| 'Merrily,' the raves are rollin' in: A roundup of rapturous reviews | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 08:46 pm EDT 10/10/23 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 08:31 pm EDT 10/10/23 | |
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| ''Merrily We Roll Along's'' reviews arrived this morning, so while they were early in the day, happily they weren't ''Surly. Not a good sign.'' By and large, they were love letters to Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's 1981 short-lived musical, which could turn into 2023's ''gargantuan hit.'' Quite a contrast from Dennis Cunningham's TV review of ''Merrily'' in 1981: ''It's neither merry, nor does it roll along. In fact, it clunks, lurches and on several occasions, faints dead away. Where did they [Hal Prince, Sondheim and Furth] go so wildly wrong? ... A score with only the glimmers of the mighty talent of Stephen Sondheim and staging even without the mighty talent of Hal Prince. ... Oh, my!'' What a difference 42 years make! Under Maria Friedman's direction, this revived ''Merrily'' received mostly glowing notices, especially for Jonathan Groff's incredible charisma and skill as Frank and Daniel Radcliffe's showstopping ''Franklin Shepard Inc.'' as Charley. Not that all of today's critics didn't find any fault. Some did, even with Sondheim's glorious score that boasts ''Not a Day Goes By,'' ''Old Friends'' and ''Our Time,'' for starters. For instance, Robert Hofler in The Wrap called '' 'Bobby and Jackie and Jack'' an ''absolutely dreadful cabaret number'' that is ''Sondheim at his rinky-tinky worst.'' And Greg Evans in Deadline.com added: It's ''dated, silly'' and ''neither funny, catchy, nor convincing.'' Happily, we ''Merrily'' fans know better and always knew Sondheim, Furth and Prince had a ''Good Thing Going.'' How I wish they were still here to revel in this revival! |
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| Link | BroadwayWorld.com: Review Roundup of 'Merrily We Roll Along' Revival |
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