Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Despite its inventive staging, Fiasco’s downsized MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG fails to make an impact

• By drediman
• February 20, 2019
• No Comments

The company of Fiasco Theater’s revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s “Merrily We Roll Along”, courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company, at the Laura Pels Theatre. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Last night, Fiasco Theater’s Off-Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s troublesome but much-loved 1984 musical Merrily We Roll Along opened at the Laura Pels Theater, courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company. In my personal opinion, the musical possesses one of the great scores in all of musical theater. However, it’s Mr. Furth’s book, itself based on George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s 1934 play, that has challenged directors since the musical’s notoriously short-lived premiere. If you don’t already know, the piece tells the story of three close friends, but in reverse chronological order – tracking their relationship from jaded, damaged 40-somethings to idealistic, fresh-faced teenagers.

I adored Fiasco’s last foray into the master’s canon, its ingenious and touching account of the Sondheim favorite Into the Woods (also co-produced by Roundabout). That staging relied on the sheer joy of its storytelling as a conceit for the musical itself (i.e., the importance of the stories we tell each other and our children), an approach I found deeply moving. My main issue with the company’s Merrily We Roll Along is its decision to strip it bare, aggressively downsizing it into an intermission-less one-act musical that strips the work of much of its bite. While I admire the bold decision to hone in on the show’s central trio, the truncation ironically reduces these characters to mere outlines. Therefore, Fiasco’s breathlessly told version unfortunately lacks the of point of view and personality to crack the musical open, ultimately failung to make much of an impact. It fizzles when it should pop.

My other issue concerns the Fiasco actors, who don’t have the sufficient range and worldly savvy to effectively portray their generation-spanning characters, especially earlier in the show when the characters are older and world-weary (they play youthfulness much more effectively). Musically speaking, they also lack the vocal chops to do real justice to Sondheim’s glorious scores, one of his finest. Still, I found myself having a pretty good time at this far-from-definitive revival – that distinction would have to go to Maria Friedman’s rich, emotionally-exposed West End revival a number of years back. I particularly took to Noah Brody’s seamless staging – which seems to just dance off the stage – and its array of inventive theatrical flourishes (a trademark of Fiasco’s work).

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
Off-Broadway, Musical
Fiasco Theater and Roundabout Theatre Company at the Laura Pels Theatre
1 hour, 45 minutes (without an intermission)
Through April 7