Merrily We Roll Along - Original Broadway Cast
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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- The full video! Pardon the shaky quality. This was shot at some point during the two weeks the show was open on Broadway (a video of an early preview performance exists but I haven't seen it, though I'd give just about anything to).
Starring
Jim Walton as Franklin Shepard
Lonny Price as Charley Kringas
Ann Morrison as Mary Flynn
Terry Finn as Gussie
Jason Alexander as Joe Josephson
Sally Klein as Beth
History
Yes, the show you see in this video is messy, clumsy, and not very good-looking. Even as an ardent Merrily fan I acknowledge this, but it's important to know why it came out this way. Hal Prince, in producing Sweeney Todd, made the bold choice to preview it in New York, particularly given Eugene Lee's gigantic atmospheric factory set, which was too big to economically be transported to Boston for preview performances. But with Sweeney Todd this wasn't too much of an issue - a great deal of the show is sung-through and therefore was laid down and pieced out on paper. Prince decided to do the same for Merrily, and this was the cause of almost every issue the show had. Merrily, unlike Sweeney, takes after traditional book musicals, in which talky scenes are interspersed with musical numbers that mostly stand on their own. The show that Merrily was going into previews was, as far as Broadway was concerned, pretty experimental and high-concept, not only moving backwards but employing a conceptual framework: the "show" was being put on by high-school kids, and thus everything was filtered through their eyes. The actors had lockers in the gymnasium the play was set in, at which they'd do quick changes, donning wild, creative costumes, the sets were purposefully clumsy (in the original opening party scene Beth was pushed into a "pool" of water, which was simply a circle of blue butcher paper), and the higher social strata were represented in an almost parodic fashion. Unfortunately this proved to be too much at once and, finding themselves under the enormous pressure of irritable New Yorker audiences, Prince, Sondheim, and Furth (producer, composer, and book-writer) worked furiously to make the show more palatable, simplifying the story, replacing the lead actor, slicing up musical numbers, trying to make Frank more "likable", and unfortunately this lead not only to the show that you see here but to the neutered, chilly, and purposeless 1986 revised version. But, as it is, we have what we have. The original production closed after two weeks to almost entirely negative reviews.
Note: for whatever reason, "It's A Hit" is absent from this recording.
People walked out of this??? If in this shoddy quality recording it remains so touching and engaging, being in the theatre must have been electric! Critics were either dimwitted or were rooting for it to fail (which makes sense: a musical writer at the top of his game, a group of young passionate actors, a somewhat-experimental premise - just ripe for critics to dunk on to feel superior).
I can see why people would have walked out, because if you watch this and also read author Ken Mandelbaum's account of the production in his book NOT SINCE CARRIE (Mandelbaum saw the show on Broadway), the direction made the plot very hard to follow, so audience members were probably confused and felt they weren't getting their money's worth. Additionally, maybe the casting of such young actors in all the roles reminded some in the audience of an amateur high school or college musical production. Rather than wanting it to fail, New York Times critic Frank Rich said he wanted to love the show because of its score but called the libretto and staging "a mess," which is a valid description. I know we theatregoers typically want to root for the underdog, but there are often legitimate reasons why musicals flop on Broadway, at least in their original productions.
@@detectivefiction3701 Yes. I agree. I think hindsight is everything.
The staging is very confusing...instead of it coming off of his manauon- it looks like a backstage set with a bunch of ladders. The costumes are a bit off too- later staging and costumes are so much better. The music is still fabulous.@@detectivefiction3701
I was so very fortunate to be the assistant stage manager on this production from opening night to closing night. Even though it only ran for two weeks, it was a defining moment in my life for sure. What a blast to see this again. Thanks so much for posting! - Bren Taylor (formerly Brenna Krupa)
That is so cool! My university is doing a production of it this February!
Are you still doing anything in the business? I'm getting my BFA in Musical Theatre right now at the South Carolina School of the Arts. I'm always looking to make connections in the business.
Bren, I would if you have any copies of the drafts of the script from your time as the ASM you'd be willing to share? I'm doing a project on Merrily and its evolution and this would be incredibly helpful.
