Review: Merrily We Roll Along – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

Published on: 20 May, 2018
Updated on: 20 May, 2018

By Ferenc Hepp

Alex Parker and his company make a welcome return to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre this week with their fifth major musical production, Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, following previous successes such as Sunset Boulevard and Follies.

This is a truly local production. A lot of the company are from Guildford and surrounding areas and Parker started his musical career in our town before moving on to be a musical director on shows such as Barnum at the Menier Chocolate Factory, the national tour of Wonderland and Les Miserables at the Queen’s Theatre in the West End.

The show is base on a 1934 play by George S Kaufman and Moss Hart, not that regularly performed. It has also been published as a book by George Furth.

The musical opened on Broadway in 1981 and ran for only 16 performances. Since then, it has gone through a number of changes and updates, and it received its UK premiere in Manchester in 1984, enjoying a revival in London in 2012, directed by Maria Friedman. The production won the Peter Hepple Award for Best Musical in the 2012 Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards.

The plot is based on the life and career of Franklin Shepard and opens in 1976 at the time when he is a successful Hollywood movie producer and moves backwards in time back to 1957, tracing his previous career as a songwriter, his relationship with his family and friends, and the associated reasons for the ups and downs in his professional life.

Lee Thomas takes the lead in this production as Franklin. As well as having a great voice, we can clearly see the journey he demonstrates from taking the praise as Franklin the producer in the opening number of ‘That Frank’ to more innocent times and it is not only the hairstyle that changes but the mannerisms and his way of speech too.

Interestingly, he is positioned a the top of the staircase at the very start of the show and also at the very end, but due to very different circumstances.

Thomas is very ably supported by a strong company who reprise the title number every time we move back to a different year.

Special mention must be given to Ana Richardson for her portrayal of Mary Flynn, the ever suffering Elliott Griffiths as Charley Kringas and Anna Twaits as Gussie, all of whom are on stage for the majority of the show and are full of energy and demonstrate brilliant flexibility with what is quite a complex plot. Clare Salter has a rich repertoire as Beth and is a joy to watch and listen to.

The set, comprising steel columns and a staircase, is simple but works very well in the different configurations for the numerous scenes. The choreography by Jordan Lee Davies complements Charlotte Conquest’s direction perfectly. There is nothing over the top here but the stage is always fully utilised and the movements fit the circumstances very well.

The orchestra is visible most of the time at the back of the set but not intrusive and brilliantly led by Parker. I am already looking forward to the next Alex Parker Theatre Company production at the Arnaud in the next few years if this performance is anything to go by.

Merrily We Roll Along runs until Saturday, May 19 and tickets are available via the website: www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk or by calling the box office on 01483 440000.