Merrily We Roll Along (Sondheim musical) - in theaters 10/23/13 only
10-24-13, 01:43 AM
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Merrily We Roll Along (Sondheim musical) - in theaters 10/23/13 only
Not sure if this is worth its own thread, but I saw it tonight and will add thoughts later.
http://www.fathomevents.com/#!merrily-we-roll-along
NCM Fathom Events, CinemaLive and Digital Theatre are thrilled to present the acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along from London’s West End! This incredible one-night event will take place on Wednesday, October 23 at 7:00pm (local time) in select cinemas nationwide.
Set over three decades in the entertainment business, Merrily We Roll Along charts the relationship between three friends Franklin, Mary and Charley. Travelling backwards in time, this powerful and moving story features some of Sondheim’s most beautiful songs including “Good Thing Going” and “Not a Day Goes By.” PLUS cinema audiences will be treated to an exclusive backstage experience with cast interviews and more!
Don’t miss this one-night opportunity to experience the stunning performance that Stephen Sondheim says is "as close to perfection as a production can get."
Set over three decades in the entertainment business, Merrily We Roll Along charts the relationship between three friends Franklin, Mary and Charley. Travelling backwards in time, this powerful and moving story features some of Sondheim’s most beautiful songs including “Good Thing Going” and “Not a Day Goes By.” PLUS cinema audiences will be treated to an exclusive backstage experience with cast interviews and more!
Don’t miss this one-night opportunity to experience the stunning performance that Stephen Sondheim says is "as close to perfection as a production can get."
Last edited by davidh777; 10-24-13 at 01:49 AM.
10-24-13, 01:49 AM
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Re: Merrily We Roll Along (Sondheim musical) - in theaters 10/23/13 only
From the Broadway movie thread:
I love the score too ("Our Time"--devastating), but this is one of the handful of Sondheim shows I've never seen on the stage. I saw Pacific Overtures in the Bay Area, Follies here in Seattle, even the infamous "gay" Company that was shut down. But MRWA, Saturday Night, Anyone Can Whistle, Bounce/Road Show, Marry Me a Little (doesn't really count) have never shown in my vicinity. I loved the showing of Company and would love to see this.
I just checked Fandango and it's playing in my neighborhood!
Ok, I know there are at least one or two other Stephen Sondheim fans here, so I thought I'd revive this thread to share this. It looks like the highly acclaimed recent London production of Merrily We Roll Along will be screening in theaters across the US next month:
You can see which theaters will be showing it here.
And, like a lot of people, I really wish they could do this for a lot more shows after they end their Broadway (or West End) runs.
An acclaimed London production of the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical “Merrily We Roll Along,” which Mr. Sondheim said was the best “Merrily” he had ever seen, will be screened in movie theaters in New York City and worldwide on Oct. 23, the producers and the film distributors announced on Tuesday.
The production received rave reviews last fall after opening at the Menier Chocolate Factory, then transferred to the West End, where the run ended in late July. Directed by the British actress Maria Friedman, a three-time winner of the Olivier Award (London’s equivalent of the Tony Award), “Merrily” starred several veterans of British theater including Jenna Russell, a Tony nominee for the 2008 Broadway run of “Sunday in the Park with George” – another production of a Sondheim musical that began at the Chocolate Factory.
This is kind of a dream come true - for a while I was actually playing with the idea of flying to London just to see this. I love the score to MWRA, but I have yet to see a production of it that didn't leave me really disappointed. By most accounts, this is the best production of the show ever. Even those who weren't sold on the show in the past, like the New York Times' Ben Brantley, seemed to love it.The production received rave reviews last fall after opening at the Menier Chocolate Factory, then transferred to the West End, where the run ended in late July. Directed by the British actress Maria Friedman, a three-time winner of the Olivier Award (London’s equivalent of the Tony Award), “Merrily” starred several veterans of British theater including Jenna Russell, a Tony nominee for the 2008 Broadway run of “Sunday in the Park with George” – another production of a Sondheim musical that began at the Chocolate Factory.