I was in the audience for the final performance. Will never forget it.
@@gmwadevids no, I'm retired... but best of luck to you on your journey!
This is amazing My stepmother played “Gussie” (Terry Finn) 🥰🥰🥰
😱😱😱😱😱 Does she still have the script????
I LOVED her in the documentary about this show -- she's so charismatic and interesting and smart and funny and SO moving. Please tell her she has a fan.
that's so cool!!!!!
Ann Morrison has the best diction of any Broadway singer I have ever heard. It's perfection.
Yes fantastic. But why is diction so freakin hard for people? I'm thinking of the Lin Manuel one and the Mary there is great but totally mushes over Now You Know presumably because it's difficult to enunciate the words with the power in that range but is it? Morrison's Now You Know is sharp, punchy, clear.
It's too bad Jason Alexander can't escape the shadow of his Seinfeld role. He was a terrific young Broadway performer years before ''George Costanza'' came along.
Why?
This is the only Sondheim show I didn't see live on Broadway. To see it now brings me to tears. Thank you so very much for providing this amazing piece of Broadway history.
Hope you get the opportunity to see "The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened," a documentary by Lonny Price about the lives of some of the cast members, and much more. Includes found footage from auditions and rehearsals, Sondheim performing "Good Thing Going" at a birthday party, and many descriptions of the frenzy over previews. Just a delight for me hearing Ann Morrison's voice again, she has now built a website with various video clips of her performances (primarily not in New York). If I got it right, she moved to California and then to Florida. Having limited runs in theatrical releases, perhaps it will be available on cable and/or for streaming on-line. According to the credits, the song Jim Walton plays and sings at the end was written by Sondheim in 1985.
seeing the new revival in Beverly Hills tomorrow
Saw the documentary yesterday - fabulous. Brought tears to my eyes throughout. Sondheim at the party was one for the ages.
Thanks for mentioning the documentary. I found it on Netflix!
Great recommendation. Thanks for posting about it!
It’s so good
Holy cow! Was this shot by an audience member? If so, how on earth did they sneak in a camera? They were the size of a large toaster back then. This is another bit of Broadway history that I thought I'd never see. Along with the original Pacific Overtures and Follies (well, some of Follies.)
Anyway, in addition to Jason Alexander, another actor in this video is none other than a young Gus Fring (i.e., Giancarlo Esposito.) Thanks for posting!
Could you point out when and where he is on camera in this video, Please?
Michael Ybarra According to Playbill, he's the valedictorian, so we hear his voice at around 5:12. Then I think we see him at around 6:12. He's the graduate at the end of the front row who Franklin Shepard is pointing at.
@@michaelwilliamybarra2409 That's also him starting at 1:07:10, with the striped shirt entering from the darkness upstage and singing the line "Times go by and dreams go dry...."
mideleon, the sound is Too Good here to be a pocket-book brownie-camera capture. Maybe "someone" knew about the Closing Notice and decided to take matters in hand, for posterity, you and me. Historically, audiences at that time were not as trashy as now. There was no searching briefcases for contraband, since contraband was not a big a problem. Audiences at that time were not trashy. They would have been far more discreet breaking the rules then. Oh, kids, I liked it better the way that it WAS. You millennials seem dogmatically determined to cancel-culture all Culture. And Civics. Don't ask.
@@michaelwilliamybarra2409 "They" seem to be in a Broadway, New York, theatre at one of the 16 original performances, maybe a low-cost preview, of the Harold Prince production of Merrily We Roll Along, staged by Harold Prince with tunes by Stephen Sondheim. The precise location of the camera is somewhere above the Orchestra section, perhaps the Mezzanine. The tape- recorder was apparently taped to the Conductor.
I saw this production late in its previews, (I was a student and previews were several dollars cheaper - $28 vs $35 I think.) I loved it then, was knocked out by it, and I always thought it superior to any of the later veersions, including the 2023-4 B'way version.
But actually seeing this again for the first time in 43 years ... is UNBELIEVABLE. The dialog is so thick with passion ... I remembered some great lines, but not HOW MANY there were.
