“Merrily We Roll Along,” the uncanny 2024 Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical,
will be rolling out sometime soon as a motion picture to be released by Sony Pictures Classics.
Thus, the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth show — once a failure in 1981 before becoming a box office hit after it opened in October 2023 till its closing in July 2024 — has been preserved for the ages. The music and lyrics are Sondheim’s; Furth did the book.
This is the show, if you recall, that was initially a box office dud in 1981, when it ran for 14 previews and 44 performances. “Merrily” was then mothballed until its first-ever revival in 2022, leading up to its phenomenal sell-out fave in 2023 through 2024.
And the reverse storyelling chronology – the show biz tale unfolds at the ending and works toward the beginning — will give the production a new life as a cinematic release. Fans who couldn’t score tickets in its run at the Hudson Theatre will finally have an opportunity to see what the buzz was all about.
“Merrily” examines the friendship, the friction, and possible erosion of workplace best friends, whose lives intersect with highs and lows, with some alienation and many challenges.
Jonathan Groff portrays Frank Shepard, an ambitious composer who wants to be a producer, who thrives alongside his longtime friends, lyricist Charley Kringas (played by Daniel Radcliffe) and writer Mary Flynn (enacted by Lindsay Mendez). Groff and Radcliffe earned Tonys, with a third Tony bestowed on Jonathan Tunick for orchestrations.
Maria Friedman directed the show and was a Tony nominee, and her illuminating vision made her characters come alive with vitality and vigor, drawing in the spectators.
Can’t wait from the transformation from stage to screen; imagine there will be a DVD release, too. Since this was my favorite Broadway show last year, I’d buy the DVD…
Clooney’s ‘Good Night’ still tops Broadway grosses
The rankings haven’t changed on Broadway. The pair earning more than $3 million last week, dominated again this week. Translation: George Clooney reigns as the top grossing actor via his “Good Night, and Good Luck;” and Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal maintain their second place slot with “Othello.”
The Top 10, for the week ending March 30:
1—“Good Night, and Good Luck,” $3.282 million.
2—“Othello,” $3.150 million.
3—“Wicked,” $$2.561 million.
4—“Hamilton,” $2.123 millon.
5—“The Lion King,” $2.114 million.
6—“Glengarry Glen Ross,” $2.110 million.
7—“Cabaret,”$1.521 million.
8—“The Outsiders,” $1.459 million.
9—“Gypsy,” $1.386 million.
10—“Aladdin,” $1.355 million.
The complete list, courtesy the Broadway League:
And that’s Show Biz…