The first-ever Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along is set to begin an already extended limited engagement at the Hudson Theatre September 19, but now we know when it will officially open: October 10. Performances will continue through March 24, 2024.
As previously announced, the production will feature much of the cast from the 2022 Off-Broadway run at New York Theatre Workshop reprising their performances, including Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas, Jonathan Groff as Franklin Shepard, Lindsay Mendez as Mary Flynn, Krystal Joy Brown as Gussie Carnegie, Katie Rose Clarke as Beth Shepard, and Reg Rogers as Joe Josephson.
The company will also include Sherz Aletaha, Maya Boyd, Leana Rae Concepcion, Morgan Kirner, Ken Krugman, Corey Mach, Max Rackenberg, Talia Robinson, Amanda Rose, Jamila Sabares-Klemm, Brian Sears, Evan Alexander Smith, Christian Strange, Koray Tarhan, Vishal Vaidya, Natalie Wachen, Brady Wagner, and Jacob Keith Watson. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger.
Photos: Inside the Rehearsal Room for the Upcoming Broadway Revival of Merrily We Roll Along
Maria Friedman is back directing, with choreography by Tim Jackson and orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. Scenic and costume design are by Soutra Gilmour, with lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, sound design by Kai Harada, hair and wig design by Cookie Jordan, music supervision by Catherine Jayes, music direction by Joel Fram, associate music supervision by Alvin Hough, Jr., and music coordination by Kristy Norter.
With a book by Furth—adapted from the George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart play of the same name—and a score by Sondheim, the musical tracks the lives of three friends navigating the entertainment industry over three decades in reverse chronological order. Sondheim's score includes such songs as "Old Friends," "Now You Know," "Franklin Shepard, Inc.," "Good Thing Going," and "Not a Day Goes By."
READ: Maria Friedman On Why Daniel Radcliffe Was Born to Play Charley Kringas in Merrily We Roll Along
The work was not a success on its first Broadway outing, running just 16 performances and ending the string of genre-defining collaborations between Sondheim and director Hal Prince. Together with the popularity of the show's original Broadway cast album, a revised version of the show has transformed the work into a cult favorite. This current production was originally staged at London's Menier Chocolate Factory in 2012 and later transferred to the West End, where it won an Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival. Huntington Theatre in Boston gave the staging its North American premiere in 2017. The upcoming Broadway run will be the work's first-ever Main Stem revival.