Oh how I hope somebody, or even AI, can clean up the sound and remove the reverb. This is transcendent. THANK YOU for sharing this. I hope I live long enough to see it live again. As scary as it was when I was 24, it's shattering now that I'm 66.
PS The music is also so much better here than any of the revised revivals. More crunchy dissonance alingside the stunningly gorgeous moments.
Now all the sharp edges are shaved down and the spice is cooled down. This version is a worthy successor to Sweeney Todd, in a very different vein. I've gotta go back to my OC LP.
Lonny Price is a treasure.
agree!
Omg I can’t believe somebody posted this ! I love the soundtrack but never saw the musical and I couldn’t find it playing anywhere. I don’t even care about the quality- if this is the closest I can get, I’ll take it! Thank you so much for this!
Same,! My stepmother played Gussie and I’ve never seen it. What a treat
This is my favorite Broadway show. I hope it finds its final form and recognition. I've loved the original Broadway cast album; and what a treat it is to see this. I have seen some revivals; but now I don't understand why the original production wasn't accepted, and worth a respectable run. I think it's well cast, and the story is clear. What is maybe missing is the absolute magic of "Our Time" on the rooftop, with the stars. This is a GREAT musical.
Check out the docco Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened by Lonny Price. Great insight into why the original flopped*. Also my fav!
Just got revived off-Broadway and got great reviews. Probably headed to Broadway next year.
Also being made into a film by Richard Linklater, to be released in 2040 (?)
@@mckernan603 He is shooting as the characters age. It’s the same thing he did in “Boyhood.” So, it will take almost 20 years.
I saw this production the night before it closed and I've never forgotten it. I will always love it, flaws and all--thank you for posting it!
This show was a launching pad for several big stars, including Jason Alexander, Tonya Pinkins, and Giancarlo Esposito
& Liz Callaway!
My, this takes me back. I was in college, corresponding with Mr. Sondheim, when this musical premiered. I saw it in the first week of previews and then again the week it opened - just before the cast recording weekend. The show was changed radically in the interim, the pre-premiere buzz was killing it. You get some sense from this video of how completely electrifying Ann Morrison and Lonny Price were, but their stage presence and charisma cannot be experienced from a video, except by paying attention to the audience reaction.
I was hoping against hope that this would have the original version of "Not A Day Goes By," but it doesn't. In its original form, it was sung by the ex-wife to the ex-husband, not the other way around, and it was completely devastating, the emotional center of the show. She was telling her husband that not a day goes by when she wasn't in love with him, but she has to leave him. The actress couldn't pull off the song vocally night after night, and rather than further traumatize the young cast - the lead had already been replaced by Jim Walton - they left her in and gave the song to Jim. I've been searching for the original lyrics to the song ever since.
It's hard to tell, but I think you can also see from this video that the original T-shirt concept had already been dropped. In the original version, every actor wore a T-shirt in every scene, creating their own mini-reverse career trajectories. Of course, it gave the audience far too much to read and was considered confusing, but it was very exciting. In this version, you can see some of the leads with lettering on their chests, but it looks like the rest of the cast has been neutered into a generic chorus.
You can still see the shorter, more Jewish, original lead in shadow on the cover of the album. He was not the problem, Ann and Lonny were the problem. Jim Walton, of course, has gone on to a wonderful career, but the difference is Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford - originally, Redford (or a Redford type) was supposed to star in "The Graduate," but Mike Nichols was bold enough to go with Hoffman. What destroyed "Merrily We Roll Along" (and the Prince/Sondheim collaboration) was "Sweeney Todd" - suddenly, Sondheim wasn't this special acquired taste for a sophisticated audience, but an important Broadway property. The idea that you would have to pay rising Broadway prices and see "Merrily" twice in order to fully appreciate everything that was going on was anathema. So they simplified it and simplified it and "fixed" this and that, and what's left was appreciated months later, AFTER the show had closed and the cast recording came out, and people could listen to it over and over.
