If you follow the news on Broadway, then you’re doubtless aware that the revival of the George Furth/Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along that was directed by Maria Friedman won a bunch of Tony Awards.
If you’re really tuned in, then you also know that Friedman has a long history with this particular show and a little over ten years ago she directed a production at the Menier Chocolate Factory Theatre in England that was also very well received.
That production was recorded and back in 2013 it was shown here in the states in limited showings at selected movie theaters, and I managed to see it here in Philadelphia. It was terrific.
A few years ago a friend of mine from overseas sent me a bootleg video of that production, and as bootleg videos go, it was quite good, but I always hoped for a copy of the official video.
And I just came across it on YouTube.
The link is here and I’ve embedded it below:
Naturally, I’ve replaced the bootleg on my Plex server with the official video now that I was able to download it from YouTube. I highly recommend it.
In some of the interviews that the Broadway cast members have done, they have mentioned the YouTube video and that it is essentially the same approach that Friedman brought to Broadway. Her Tony Award winning show is being filmed this week, but there’s no word yet on how it will be made available.
I watched the video of her London production again last evening, and enjoyed it all over again. The London cast was absolutely first rate and I can’t imagine that the Broadway cast could top them, only equal them at best. Or bring a different but equally valid approach to the material.
I do have a couple nits to pick. The Overture has been drastically truncated, which is a shame because that’s such a great curtain opener. Worse, the score has been reorchestrated and there is now no tuba! How dare they remove my favorite instrument from the orchestra! There’s no tuba on the recent cast recording either, which is why I probably won’t be purchasing it. Sigh.
And why all the gratuitous smoking? It doesn’t add anything. I’ve noticed that the Brits really like to have their actors smoke when there’s no reason for it. Both in the stage plays that I’ve seen films of and the TV shows and movies, British actors do a lot more smoking than Americans do. Wonder why the Brits insist on subjecting their actors to those hazards? I hope Friedman didn’t carry that horrid habit across the Atlantic.
By the way, of all the roles in Sondheim’s shows, I think the part of Charley Kringas is the one that would suit me best. Ignoring the fact that I have a mediocre singing voice, of course. And I’m now slightly too old. But other than those minor details, if I were ever to take to the stage in a Sondheim show, Charley is the role for me. I’ve love to tackle “Franklin Shepard, Inc.”, the song where Charley has a nervous breakdown on national television.
He flies off to California
I discuss him with my shrink
That’s the story of the way we work
Me and Franklin Shepard, Inc.