Stage Review - Merrily We Roll Along (SecondStory Rep)

Stage Review - Merrily We Roll Along
Presented By: SecondStory Repertory - Redmond, WA
Show Run: March 29 - April 21, 2024
Date Reviewed: Friday, March 29, 2024 (Opening Night)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

Well, I learned something new when reading up on the backstory for Merrily We Roll Along, onstage currently at SecondStory Rep and running through April 21. I discovered that the great Stephen Sondheim was, in fact, human after all. Most of us remember the successes, and there were (and are) plenty, but few would associate a musical that wrapped up its original Broadway run after 44 previews and just 16 performances with the icon. But that’s just what Merrily can claim as the track record for its 1981 premiere. Subsequently, though, it’s been revived a number of times and has found a place on the regional and community theatre circuit, some of those revivals including changes that Sondheim himself made to make the show more palatable. The current revival that migrated last year from off-Broadway to the Hudson Theatre on Broadway has itself been extended, and much of that production’s success has been associated with its cast, including Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez. Regardless of why, all this is to say that you can’t judge a show by its first run, Merrily We Roll Along, like most of Sondheim’s shows, has staying power.

It is productions like the one currently on stage at Second Story Rep that keep shows like this around. Directed by Doug Fahl, the SSR version of Merrily We Roll Along is a very well designed and entertaining study on how past decisions ripple and the bullwhip effect that they have on a current reality. The show begins with composer Franklin Shepard huddled over his piano, drinking, and clearly distraught. Rather than this being the foundation for the rest of the show, this is actually the end of the story. Just like the 1934 play of the same name by George Kaufman and Moss Hart, on which the musical is based, the chronology of the story is reversed, with the overarching theme being “how did you (Franklin) get here?”. From the title song, explaining to the audience what they’re about to see, each scene is a time jump in reverse, relationships crumbling then built, friends separated before meeting, all the way to the end when it all begins. It’s like watching a Christopher Nolan film, but being able to follow the timeline, but it’s also a Stephen Sondheim musical, which has its own share of pluses and minuses. On the plus side, the musical pieces are complex and challenging, a good cast like this one is pulling off his songs can make them pop, but on the other hand, Sondheim is Sondheim, and many melodies in Merrily sound like those from other works, like Into the Woods or A Little Night Music. I guess “if it ain’t broke….”.

Getting beyond the similarities between this and other Sondheim shows, the Second Story Rep cast handles the Sondheim assignment very well, and Music Director Kim Douglass has this group producing strong harmonies with very balanced volume levels, meaning that no member of the cast overshadows anyone else in voice. And it’s a cast that brings a lot of musical talent to the table. While the show centers on Franklin Shepard, his friend and collaborator, lyricist Christian Bolduc, and the third of their musketeer group Mary Flynn, the overall cast size is decent, weighing in at 13, large considering the space limitations at the SSR theatre in Redmond. Many of the ensemble members have a chance for a feature number, but generally they play multiple characters and contribute to the overall musical quality of the ensemble. Highlights from this supporting cast include Erin Elkins as Meg, the starlet featured in Frank’s latest picture, Emily Courcy as Frank’s ex-wife Beth, and more prominently Doug Fahl, the show’s director filling in during the show I attended for Steven Rigaux, who typically plays the role of Joe, washed up Broadway producer, supporter of Frank’s career, and ex-husband to Gussie Carnegie (Alyssa Hope Maas), the story’s biggest disruptor. I like Doug’s performance here, as Director he clearly understands what he needs to do to get the most out of the character, Joe being a combination of confident and pathetic at the same time. As the time jumps happen, each of these actors need to devolve their emotions as well, they can’t carry the resultant emotion into the next scene, since the direction here is flipped. The storytelling is counter-intuitive to how we’re used to see time running on stage and what happens in Act 1 can’t inform Act 2 the way we’re used to things happening. It requires a different set of skills for this group, but they’re up to it. Rounding out the supporting cast is Graham Arthur Blair as Tyler, Anita Cannon and Danny Miller as Beth’s parents, Rachel Brinn as KT, Dory, and Evelyn, Sebastian Floyd Hulburt playing Jerome, and Franklin Bobek as Frank, Jr., Frank’s young son, and they’re all part of Franklin’s friend group and provide the musical transitions from one time to the previous.

The story in Merrily We Roll Along is all about Franklin Shepard, though, Franklin and friends Mary Flynn and Charley Kringas, and of course aging starlet Gussie. Franklin is played here by David Nabe in a very strong performance. David is on stage the most out of any actor in the show and is at his best musically in Act 1 when he’s singing with Mary in “That Frank” or with Mary and Charley in “Old Friends”, all the while making the challenging Sondheim music seem effortless. His acting is also a high point of this production, and there’s a lot of emotion in David’s performance, joy, sadness, excitement, and devastation. He needs to be able to switch between them pretty quickly, too, as the scenes change through time. Friend and lyricist Charley Kringas is played in this production by Christian Bolduc with a look and mannerisms reminiscent of a nervous genius. Christian’s Charley challenges Franklin’s individuality, their relationship ranging between friendly, supportive, and contentious. The absolute highlight of his performance, and one of my favorites of the entire show, is early in Act 1 with “Franklin Shepard, Inc.”, an invigorating and energetic song of redemption, when Charley has had about all he can take. Meanwhile, Britt Boyd’s Mary Flynn has always had a thing for Franklin and has to watch him go through with one relationship after the other. She’s loud and boisterous, opinionated and also at times the voice of reason and calming influence between Franklin and Charley. Each of these leads are full of personality and each actor is amazing musically, both individually and together. Finally, there is Gussie, the budding Broadway star who it seems is ever present in Franklin’s life and eventually turns it completely upside down. Alyssa Hope Maas, as Gussie, is sultry, seductive, and confident, though these characteristics go through the reverse of a metamorphosis as the play moves from end to beginnng. Musically, in “Growing Up” with David’s Franklin and by herself in the reprise, her voice is superb. This entire group is enjoyable, Doug Fahl has clearly assembled a cast that not only handles Sondheim’s work, but does it very skillfully.

Certainly Doug deserves a heap of credit for casting and presenting an enjoyable version of a show that in the past has been less so, but there’s also credit to go around. Clearly to the cast, and along those lines to Music Director Kim Douglass, but also to Production Designer Mark Chenovick. Mark is responsible for all of the design elements here, including set, lighting, and sound. The set is all about time, a backwards clock the central feature, and it acts as any number of locations throughout the time that is represented here. It’s a nightclub, Franklin’s flat, the studio where Franklin and Charley worked on their music together, and more. Mark’s overall design does a nice job of setting the mood for each scene, whether it’s a party at Franklin’s flat, an interview on television, or one of the many other settings through time that the show presents. All and all, the Second Story Rep production of Merrily We Roll Along, a show that isn’t at the top of everyone’s list when building a season and looking at including a Sondheim musical, is a very well designed and excellently performed musical.

Merrily We Roll Along is seeing new wave of popularity, in a lot of ways due to the Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe version currently on Broadway. SecondStory Rep is reaping the benefits of the show’s general familiarity with its current production. The SSR version, directed by Doug Fahl, and featuring a talented group of actors and singers, is so good it should make other theaters reconsider not looking at it when building their seasons. The story is unique in its telling and the music is standard Sondheim, but the best part of Merrily We Roll Along is in how it illustrates the impact one moment or a series of moments has on a future reality.

Merrily We Roll Along runs on stage at SecondStory Rep in Redmond through April 21. For more information, including ticket availability and pricing, visit https://www.secondstoryrep.org/