I may be confusing things, but I think I remember one critic, probably The Village Voice, challenging anyone else to write an overture and opening number as exciting and electrifying as this one, and I have to agree, it always thrills me. The same could be said about "Four Jews in a Room Bitching" from "March of the Falsettos," and, of course, "Comedy Tonight" from "A Funny Thing" (which saved the show, and was revived in "Jerome Robbins' Broadway").
How to "fix" Merrily? Get rid of Ann and Lonny, the best things? It saddens me that, except for "Goblin Market," Ann didn't go on to bigger and greater things. It was like seeing Zero Mostel or Danny Kaye, whoever else was on stage, your eyes went to her. And Lonny, of course, stopped the show with "Franklin Inc." Although it is hard to make out the dialogue, you can see the audience reaction to Ann and to Lonny in the opening scenes.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
bdrogin I'm sorry, the critic was referring to "Our Time," which is mysteriously missing from this recording, although, of course, it was always in the show. I knew he wasn't talking about "The Hills of Tomorrow" and got a little confused about the "finale," so I didn't write it.
You can also see how "Not A Day Goes By" is properly sung by Ann at the end of the show, where it also is used in a complicated way. When it was moved to Frank in Act I, it turned it into the equivalent of Charles Foster Kane saying to his wife, "How can you do this to me?" (which gets a very sharp rejoinder in "Citizen Kane" - hope everyone gets the reference). Of course, "I die day after day" is similar to Sondheim's use in "Every Day A Little Death" (from "Little Night Music").
If I may add some personal commentary, I've always found this show to be very unusual - only the two songs presented as examples of actual show songs, "Good Thing Going" and "Bobby and Jackie and Jack," have the typical clever Sondheimian rhymes, the other songs use very, very simple rhymes. I've always considered this the third in a trilogy of "Company," "Follies," and "Merrily," to use actual pop/Broadway/contemporary sounds and styles, his "true" musical voice. Although any Sondheim fan loves the adoption and adaptation of other musical styles in his other works, he was always a "Broadway Baby" at heart, and his later adoption of minimalism after the break-up with Prince and Tunick (stealing Finn's director and orchestrator, Lapine and Starobin) never satisfied me. Of course, bemoaning the break-up of Prince and Sondheim is like bemoaning Rodgers without Hammerstein, Weill without Brecht, Menken without Ashman, Sullivan without Gilbert, etc., etc. - it can seem like projection or nostalgia when the individuals are moving on (except in the case of death, of course, which applies to two of those). I know he doesn't have the musical cleverness and uniqueness of Sondheim (or Gershwin or more recent successors), but I've always found Finn's Marvin Trilogy, followed by Elegies, to be such a worthy successor to Sondheim, especially in the use of duets and trios and the like, while keeping the clever rhymes going and legible. And, of course, Finn was out, way out, Sondheim was deeply in the closet (although it was a very open secret). I go beyond digressing to meandering aimlessly, sorry...
bdrogin You'll see the original T-shirt concept on the Hirschfeld, with people wearing "rock star," "interior decorator," and "life of the party" on their shirts.
I love your thorough analysis of this. However, I do find some of it a little hard to follow (which is understandable given the show's complex history) and I have a few questions:
1- So in the revised versions where not a day goes by IS sung by the ex-wife, are those NOT the original lyrics?
2- Why were Ann and Lonny the problem? Just that they were too big and stole all the attention?
3- What do you mean by comparing Jim Walton's replacing the original lead to the bold decision to replace Redford with Hoffman in casting the graduate? I thought Walton was brought in for more appeal over the original Franklin so wouldn't that be the LESS bold move?
4- Finally, how did Sweeney Todd of all shows make Sondheim into a super-accessible hot property? Didn't the sheer darkness of Sweeney make it another Sondheim niche show and decidedly less accessible?
THANKS!! That's so cool that you got to have such close communication with Sondheim.
