Another Chance to See MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at Digital Theatre

Did you miss the Merrily We Roll Along, the backwards musical from Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, when last year's British production was screened in movie theaters for one night only? The filmed versions of live performances, like Neil Patrick Harris in Company or the National Theatre's Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller, come and go quickly, so you have to be on top of things to catch them.

The ones from Digital Theatre, however, are available to rent, buy or otherwise get a look at. That includes David Tennant and Catherine Tate taking on Benedick and Beatrice in a West End production of Much Ado About Nothing, the musical Into the Woods as performed outside in Regent's Park in London, and John Copley's 2009 production of La bohème from the Royal Opera House.

Merrily We Roll Along is the newest choice. Maria Friedman directed this 2012 London version of Merrily, the story of three friends traced backwards from the late 70s to the night they met on a rooftop in 1957 as Sputnik soared overhead. This Merrily began its life in the intimate space of the Menier Chocolate Factory before moving to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End. It was filmed during its West End run, with its cast -- Mark Umbers, Jenna Russell and Damian Humbley as "Old Friends" Franklin Shepard, Mary Flynn and Charley Kringas, Clare Foster as Frank's wife Beth, and Josefina Gabrielle as bad girl Gussie who snares Frank at a vulnerable moment --all captured on screen.

I was part of a viewing party that drove to Peoria to see Merrily We Roll Along in October, and we had mixed reactions. Yes, the material is terrific, and all three leads were very good. We were split on which one we liked best, although my favorite was Humbley's Charley, who was sympathetic, sweet, funny and an excellent match for songs like "Frank Shepard Inc." and "Good Thing Going." Umbers did a good job making Frank both attractive and a little twitchy, as if his emotions were close to the surface, while Russell grew on me as schlubby Mary, who yearns for Frank herself but never quite gets there. All three of them were beautiful singers, and the "Our Time" they ended with was lovely.

One of my friends was very impressed with Gabrielle, who was familiar from her turn as Laurey opposite Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma, and I agree that she was a lot appealing than most Gussies, who can be conniving and manipulative that she falls into the caricature trap. On the other hand... I didn't care at all for Foster as Beth. She and the actors who played her parents needed serious work on their American accents, plus she was more than a bit heavy-handed on the raw-boned "aw shucks" side of things.

In general, Friedman's production charted the tricky chronology of Merrily We Roll Along nicely, and it sounded and looked pretty darn good.

If you want to check it out for yourself, you can rent Merrily We Roll Along for $5.99, buy a standard copy for $12.99, or go for the High Def version for $15.99. If you prefer to pay in pounds or Euros, those options are also available.

Sondheim Sondheim Sondheim!

If you thought 2010 (the year composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim turned 80) was full of everything Sondheim, look out for 2013 an 2014. There continues to be all kinds of Sondheim news, covering movies, concerts, stage productions and all-around Sondheim-mania.

We've already discussed the fact that a filmed version of Merrily We Roll Along from London's Menier Chocolate Factory will be screened worldwide on October 23. You can check out the list of movie theaters offering this Merrily, which Mr. Sondheim called "not only the best I’ve seen, but one of those rare instances where casting, direction and show come together in perfect combination..." Around here you have a choice of Peoria or Champaign-Urbana (or more specifically, Savoy) as well as Rockford, fourteen Chicagoland locations, Indianapolis or St. Louis.

In November, New York's City Center will host a special concert called "A Bed and a Chair: A New York Love Affair," featuring jazz trumpeter, composer, teacher and legend Wynton Marsalis, who has arranged and orchestrated some two dozen Sondheim songs for this event. Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra will perform these new versions of the songs alongside Broadway stars Bernadette Peters, Norm Lewis and Jeremy Jordan and jazz singer Cyrille Aimée. New York City Center has details for these November 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 concerts, while Broadway World's Pat Cerasaro spotlights it here. (In case you're wondering, the title "A Bed and a Chair" is taken from the lyrics of "Broadway Baby," the same song in Follies that provides the title for this blog.)

Meryl Streep in Witch attire

A big-screen version of Into the Woods (music and lyrics by Mr. Sondheim, book by James Lapine) is also in the works, with Rob Marshall directing. Since Marshall was the one who made such a mess of Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit's Nine, I am not holding out a whole lot of hope this will be anything to write home about, especially since the likes of Johnny Depp and Chris Pine have been cast in singing roles. Still, there's Meryl Streep as the Witch, which has possibilities. Having said that, I do not know if Streep's voice, which is decent, is up to the Witch in Into the Woods standards. She may be La Streep, but she's not Bernadette Peters, Julia McKenzie, Donna Murphy or Vanessa Williams. But I guess we'll find out how she fares in December, 2014, when the movie is scheduled to open. For some of the first pictures from the set, you can check out the Huffington Post's slideshow featuring Emily Blunt (the Baker's Wife), Pine (Cinderella's Prince) and Anna Kendreck (Cinderella) or a first look at Streep as the Witch. Note the curious lack of reference to Stephen Sondheim in either piece. Also note that Streep looks dandy as the Witch, although I am seeing something of a facial resemblance to Angela Lansbury, which I didn't expect.

We'd also heard that Sondheim was working on something with David Ives, and just this week came the news that the very busy composer is creating a new version of Company, one in which the central character of Bobby and all his friends are gay men. Speculation that Bobby is gay is not new, although the married couples surrounding him have always been portrayed as straight as far as I know. For this new Company, director John Tiffany is reportedly workshopping with a cast centered around Daniel Evans, who previously did Bobby in London. And there are rumors about Alan Cumming, Michael Urie and Bobby Steggert playing some of his friends. Cumming is supposedly doing Joanne, the one who gets the caustic song about "Ladies Who Lunch." Clearly, the song -- and George Furth's book -- will need a major redo to bring "The Lads Who Lunch" to life.

