Highly Recommended Album: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (New Broadway Cast Recording)

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by Tony Frankel on November 15, 2023

in CD-DVD,Theater-New York

IT’S MERRILY‘S TIME

It’s here today! Sony Masterworks Broadway has released the digital version  of the  New Broadway Cast Recording  of  Stephen Sondheim  and  George Furth’s  MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, alongside the official music video for the title track –  watch here. The physical CD is set for release on January 12, 2024 and available now for  preorder here. The show is a big, fat hit (see Stage and Cinema‘s review), and this recording captures the excitement of the current run. Most important, it’s proof that this is arguably one of Sondheim’s best scores.

Lindsay Mendez, Jonathan Groff, and Daniel Radcliffe

Spanning three decades in the entertainment business,  MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG  charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends — writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. An inventive cult-classic ahead of its time,  MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG  features some of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal songs.

Lindsay Mendez, Jonathan Groff, and Daniel Radcliffe

Starring  Daniel Radcliffe  as Charley Kringas,  Jonathan Groff  as Franklin Shepard, and  Lindsay Mendez as Mary Flynn, the album, gorgeously recorded and mixed by Ian Kagey, includes new liner notes from Director Maria Friedman  as well as former New York Times Chief Theater Critic,  Ben Brantley.

Based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart.  MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG  officially opened on  Tuesday, October 10  and, currently, is slated to run through March 24, 2024  at the Hudson Theatre (141 W 44th Street).

The cast of Merrily We Roll Along

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG  also features  Krystal Joy Brown  as Gussie Carnegie,  Katie Rose Clarke  as Beth Shepard, and  Reg Rogers  as Joe Josephson. The company includes  Calvin James Davis, Max Rackenberg, Brady Wagner, Sherz Aletaha, Maya Boyd, Leana Rae Concepcion, Morgan Kirner, Ken Krugman, Corey Mach, Talia Simone Robinson, Amanda Rose, Jamila Sabares-Klemm, Brian Sears, Evan Alexander Smith, Christian Strange, Koray Tarhan, Vishal Vaidya, Natalie Wachen, and  Jacob Keith Watson.

Reg Rogers, Katie Rose Clarke, Jonathan Groff,
Daniel Radcliffe, Lindsay Mendez

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG  (NEW BROADWAY CAST RECORDING)

TRACKLIST:

  1. Overture
  2. Merrily We Roll Along
  3. That Frank
  4. First Transition
  5. Old Friends — Like It Was
  6. Franklin Shepard, Inc.
  7. Second Transition
  8. Old Friends
  9. Growing Up
  10. Third Transition
  11. Not a Day Goes By (Intro)
  12. Not a Day Goes By
  13. Now You Know
  14. Gussie’s Opening Number
  15. It’s a Hit!
  16. Fourth Transition
  17. The Blob – Part I
  18. Growing Up (Reprise)
  19. Good Thing Going
  20. The Blob – Part II
  21. Fifth Transition
  22. Bobby and Jackie and Jack
  23. Not a Day Goes By (Reprise)
  24. Sixth Transition
  25. Opening Doors
  26. Seventh Transition
  27. Our Time
Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG  features a design and creative team that includes Tim Jackson (choreography), Tony Award Winner Jonathan Tunick (orchestrations), Soutra Gilmour (Scenic & Costume Design), Amith Chandrashaker (Lighting Design), Kai Harada (Sound Design), Cookie Jordan (Hair & Wig Design), Jim Carnahan, CSA (casting), Joel Fram (music direction and additional vocal arrangements), Catherine Jayes (music supervision), Alvin Hough Jr. (associate music supervision), Kristy Norter (music coordination).

Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, Reg Rogers, and Krystal Joy Brown

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG  was originally directed on Broadway by Harold Prince and originally produced on Broadway by Lord Grade, Martin Starger, Robert Fryer, and Harold Prince in association with Ruth Mitchell and Howard Haines.

Tickets are available at  MerrilyOnBroadway.com  starting at $87. A limited number of $39 tickets will be available for performances of  MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG  via digital lottery.  The lottery will open for entries on the TodayTix app each Sunday at 12:01 a.m. for the coming week’s performances and will close at noon on the day before each performance. Winners will be notified by push notification and email between 1-4 PM on the day before their selected show, and will have 30 minutes to purchase their tickets in the app. Entrants may request 1 or 2 tickets, and entry is free and open to all.  Click here  to download the TodayTix app.

CONNECT WITH MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG

WEBSITE  |  FACEBOOK  |  INSTAGRAM  |  TWITTER  |  YOUTUBE

SONY MUSIC MASTERWORKS  is a global entertainment company specializing in recorded music and live experiences. Theatrical productions and cast albums include  Funny Girl,  Back to the Future, Almost Famous,  KPOP,  The Old Man and the Pool,  Lempicka, The Outsiders,  Sing Street, POTUS, Macbeth  (Daniel Craig), Flying Over Sunset, The Prom, SpongeBob, Harry Potter, Hello, Dolly!  (Bette Midler),  Kinky Boots  and  Once,  plus the musical  film soundtracks  The Prom,  Tick, Tick…Boom!,  and  Matilda. For email updates and information please visit  www.sonymusicmasterworks.com/.

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Janet Ozolnieks April 28, 2024 at 11:16 am

Will there be a DVD or cable release of Merrily We Roll Along?

Reply

Tony Frankel April 28, 2024 at 12:44 pm

The first incarnation of director Maria Friedman’s Menier Chocolate Factory production (the one now on Broadway) was filmed with the London cast in July 2013 at the Harold Pinter Theatre, at the end of its West End transfer. It screened in theaters, and then was shown on Digital Theatre, but is not currently available there. So, the answer is “yes” for that production, highly unlikely for the current one, which is easily the best thing on Broadway right now.

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