“Merrily We Roll Along” reviewed by Frank Meccia

*****There is always something special for me in attending new theater company’s work. In particular, when they are able to pull off major productions in one of our “storefront” or “Black Box” theaters.  Blank Theatre Company is one of these companies, bringing plays and musicals to a smaller and more affordable venue, making quality theater available to more people in the community.

“Merrily We Roll Along” is a classic musical that takes us back in time in order to tell the story of three friends as they face choices in their lives that can change the outcomes. Directed by Danny Kapinos on one of the smallest stages in the city, we get to watch one of the amazing scores by Stephen Sondheim based on the book by George Furth.

The stage that Kapinos works on is probably 10′ x 12′ and for a musical of this size and magnitude that is a chore, but one well handled by Kapinos. Again, with the small stage and a cast of 16 players, set designer Adrian Luka Tirado came up with the concept of having 6 different chairs and a wall filled with frames.

Again,  this musical is based on a book by George Furth and the music and lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim. It is an unusual play because the beginning of the play is present time and the end is past, in this play you travel back 20 years
to the beginning of a friendship. This friendship begins in college and is based on the idea to “change the world” after witnessing the first launch of the satellite sputnik and seeing it pass over their rooftop.

This play is filled with wit, humor, and sadness at the loss of marriages and friendships, due to the corruption of success. To me, this is one of the few plays by Sondheim I really enjoy. The staging of this play is different than most theatres because to have 50 seats you  also have 16 cast members  sitting on the stage, so having sets would just get in the way.

 Under the music direction of Sachio Nang, the 5 musicians play in aside room which is another small box, but with the door open and the large window it drew a large street presence. But for a musical to be good, you need a strong cast that can sing, and this theatre company nailed it. Franklin Shepard, played by Christopher Johnson, is one of the lead characters.

He is a successful Broadway composer turned Hollywood producer, who at the age of 38 has it all, or thinks he has. Frank’s best friend is Charlie, who is a lyricist and playwright played by Dustin Rothbart, Charlie  does everything for Frank, they have been together from working in small nightclubs to Broadway. They are both family men who want to succeed. These two actors are so in -synch with each other, and theirvoices are so easy to listen to, even though at times Sondheim makes it difficult with the off-key melodies that he loved to use. The third person in the close circle is Mary Flynn played by Brittney Brown, a critic and author who is Franks best friend and comrade although she wishes for more. Brittney has an excellent mezzo-soprano voice that carries the show; she is well known in Chicago from productions like “Sweeney Todd”, “Ragtime”, and  “Bonnie and Clyde”. The fourth lead who creates all the drama for Frank is Gussie Carnegie played by Brandy Miller. Gussie is married to Joe played by Aaron Mann. Joe is the producer of Frank and Charley’s Broadway shows, even though he only likes tunes that go easy and whimsical.

Gussie is a Broadway star, interior decorator, mistress and Franks’s second wife. Do you see a pattern here?  You do need to have a scoreboard to keep up with  who is wife and mistress, but this show is packed with 14 people, half are on stage at all times. This is 2 hours and 30 minutes with a 15-minute intermission packed with over 16 musical numbers. For a small theatre they did as good as any equity production I have seen.

“Merrily We Roll Along” will continue thru Jul 23, with performances as follows:

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Merrily We Roll Along”.