1. The original lyrics can be found in a version sung by Bernadette Peters. The version on the OBC is the changed lyrics.2. It had to do with stage presence and charisma. In this age of TV and film stars appearing on Broadway, it can be hard to comprehend that certain people can take over a stage just by being there. Ann and Lonny were complete unknowns, but they had that (similarly, if you were ever lucky enough to be in a theater with Zero Mostel or Danny Kaye or Carol Channing or (the list can go on and on), you would have experienced it).3. Both Hoffman and Redford are movie stars (or became such), I was being more explicit, that the original casting was a short Jewish actor, who was replaced with a tall WASP actor. The original actor was fine and was more the proper casting choice, but the choice was between eliminating Ann and Lonny to elevate that actor or attempt a more "handsome" lead to attempt to compete. Charisma can't be heard through a cast recording (similarly, there are actors who excel on screen but fade in theater, and vice versa, as per the cliché "lit up the screen" or something similar).4. Can't really explain why some shows become box office hits while others are flops. For that matter, some shows which are considered classics today were no big deal when they had their initial runs. Just look at "Chicago," which was just another Fosse show when it first ran, but which became magic decades later, with Fosse's original choreography recreated by Reinking (and its fantastic music/lyrics score).Aside from the casting, what is relevant here is the power of the NY Times critic (at that time) and the vicissitudes of audience "buzz" and gossip. This show comes from a time when the Broadway musical was dying, when only New York audiences cared about Broadway shows, when there was no tourist trade that dominated Times Square (in fact, Times Square was the seedy red light district at the time, a place you DIDN'T want tourists to go to). This is strict 70's/80's stuff, Broadway was different before "Deep Throat" and different after "Lion King." Remember that Sir Andrew was considered shlock by "real" theater people, there's a very funny Forbidden Broadway song about "Cats" over-taking "A Chorus Line" and what that meant (by that time we had "Le Miz" and "Miss Saigon" as well, a return of the Broadway spectacle).
Sorry, I see that some of the things I wrote in my reply are repetitions of what I originally wrote, I should do a better job of rereading my original!
Merrily is such a great show, even with this unrevised original book, it's amazing to think this material almost lost its chance because it was weighed down with bad direction and staging. My personal favorite part is the infamous labeled shirts. It kind of sums up what went wrong with the production as a whole: trying to be high-concept and ending up coming across as lazy. Even so, it's hard to believe that those issues dulled the brilliance of a show like this enough to be as critically panned as it was.
¿Entonces no se podía hacer un musical sin una versión o referencia a ningún libro?
I was lucky to see this 3 times during previews, knowing Ann Morrison (slightly). It wasn't great but it certainly not the bomb people have said. That score is outstanding....
A big company dance number after Not A Day Goes By? Ha, I love it!
being 19 im in love with how junky and tacky this all looks. id love to see a revival of merrily where young people are cast again like the og production. theres something so special and endearing about it, no surprise hal made that initial decision. just ahead of their time is all
I totally agree! Whenever the show is cast with adults, it loses so much of the youthful energy Sondheim and Prince intended it to have! Their first instinct was the right one, and I think it was a mistake to revise the show so much in the years thereafter.
I'm starting to think that might've been all it really was myself - too high concept, too ahead of it's time. But if it is, I just emailed Abby Pogrebin, asking her for a copy of a script I am DESPERATE to read now.....
@@Caio0_057 I saw this production on Broadway and I too would like to see a reivial with a younger cast staged with Hal Prince's original concept and with a full orchestral. But I must disagree on the revisions. The revised version (versions) are much better story wise. We see Frank's transition more clearly. In this version, it didn't seem like Frank compromised his ideals, it felt like he never had them in the first place. I also like that in the newer version Frank is rich but artistically unfulfilled. Shame that the iris control on the camera could not be adjusted and that they couldn't plug in a better microphone but to have any recording of this production is wonderful.
Being more familiar with the revised version, it's so bizarre to hear Frank singing "Not a Day Goes By". It's like...you're stealing her song! No wonder she left you! ;)
I was in high school at the time and fell madly in love with it. To me, it represents the closing chapter of classic Broadway. A unique time in the history. With some exceptions like Hamilton, there are few new creative pieces
in like 2014 and 2017 this was my second favorite musical. huge fan! thanks for posting. I remember watching bootlegs but never found the original version. 2015 i thought this was the best musical EVER!
rewatching feels good after like 6 years
I've just recently gotten into this musical after I chose to do Our Time in my Acting in the Song class, and this was as good as anywhere to start. I'm glad I heard that song before I watched this because the audio becomes very hard to understand from 1959 and back. I kinda wish I could make out what happened in the end a little better, but I honestly really like this show. I'm gonna move on to watch the 1990s version of it now that I've seen this to see what Steven Sondheim did to it after this closed!