And, as previously announced, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre on Navy Pier will continue its Sondheimian ways, with director Gary Griffin helming both Gypsy, with Broadway's Louise Pitre (Mamma Mia) as Rose, the total stage mother package, and Road Show, a picaresque piece about the legendary Mizner brothers and their part in America's boom and bust in the early decades of the 20th Century. Performances of Gypsy begin in February 2014 in the Courtyard Theater while Road Show starts up in March 2014 in Chicago Shakespeare's Upstairs space.

Sondheim's MERRILY Coming to Movie Theatres

I love Merrily We Roll Along, the backwards musical (and famous flop) from Stephen Sondheim and George Furth that played for only 60 performances (including 44 previews) when it hit Broadway in 1981. Furth wrote the book of Merrily, which is based on a play by Kaufman and Hart that is similarly backwards, while Sondheim's score includes amazing pieces like "Not a Day Goes By," "Our Time," "Opening Doors" and "Good Thing Going."

People have speculated that it's the backwards thing that gave Merrily We Roll Along problems, but I think it had more to do with the span of time it covers. Since we see Franklin Shepard, his songwriting partner Charley Kringas, and their writer friend Mary Flynn, from their 40s back to their college years, the question has always been whether to cast young actors who can play older at the beginning, or older actors who can play younger by the end. That initial Broadway production went young, with people like Jason Alexander, Liz Callaway and Tonya Pinkins very early in their careers. Pinkins, for example, was only 19 at the time.

Subsequent productions have gone for a middle ground, with an off-Broadway version in 1994 that starred Malcom Gets, then in his 30s and a revival as part of New York City Center's Encores! show with 30-year-old Colin Donnell and 32-year-old Lin Manuel Miranda.

But the 2012 version, directed by Maria Friedman, herself a three-time Olivier Award winner, for London's Menier Chocolate Factory moved it up a notch, featuring Mark Umbers (39) and Jenna Russell (45) as Frank and Mary. And it apparently worked, since that production earned high marks from critics and from Mr. Sondheim himself. The New York Times quotes Sondheim as saying, "This production of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ is not only the best I’ve seen, but one of those rare instances where casting, direction and show come together in perfect combination, resulting in the classic ideal of the sum being greater than the parts." Heady praise coming from Steve himself!

That quote accompanied an article at the NYT about the fact that the Menier/Friedman Merrily was filmed for broadcast purposes. The British Merrily We Roll Along will be shown in movie theaters all over England and the United States and Canada, with most shows scheduled for October 23rd. Individual theaters may choose to switch up the dates, though, so you'll need to check with yours to make sure.

The bad news is that nobody in Bloomington-Normal is on the list so far. But the good news is that Peoria and Champaign-Urbana (or Savoy, where the theater is) have stepped up, and Merrily We Roll Along will definitely roll along within driving distance. Fingers crossed that a Bloomington or Normal movie theater gets smart and puts Merrily on the bill here, too.

Tickets are slated to be on sale as of September 13, according to Fathom Events' site. I don't know about you, but I will be watching out and making my plans. I don't miss a Merrily We Roll Along, especially one as highly touted as this one.

Happy Birthday, Stephen Sondheim!

There were a whole lot of special celebrations and tributes planned for Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday in 2010, continuing on through at least March 9, 2012, when Sondheim was given the UK Critics' Circle 2011 Award for Distinguished Services to the Arts.

Whether they were specifically intended to honor Sondheim's 80th, 81st or 82nd birthdays or it's just a general sense of celebration, we've seen "Sondheim: the Birthday Concert" at the New York Philharmonic, telecast on PBS and available on DVD; the musical "Sondheim on Sondheim," with a cast album available at PS Classics; "Sondheim 80," a concert at the Roundabout; another celebration at New York City Center; a British birthday concert during the BBC Proms; the New York Pops offering yet another tribute concert at Carnegie Hall; the publication of "Finishing the Hat" and "Look, I Made a Hat," two volumes written by the man himself discussing his lyrics and his general philosophy on songwriting; a New York Philharmonic concert version of "Company" that was filmed and screened all over the US; a "Follies" on Broadway (cast recording also available at PS Classics) and another one in Chicago; an outdoors "Into the Woods" built into a tree in Regent's Park; a City Center Encores! version of "Merrily We Roll Along," and, of course, lots and lots and lots of productions of other Sondheim shows all over the place.

I'm totally in favor of keeping this party going if it means I keep getting concerts and shows and cast recordings and book and posters to entertain me. I'm also willing to adopt Sondheim's birthday as my own if it will match up better to when Sondheim stuff is made available and I have gift list privileges.

In any event, if you haven't brought your own collection up to date, you have time to do that. But don't wait too long. Because (and I realize I have totally buried the lead here) The Guardian in England has announced that Sondheim is working on a new show. No, I'm not kidding. His last show was Wise Guys/Bounce/Road Show, which went through many different versions, casts and plot byways, never did quite gel as far as most critics are concerned, and is discussed at length in "Look, I Made a Hat." But this new show... The Guardian reports that Sondheim said he had 20 to 30 minutes of material written and that he is working with playwright David Ives ("All in the Timing," "Venus in Fur") on the book. And here's the really intriguing quote: "It's an idea I've had for a long time and it springs indirectly from a moment in a play of David's." Trotsky with a hatchet embedded in his head? Spinoza on trial? A cross-dressing painter or businessman?

We'll have to wait and see, but it's certainly intriguing. And I hope he has more than half an hour of material by now.