, and Joline Mujica makes her character Mary Flynn’s reverse transformation from angry alcoholic to earnest romantic surprisingly touching.
Outside of this leading trio, the two biggest standouts in the ensemble cast were Lindsey Corey and Leah Sessa, who make huge impressions in their respective featured roles. Playing Franklin’s sweet-natured first wife Beth, Corey first shows steely resolve and then endearing innocence, bringing down the house with her powerful rendition of ballad “Not a Day Goes By. ”
And as Gussie Carnegie, Beth’s femme fatale usurper, Sessa brings broad comedic chops and seductive showgirl energy while still being down to earth enough to create her character’s more vulnerable moments. Younger performer Spencer Hanan is perfectly placed in a pivotal role as Frank’s son, and rounding out the 12 person ensemble are Wayne Legette, Irene Adjan, Sara Grant, Justin Packard, Kalen Edean, and Joel Rodriguez. Each of these players get a chance to step away from the pack in a few different small roles, doing so with a distinct theatrical energy.
Superb performances aside, Merrily’s deceptively intricate and surprisingly tuneful score is probably its greatest asset. A live orchestra gives the music a lush and sweeping quality, and Sondheim’s clever lyrics shift with the show’s mood from infectiously playful to existentially incisive. In his sharpest work, the exact same lyrical phrase can slowly transform in tone and meaning as its melodic underpinnings and thematic context evolve, as in the play’s haunting title number.
With each repetition, a seemingly cheerful refrain about the importance of chasing one’s dreams deepens in musical complexity as it absorbs the emotional weight of the characters’ disappointments. By the end of the show, when we see it juxtaposed with the characters at their most earnest and innocent, it has effectively evolved into an ironic echo of itself.
“We’re following every star—there’s not enough time!” the young Franklin, Charlie, and Mary exclaim in “Opening Doors,” a fast-paced ode to opportunity and ambition.
I’ll admit that seeing the jaded and bitter versions of these characters replaced by their sincerely hopeful former selves stirred a stronger emotional reaction in me than I expected. It made me nostalgic for the long-past era in which I, too, had uncomplicated faith in life’s promise and possibility—and thought in terms of “when” rather than “if” my time would come.
Were it told in chronological order, the story of Merrily We Roll Along might feel like schmaltzy showbiz melodrama. Unfolding backwards, though, it becomes a much more startling meditation on time. How it can transform the meanings of our choices and our memories—and on how losing our grasp on it can mean losing sight of our dreams.
All these weighty ideas aside, I’d definitely recommend Zoetic’s version of Merrily—and not just to any fellow Sondheim fanatics! Between the inventive staging of this production and the script’s nonlinear storytelling, this musical offers something refreshingly out of the box for even experienced theatregoers—but ultimately tells an accessible story that will likely resonate emotionally with most audience members. Not to mention that it showcases some of the strongest musical theatre performers in our region!
You have only until this April 5th to catch Merrily We Roll Along at the Adrienne Arsht’s Carnival Studio Theater—so feel free to buy your tickets now rather than risk missing your chance to roll along in to one of the show’s remaining performances.
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