The musical Merrily We Roll Along is a Tony Award winning hit! Winning this year’s Tony award for best revival, lead actor, supporting actor, and best orchestrations, Merrily is one of Stephen Soundheim’s celebrated scores, a personal narrative that moves backwards in time. Merrily follows the turbulent relationship between three lifelong friends played by Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez and traces every milestone of their lives for nearly two decades as they navigate success, show business and unbreakable bonds. (Taken from Merrily’s website)

Merrily is one of the best musicals I have seen on Broadway. I saw it in January 2024 with one of my bff’s and fellow theatre aficionado, Auntie Jaime! It has all the feels, and is relatable no matter where you are in your friendship dichotomy. And did I mention the dynamic score? After the show we turned to each other and said in unison, “Merrily is going to sweep the Tonys!”

But when Stephen Soundheim and Hal Prince premiered Merrily on Broadway in 1981, it was a major flop! It closed after a mere 16 performances. Perhaps audiences weren’t ready for Merrily, it was ahead of its time. But more than likely the show was confusing for theater goers to follow as it starts at the end and goes in reverse chronological order, ending at the beginning. Pure genius in my opinion!

While many saw failure, others saw Merrily’s potential, and over the years Soundheim and Furth (book writer) gave permission and subsequent successful productions were staged throughout the world.

But it wasn’t until Maria Friedman took hold of Merrily that the stars aligned. Friedman transformed the cult flop and brought the little show that could back to Broadway for the first time since 1981. Merrily finally got the recognition it deserved! I think Friedman was robbed at the Tony awards; she should have won for best director.

Merrily will sadly play its last Broadway performance on July 7, 2024. How I wanted to make it back to NYC to see it again, the show is that good! Thankfully, I will get to see it again! Merrily was recently filmed and will likely appear on a streaming service within the next year, allowing fans like myself to relive this amazing production for years to come and allowing those who were unable to visit the Hudson Theatre in NYC to experience the magic in their living rooms.

Epilogue: The story behind the musical Merrily We Roll Along, going from failure to award winner, epitomizes “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again.” It illustrates you may have a brilliant concept, but if the execution is completely off, your project won’t stand a chance. It reminded me, don’t get discouraged, move on, it simply isn’t the right time. The story behind the rebirth of Merrily shows you can start something good but sometimes you need to let it go, allow someone else to take over, and as a result, something extraordinary can happen!