This might actually be a preview of the show--they appear to be wearing the original costumes (as opposed to the T-shirts identifying their relationship to Franklin S). Of course the quality is poor--and so is my eye sight--so I may be wrong!
Unfortunately, I can just about make out the words on the T-shirts at times.
The NY Times reports that film director, Richard Linklater, will shoot an adaptation in real time - planned for using 20 years - into the future. 2 lead actors are mentioned as cast. This news is in the last quarter of 2019.
Probably the best director qualified to do so
@@Portugal2025 Yes, because he did longitudinal approach to his stories at least 4 other times!
i friggin loved Old Friends and Franklin Shepard Inc. in that one
Completely transfixing despite the quality of the video......grateful it is available!
A unique, essential document. Audio is as good as the visual is bad! But thank you for posting!
this is so hard to watch...i know the score backwards and forwards so i understand for the most part what they are singing...and i love it...i wish THIS production with this book intact would be produced again knowing now what didn't work and what did...those songs are wonderful...i have seen recent productions with the GEORGE FURTH revised book and i do not like it as much as i know i will love the original flop...
I really wish the same, the original script has such a vibrant, wild energy to it that the revisals sucked away, and I'm still of the mind that a good heady workshop going back to the roots of the show would do an amazing amount of good.
I feel the same way about Bernstein's CANDIDE, where Lilian Hellman's book is supposed to be what was the problem with the original show. But, I don't buy it. The various "successful" versions have all made the show worse as far as I can see or hear. The original cast recording is proof enough that how it was first off is, however flawed, the way it should be.
I agree completely. I saw this production and will never, ever forget it.
I feel exactly the same. I love the original script. It works the same way that Opening Doors does, short scenes that tell the story beautifully. Like It Was works much better in the original show and separates the time between Charlie's Franklin Shepard Inc and their meeting again. To put both these songs into the same scene was a big mistake. I thought that when Encores did their production, that they would've done the original script.
I also like the usage of the graduation scene at the beginning and end (dropped from revivals). It sets up Franklin Shepard, so we then follow his story - how he got to this place. Moreover, this includes the theme for “A Good Thing Going” (and “Who Wants to to Live in New York”) as the tune Frank writes for his high school song.
Such a glorious mess! Got to see the final Sunday matinee!
I actually saw the London production and it was phenomenal! I highly recommend it if you can find a recording!
SO DID I - AMAZING at in LA last year. Saw it twice!!
ruclips.net/video/gNI_CqigiLA/видео.html
Mea culpa Hal. Seeing this vid, I am as delighted by the staging of "Old Friend" as I was impressed by the Rocking Chairs in Evita. There is an economy in getting to the point, nicely. The choreography alone explains more about their gang-of-three relationship than fourteen pages of libretto. And the kids? What the hell was all that ruckus about them not being the right ages? To my ears, their voices were spot on the money ageless. My memory isn't what it was; I liked the way that it was. The direction is not as half-bad as I inferred in another comment.
