Merrily We Roll Along

On my birthday (May 4th) my mum and I treated ourselves to see 'Merrily We Roll Along' which has just transferred to the West End after its acclaimed run at the Menier Chocolate Factory. I had heard about the musical and its extremely short first run on Broadway, but neither me or my mum really knew what it was about. I did some basic research beforehand on the plot and listened to a few songs so kind of knew what sort of musical it was. 

The theatre is very small, but we had amazing stall seats (which weren't restricted view like many of the seats inside) at a great price. 

The first song 'Merrily We Roll Along' started and from the beginning there was a definite feel of 'this is something special.' The singing was strong from everyone and the first impression of Mary Flynn played by Jenna Russell was that she was a terrific actress, albeit her voice not being quite as great as the other two leads. She really conveyed her despair at being stuck in the middle of a ruined friendship and having an uncontrollable love for Frank, which becomes more apparent as the show progresses.

This musical has a backwards chronology, so it starts at the end of the trio's relationship (two songwriters and their friend who's an author) and ends at the beginning of their friendship. Contrary to my previous worries it was incredibly easy to follow and I couldn't imagine it being any different. As the story progressed the audience picks up little things that help make sense of what you have previously seen. Everything makes the story a whole in the end. 

The ensemble is a range of ages which makes the show seem complete as the spectrum of characters being played were wide. Mark Umbers was a highly charismatic Frank with a fantastic voice and he was a great head of the whole performance. Personally, my favourite of the three leads was Damian Humbley who played Charley. One of the first songs was 'Franklin Shephard Inc' which was a complete show stopper. It is an incredibly difficult song to perform and Humbley's diction and acting was beyond anything I've seen like it. Between Humbley, Umbers and Russell all the qualities for great leads were solid and present. 

The set and costumes were clever; they changed based on the style of the era - from 50's to 70's. They always made sense and added to the chronology of the musical and understanding of the backwards progression. 

Sondheim's music is diverse as there are tear jerking ballads, 'Good Thing Going' and 'Not A Day Goes By,' comedic numbers, 'The Blob,' and show stopping musical theatrical numbers like 'Opening Doors.' 'Opening Doors' was the only song I knew fairly well beforehand and I was delighted with this cast's performance of it. It is known to be one of Sondheim's most autobiographical songs as it shows Frank and Charley being told that their songs have no memorable melodies, which he was always criticised for. Well if this musical is anything to go by, those people were wrong as I came out of the theatre humming all the songs. 

The most poignant part of the show for me was the ending - the night they first met Mary - when Frank and Charley were talking on the roof. There is a line in that dialogue which connects the beginning to the ending and brings the story full circle. I won't spoil the show, but for me it was the epitome of the friendship that we spend the whole musical involved in and re-ravelling. The three proceed to sing their last song 'Our Time' which shows the youthful wishful thinking that they had at the start compared to how they changed as they got older. It truly makes you think. 

As the last note was played, the curtains closed and the lights came up, my mum and  I looked at each other and just said "wow." We were were speechless. This is what theatre is about.

Georgia Goody-Miceli

5*