You can see which theaters will be showing it here.
And, like a lot of people, I really wish they could do this for a lot more shows after they end their Broadway (or West End) runs.
I love the score too ("Our Time"--devastating), but this is one of the handful of Sondheim shows I've never seen on the stage. I saw Pacific Overtures in the Bay Area, Follies here in Seattle, even the infamous "gay" Company that was shut down. But MRWA, Saturday Night, Anyone Can Whistle, Bounce/Road Show, Marry Me a Little (doesn't really count) have never shown in my vicinity. I loved the showing of Company and would love to see this.I just checked Fandango and it's playing in my neighborhood!
10-24-13, 02:30 PM
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Re: Merrily We Roll Along (Sondheim musical) - in theaters 10/23/13 only
Some quick thoughts:
I loved it. As I said earlier, I'm very familiar with the score but haven't seen the show on stage, and even though I know the story, it gave it so much more depth to see what happens on stage (and it's not a through-sung musical). I liked the cast and their voices. There has been some nerd-rage over cheap sets and poor colors and whatever, but it was a stage show, not a real movie.
Interesting that they had a 15-minute intermission, but again this was a real stage show.
One big issue I had was the making-of pieces they showed BEFORE the movie, including clips of the songs. Granted, a lot of the audience would be Sondheads who know the show, but potentially a lot wouldn't, and there were some significant spoilers. That said, it was kind of nice to see the actors and director Maria Friedman, who I still think of as a mainstay of many British-cast recordings from a dozen years ago when I was paying heavy attention to those.
My theater had maybe 50-60 people in it. It was showing in another theater at the same multiplex, and someone came over while we were waiting and said any of the dozen of us could go over and join the three of them.
When I saw the Neil Patrick Harris Company a few years ago, the theater was packed, but I think that was also a smaller number of theaters, as I didn't have this neighborhood option then.
I pre-ordered my tickets on Fandango and arrived early, but it looks like I didn't have to worry so much. Fandango did send a mail afterward saying we'd be the first to hear about a DVD release, but I'd have to write a review on their site in order to activate that.
I forced my kids to go because I wanted them to be part of the event, and they said they actually liked it. Not surprised by the older one (16, who is a fan of musicals and did watch Company on BD) but by the younger one (12.5). I guess I'm raising them right.
I don't know if it would have helped given the time-zone difference, but I knew I should have tagged you.
I loved it. As I said earlier, I'm very familiar with the score but haven't seen the show on stage, and even though I know the story, it gave it so much more depth to see what happens on stage (and it's not a through-sung musical). I liked the cast and their voices. There has been some nerd-rage over cheap sets and poor colors and whatever, but it was a stage show, not a real movie.
Interesting that they had a 15-minute intermission, but again this was a real stage show.
One big issue I had was the making-of pieces they showed BEFORE the movie, including clips of the songs. Granted, a lot of the audience would be Sondheads who know the show, but potentially a lot wouldn't, and there were some significant spoilers. That said, it was kind of nice to see the actors and director Maria Friedman, who I still think of as a mainstay of many British-cast recordings from a dozen years ago when I was paying heavy attention to those.
My theater had maybe 50-60 people in it. It was showing in another theater at the same multiplex, and someone came over while we were waiting and said any of the dozen of us could go over and join the three of them.
When I saw the Neil Patrick Harris Company a few years ago, the theater was packed, but I think that was also a smaller number of theaters, as I didn't have this neighborhood option then.I pre-ordered my tickets on Fandango and arrived early, but it looks like I didn't have to worry so much. Fandango did send a mail afterward saying we'd be the first to hear about a DVD release, but I'd have to write a review on their site in order to activate that.
I forced my kids to go because I wanted them to be part of the event, and they said they actually liked it. Not surprised by the older one (16, who is a fan of musicals and did watch Company on BD) but by the younger one (12.5). I guess I'm raising them right.