From my old-age wisdom perspective, memory be damned, I would say that much of the required word-of-mouth required to make a hit a hit was not so forthcoming for Merrily. The premise of this story is: Life stinks. Now, if you are an aspiring Capitalist on the move with your Corporate Attorney wife-partner, and you have to arrange to pick up tickets, find a nearby parking garage, dine in a somewhat swanky (underline dubious, it IS Times Square, where life is somewhat less than swank, unless you ignore stink) joint, and make sure you get enough twenties to pay-off the babysitters, and send American Express your inheritance to have all this, who in their right mind wants to hear "Life stinks" while trying to stay awake while nodding off to some Steven Somebody tunes in a weird dark place? I ask you. AND then drive to Poughkeepsie? Tourists bankroll Broadway, which on any given day, brings in twenty times what all the day's Sports Events do in toto, but until they hear in Minneapolis about a new play in New York City on Broadway and make plans to fly there as soon as the school year ends to see that show, it is the burden of our tri-state residents, the capitalist-and-attorney caste ones, to support the first six months/maybe a year, to keep open the doors of that play's theatre. If I'm going into hock to see some Damn thing, then it had better be Double-Damn good. Hey, it's expensive dining here, especially with food, they have a valid point. Life Stinks? Honey, wouldn't you rather see Neil Simon instead? And that answer is, I'd sooner go see "Medea" than Merrily We Roll. It's too long. Get the picture? Today's kids are used to being in a fractured world, so the 140-word scenes in a play are tolerable IF the play is about, keeping up appearances waiting for Barbie 2. Otherwise no dice. What are dice? Long term friendships are not heard-of in Zoomerville. Thus, this show is a drain on my Bank Loan, Culture is a drain on My Life. I'm supposed to get a job to see some play? Mills are not even that evolved. Culture? Isn't that what yogurt is? Sophisticated is a breed dying. So most of Broadway today is spear-headed by local Japanese-mixed-capitalist couples. Japanese-type audiences are welcomed by Broadway; they aren't trashy Americans, but they aren't PDA either, so clapping is not very prolonged. But they do pay up, and they do dress accordingly. We old hoofers do like those Japanese folks sitting in those Orchestra seats, not crinkling candy rappers, or whispering about "depreciation of rental values." They might have come out to support Pacific Overtures. Even sophisticated, cultured, Boomers avoided that one. Just saying. At least Pacific had some Flo Kotz and BorisA stuff to look at. Merrily had neither: nothing to see, not even a Tree. See? Art isn't easy.
I
What was Hal Prince thinking when he got rid of the costumes here and replaced them with tee shirts? That alone would make it seem less than up to Broadway standards.
Part of the problem was that the audience was struggling to tell the actors or their roles apart from one another as the timeline went backwards, though frankly it's not THAT tough even on your first viewing. According to the Sondheim biography by Meryle Secrest, "Then [Prince] had to add names emblazoned across the sweatshirts because the audience had difficulty telling the actors apart."
They do have the T-shirts here, I believe - they're more like sweaters over the costumes. You can just make out the words in some parts.
i love this show so much
Watched the whole thing. Ten times more interesting than anything on Broadway today.
Am I correct that “it’s a hit” isn’t in this RUclips video? Would kill to hear Jason tackle those chromatics he feared so much!
I don't know whether to hate this or see it as a piece of history. Either way, at least the music's good and it for better later after numerous revisions and rewrites and the show just seems to be a weird monster of all the changes and has lost its original image.
This is fascinating and really useful to see the original version it’s a shame on this video I’m missing the opening number in the second act and it’s a hit LOL but it’s still fantastic to see it
This is great--thank you!
Alguien me da algo de contexto porfavor 😅
Yo solo entendí que esta obra fracaso y su producción original fue un fracaso, pero entonces quiere decir que ¿originalmente la obra era muy diferente al de las versiones del 2000?
Can anyone tell what Frank is saying right before singing "Not A Day Goes By"?
{I tried my best but the audio is hard to decipher & the script is much different from the revised version}
From 54:56 ...
“I want you to give up, Frank”
“I’ll never give you up, Beth”
“You couldn’t be (frickin?) surprised with the pain” OR (you couldn't begin to ?? without pain??)
“Is that what you think I should say?”
“I'm not out to hurt you, Frank, but I will if I have to”
“(_?) How are the boys?”
“How do you think they are? -- I keep thinking about how I could’ve stopped it. I knew the first time you saw Gussie, I could’ve stopped it”
“I miss all of you so much I hurt, Beth”
“Did you sleep with her, Frank?”
“Oh, Beth”
“Oh, Frank”
What is Ann Morrison saying at 50:10 ?
I wish I could find the original libretto for this production, since I can't completely understand them all the time here.
