Sondheim and Furth's Finest Flop

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$32 / $27 concession

Merrily We Roll Along

Franklin Shepard, a successful songwriter and movie producer in his late thirties, reviews his life, both professional and personal, especially his relationships with his best friends, Mary Flynn and Charley Kringas (his song-writing collaborator), and his two wives, Beth and Gussie.

The action moves backward in time from 1976 to 1957, from the disappointments of adulthood, to the hopeful idealism of youth.

American composer Stephen Sondheim was born on March 22, 1930, in New York City. After early practice at songwriting, his knowledge of musical theater was influenced by master lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, who served as a mentor. Sondheim's contributions to West Side Story and Gypsy in the 1950s brought him recognition as a rising star of Broadway. Known for the startling complexity of his lyricism and music, his major works for the theatre also include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park With George and Into the Woods.

The actor and playwright George Furth had a prolific career as a performer, but will be best remembered for his collaborations with the composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim, notably as librettist for the musicals Company (1970) and Merrily We Roll Along (1977). Company, which has been revived twice on Broadway and once in London, won him a Tony award, and though Merrily We Roll Along was a disastrous flop initially, it has been revised and revived successfully several times, and its score is considered one of Sondheim's finest. Furth also had a hit with a play, Twigs (1971), and collaborated with Sondheim on a comedy-thriller, Getting Away With Murder (1995).

Producer: Rose McClelland
Director: Alexander Andrews
Music Director: Conrad Hamill
Pianist: Antonio Fernandez
Stage Manager: Chris Starnawski
Costumes & Props: Mitchell Wassink

Cast:
Patrick Howard (Frank)
Zach Selmes (Charley)
Victoria Zerbst (Mary)
Richard Woodhouse (Joe)
Matilda Moran (Gussie)
Shannen Sarstedt (Beth)
Embla Bishop (Mrs. Spencer)
Phoebe Clark (Meg),
Blake Condon (Jerome)
Victoria Luxton (Dory)
Jesse Layt (Tyler)
Tiegan Denina (K.T.)
Caitlin Rose Harris (Scotty)
Tayla Jarrett (Ru)
Katelin Koprivec (Terry)
Michael McPhee (Bunker)