I Never Thought I Would Live To See It, But I Have--Someone Has Finally Gotten "Merrily We Roll Along" Right, Making It The Hit I Always Knew It Was Meant To Be!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             That main someone is Maria Friedman, the director, who was able to do what Harold Prince, for all his genius, was not able to do.  Friedman had some help though, from set and costume designer Soutra Gilmour, and the extraordinary cast, but before getting to them let me mention what has been done.

                               The show has gotten rid of its cutesiness, which it had in 1981 with its decidedly juvenile cast.  It was apparent Prince thought them precious, and wanted to showcase that preciousness, but never discovered a way how.  Friedman and collaborators have stripped that, given it a one conceptual setting, concentrating more on the feel of the show than the costume period changes or hairstyles, letting the actors be as much of themselves as possible, and making Gussie Carnegie, played by Krystal Joy Brown, and her husband, Joseph Josephson, played here by Reg Rogers, more fully rounded and interesting characters then they have ever been.  Brown's torchy rendition of "Good Thing Going," at the start of Act Two, allows us to see that Gussie actually had been an actress, which hitherto had never been made clear.  Rogers plays Josephson not as a schlub, but as a flawed and tragic individual.  Part of that tragedy was marrying Gussie.

                                But, girls, I know, I know, what everyone wants to know--what about that trio.????????  Well, short of the Holy Trinity, they are extraordinary.  I have seen many productions of 'Merrily' over the past 42 years, but not until now, have I seen a trio to equal the originals, who were Jim Walton, Ann Morrison, and Lonny Price.  I am sure they would be proud of their current portrayers.

                                 From the moment I heard of this revival, and someone must have listened to me, I said Lindsay Mendez was born to play Mary Flynn, and I was right.  This is a show that breaks the hearts of those of a certain age--mine--over and over again, and when Linday gets to "Help me stop remembering then!" in "Like It Was," tears poured down my face.

                                  Daniel Radcliffe here surpasses his triumph in 'How To Succeed,' giving a deeply impassioned, heartbreaking and vulnerable performance.  When he stands upright on stage, the vamp starts, and he launches into his plaintive rendition of "Good Thing Going," I sobbed.  This must have been what it was like to see Shelley Plimpton perform "Frank Mills" in "HAIR."  Radcliffe makes this an iconic moment; one I will not forget.

                                   For the uninitiated, 'Merrily' moves backwards.  What Friedman has done is fashion a staging that conceptually is Frank Shepard's (a perfectly cast Jonathan Groff) life passing before his eyes at the end of the opening party, when everything falls apart. This is validated by the end, which leaves Frank alone on stage, the theater suddenly transformed into a planetarium, with an outer space sky and stars, as Frank stares outward, wondering what is to come.  The tragedy is the audience now knows what he does not.

                                    Beth, Frank's first wife, has always almost been swept to the side in this show from day one, but Katie Rose Clarke's contrasting renditions of "Not A Day Goes By" are extremely moving, with Lindsay Mendez' reprise in Act Two, a revelation of Mary's deep pain.

                                     I cannot speak for the young, but for my age, 'Merrily,' though glorious in this production, is a heartbreaker; when it gets to "Our Time," the floodgates open, because I see myself at the starting point, as I am sure others do, and where we have come, asking ourselves are we happy with where we are now?  'Merrily' forces some uncomfortable questions upon us, but I applaud the integrity of a show that asks this of an audience.

                                       Hugs to Friedman and cast for doing what I thought was impossible.  They have every reason to be satisfied with what they have done with 'Merrily'.

                                       And me, girls, I am happy, too.

                                      As one song says, "All you get is one quick ride."

                                     This show reminds one to make the most of that ride, and not get derailed.