‘Merrily We Roll Along’ Review: Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez Lead a Broadway Revival That’s More Art Than Commerce
variety.comTrish Deitch Commercial theater — theater written mostly to entertain audiences, for the purpose of making money — is the enemy in Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s 1981 musical, “Merrily We Roll Along,” now on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre.
According to “Merrily,” it’s theater that doesn’t sacrifice its profundity to make it easy on audiences that has any real value at all.
But if commercial theater is the enemy, then it’s not surprising that “Merrily We Roll Along” flopped after 16 performances on Broadway in 1981: It’s not a show written to easily entertain.
Centered on the friendship between gifted playwright Charley (Daniel Radcliffe), brilliant composer Franklin Shepard (Jonathan Groff) and critic Mary Flynn (Lindsay Mendez), “Merrily We Roll Along” begins at the end of their collective story — at a debauched party in 1976 celebrating the opening of Frank’s first Hollywood film.
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