I don't know if it would have helped given the time-zone difference, but I knew I should have tagged you.
10-26-13, 11:24 PM
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Re: Merrily We Roll Along (Sondheim musical) - in theaters 10/23/13 only
Bump...
Not surprisingly, I also really enjoyed this.
I've always loved the score (though I prefer the OBC to any of the heavily revised revival recordings) - but the productions I've seen have always felt just a little... "Soap opera-ish." (That's actually a problem I have with several Sondheim musicals - the books, imo, often come up short compared to the beautiful and complex scores.)
Anyways, I thought this cast did a fantastic job selling the sometimes melodramatic story - and they were all good singers, which is always nice. The staging was simple, but I don't think this is the kind of show that requires elaborate or complex sets or costumes. I felt the emotion of the material come through more powerfully than in any of the other productions I've seen. I may have teared up a bit during the reprise of "Not a Day Goes By" and "Our Time."
My only real complaint is that the actors' American accents were sometimes kind of ridiculous and inconsistent (Beth's "Southern accent" being the worst, imo.)
I was also quite happy to see that the theater right outside Salt Lake was about 3/4 full, even though several other theaters in the area were also playing it. I couldn't help but wonder what any newcomers to the show might have thought of it - though this has always had a reputation as one of Sondheim's most "difficult" shows, I thought the director/actors/etc. did a really good job of selling it and making it as accessible as possible. (I'm glad to hear that your kids enjoyed it.)
-
I wasn't as big a fan of the presentation - the pre-show feature was a drag (that's the kind of stuff you save for the DVD), and the video quality wasn't very good. But I'm over it - and now I'm just hoping this comes out on DVD/BD at some point in the near future so I can watch it again. It's the kind of thing I can see myself returning to on a fairly regular basis (unlike, say, the recording of the John Doyle production of Company where the actors double as musicians.)
-
And as a complete aside that has nothing to do with MWRA:
Did you hear that Sondheim is now working on a gay version of "Company"? Kind of funny after his adamant insistence that Bobby isn't gay and his strongly negative response to the theater(s) that tried to do that (though I can understand why he'd be concerned about not having a say in that sort of thing.)
Not surprisingly, I also really enjoyed this.
I've always loved the score (though I prefer the OBC to any of the heavily revised revival recordings) - but the productions I've seen have always felt just a little... "Soap opera-ish." (That's actually a problem I have with several Sondheim musicals - the books, imo, often come up short compared to the beautiful and complex scores.)
Anyways, I thought this cast did a fantastic job selling the sometimes melodramatic story - and they were all good singers, which is always nice. The staging was simple, but I don't think this is the kind of show that requires elaborate or complex sets or costumes. I felt the emotion of the material come through more powerfully than in any of the other productions I've seen. I may have teared up a bit during the reprise of "Not a Day Goes By" and "Our Time."
My only real complaint is that the actors' American accents were sometimes kind of ridiculous and inconsistent (Beth's "Southern accent" being the worst, imo.)
I was also quite happy to see that the theater right outside Salt Lake was about 3/4 full, even though several other theaters in the area were also playing it. I couldn't help but wonder what any newcomers to the show might have thought of it - though this has always had a reputation as one of Sondheim's most "difficult" shows, I thought the director/actors/etc. did a really good job of selling it and making it as accessible as possible. (I'm glad to hear that your kids enjoyed it.)
-
I wasn't as big a fan of the presentation - the pre-show feature was a drag (that's the kind of stuff you save for the DVD), and the video quality wasn't very good. But I'm over it - and now I'm just hoping this comes out on DVD/BD at some point in the near future so I can watch it again. It's the kind of thing I can see myself returning to on a fairly regular basis (unlike, say, the recording of the John Doyle production of Company where the actors double as musicians.)
-
And as a complete aside that has nothing to do with MWRA:
Originally Posted by davidh777
even the infamous "gay" Company that was shut down