I've got a copy of a draft of the show from the spring of 81, it's completely different in a few places, and Franklin Shepard Inc isn't even in yet (it's just a straight interview) but it's a fun read.
Ooooh, I'd love to see that! Especially the pre-musicalized Franklin Shepard Inc, since I actually made a de-musicalized version of that song for a monologue once!
Channel84V Does it have the original "Not a Day Goes By" lyrics as sung by the ex-wife?
bdrogin I am getting so old. I have the original lyrics written on to the booklet that came with the album, and I see there is a recording of Bernadette Peters using them. The change is at the end:
But you're still somewhere part of my life and you won't go away -> But you're still somehow part of my life and you won't go awayAnd I have to say if you do, I'll day, Dying day after day -> So there's hell to pay and until I die I'll die day after day
I've always kind of hated the "And I have to say" but it is used later when Mary and Frank sing it. That also uses the "somehow," "if you did" instead of "if you do," and Frank ending with "I want day after day." Problem solved some mysterious time in my past...
Excuse me, but do you know where I can find the listing the orchestration for this production or at least for the CD? I've been looking for a while, and I'm extremely curious.
Also, where can I get the draft you talked about earlier? Is it rare? Or were you given the privilege of owning a copy?
I know it’s a temptation to say their first instinct was best. But I saw the original cast and mostly hated it, but now love the revised show. The original cast simply had no emotional memory to be dealing with, bitterness, aching sadness, bitchiness. Not their fault, they just hadn’t lived enough. Watching two young women trying to be jaded and dispensing Joanne-like zingers, badly, was depressing in the extreme. The first act was a disaster and the improvement in the final scenes was not big enough. The cast in the West End 2013, and the version, were beautiful, the cast wise enough to bring off the heartbreak moments, but energetic enough to remember what it was like to be young and hopeful. Leave the show the way it is NOW.
This was still in previews--they don't have the silly names on their shirts and Honey is still in.
you can see the names are indeed on the shirta
@@jacksonzimmerman1200 You are quite right--I stand corrected!
Just curious...does anyone know if this is Dennis's recording? He was a genius at this.
This channel feels like it's a part of an ARG
Looking forward to seeing MERRILY in cinema on Oct. 23rd. Supposedly it's a version that actually works well, filmed live in London recently. Produced by Fathom Events, who did a good job w. the NY Phil COMPANY. This is such a great score.
It...wasn't very Merry imo haha
Love the score and performers. You can see the work and humor here even on this hoary clip. I know why it flopped, though. Letting the audience know right from the beginning that everyone ends up rich and awfully unhappy is a mistake. No matter what happens going backward the audience's pleasure is mitigated as soon as they remember it's all a matter of betrayl and compromise as they wind toward a youthful, optimistic, energy at what was to be the start of things.
I read that the latest version of this show (that was performed in concert recently) is actual quite good and a 90 minute "impulse" (impromptu?) version that was staged in London in the 1990s during the original production of "Putting It Together" was excellent.
The original Kauffman/Hart play is very hard to follow with way too many characters. The musical is much clearer, if over simplified and a bit bitchy.
Is this with Jim Walton as Franklin? I can't tell.
By the sound of the voice yes
MEGA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Other than the video quality I love the musical?
Does anyone know when "Not a Day Goes by" starts? I'm singing it for a voice class and would like to use the original one as a reference.
+Israel Saenz so when did it started? :P
+Johnny Howell that was, literally, MY question
It is sung twice, and, no, we won't search out the time stamps for you.
It happens once in Act One and once in Act Two - best to listen on iTunes although the time has passed now. There is a recording with Lin Manuel Miranda playing Charley that is excellent.
it's at 54:33 for the first one.
22:15
I've seen several different versions, and I cherish every one of Mr. Sondheim's songs, but in the end, it's a case of a book not being in the same league as its score; it's a book that doesn't DESERVE its score. The score is monumental and rich and imaginative, while the book is facile, uninteresting, shallow, ultimately tiresome. That's the eternal problem with this show, and no amount of revision or restaging will ever be able to fix it. It's two different shows on the same stage: a mediocre play, and a stupendous score.