Merrily We Roll Along

THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED MUSICAL RETURNS

It is said that this production has been given more five star reviews from the press than any other in West End history. After receiving a Critic's Choice Award after a run at the Menier Chocolate Factory last year, Merrily We Roll Along now makes it's West End transfer. Marking the directorial debut of the Olivier Award-winning actress Maria Friedman, this revival of Steven Sondheim's 1981 Broadway musical is a tenacious yet tender satire like no other.

The production sees Sondheim's rich, complex melodies and moving, witty lyrics in the capable hands of long-time Sondheim collaborator Friedman and a winning ensemble cast. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of this production is the use of reverse chronology in telling the tale of three friends who traverse life's stormy seas.

WHAT IS MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG ABOUT?

The play begins at a trashy Hollywood party in the mid 1970's and follows influential songwriter and film producer Franklin Shepherd, theatre critic Mary Flynn and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Charlie Kringas. Tracing their lives backwards, the play rewinds from their embittered middle age to the innocence of their younger years.

As the years roll back, the audience is given insight into the character's development. As the trio reflect on the past that becomes the audience's present, there is a bittersweet taste, marking the story as a truly profound take on the idealism of youth and the realities of life.