Merrily We Roll Along

Merrily We Roll Along
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by George Furth. Directed by Sara Grenfell. Musical Director Cameron Thomas. Southbank Theatre – The Lawler. 29th June- 15th July, 2017

Let’s be honest, ANY Sondheim is better than no Sondheim at all. And, although the chronologically reversed narrative doesn’t truly work, so the emotional arc is hugely problematic, Merrily does contain one of Sondheim’s most beautiful ballads in “Not a Day Goes By.”

Basically we meet three friends, songwriting team Frank and Charlie, and Mary – a novelist turned drama critic. The problem is that by the mid seventies (when we meet them) they are not very nice people. Frank has abandoned his talent and replaced it with money, Charley is both bitter and with the pretentions of a “serious” writer (neither seems aware that the magic is because of the combination of their two talents) and Mary is an overweight lush, still in love with Frank (though there’s no attempt to explain why). Though we see the wide-eyed innocents at the end of the show (which is the beginning of the relationship) there isn’t enough character development to really make us care about these three people.

I’m glad we have “Watch This” – a company dedicated to presenting ONLY Sondheim – but they have never managed to hit the creative heights that they did  with Pacific Overtures some years ago. And it’s really not acceptable for a professional company to present productions which are below the standard of many of our best amateur theatre groups. Part of the problem for Watch This is a lack of money and I really hope they find major sponsorship which will give them a large injection of funds. I agree that if you can’t afford radio mikes for the entire cast, you are better off not to mike anyone. BUT (and it’s a big but) when you have only a piano for accompaniment (oh to have heard Jonathan Tunick’s string quartet arrangements…though David Cameron’s work at the piano is excellent) and you have voices of varying quality (and volume) much of the nuance and subtlety of Sondheim’s lyrics is lost completely in the quest to be heard over the piano. There are very valid reasons why this show was a flop on Broadway - despite the orchestrations and fine cast - and Watch This, rather than seeking to address those problems, has compounded them.

The three leads are all excellent. Lyall Brooks seemed tentative at first but was the perfect age for the older Frank (though WHY, in the 70’s, did he have a slicked down 30s haircut and clothes more appropriate to the 1930’s, which make this very attractive 30 something look like a stodgy 45 year old?). He brings his natural charm and vast stage experience to the fore as the character is deconstructed to become a wide-eyed and endearing idealist. I’ve heard him sing better, but his best vocal moments were when accompanying himself at the piano. Nelson Gardner is impressive as Charley and makes a meal of the wonderfully funny Franklin Shepard Inc. What was missing for me was the necessary intimacy between Frank and Charley – the sense that neither one was complete without the other. Director Sara Grenfell has missed the opportunity to develop the subtext and relationship back story to the point of it being real, thus the book feels flat and it’s hard to emotionally connect.

The unmistakable star of the production is the wonderfully comic yet poignant Nicole Melloy as Mary. Always a sensational triple threat, Melloy has transitioned to a fine dramatic actress. She covers her usual glamorous persona with frumpish clothes and a cloak of melancholy woven from yearning and cynicism. She understands Sondheim - she knows the importance of a throwaway word, an inflection, a gesture, and it speaks volumes that her reprise of “Not a Day Goes By” was infinitely more moving and weighted with nuance than the disappointing rendition by Sophie Weiss’ much maligned Beth (Frank’s wife) who seemed to lack the experience to understand the depth behind the lyrics, giving us, instead, a poor copy of Bernadette Peters, struggling to “belt” over the piano. This is - or should be - a heartbreaking song.

Of the remaining cast, Nicholas Kong as Frank’s Lawyer is smoothly impressive and Mark Doggett brings extra dimensions to Joe, the producer who sets the team on its road to success. Young Darcy Bryce is excellent as Frank’s 12 year old son. This is his first professional gig but we will undoubtedly be seeing a lot of him in the future.

Counter-balancing the good amongst the cast is Christina D’Agostino’s eye-popping interpretation of Gussie, who ends up more like a burlesque queen than a Broadway Diva, so over the top is her performance. I am puzzled at the end result by this normally fine performer - it’s the worst kind of caricature which is neither funny nor credible in what is basically a dark, but realism based, story.

Emily Collett must also shoulder some of the blame for the inadequacies of the production with her set and costume design. This is far a far cry from her exquisite work on Red Stitch’s Eurydice for example. The set doesn’t work - the playing area is dominated by a cheaply painted staircase which suggests bad pantomime rather than opulence. Moreover, in the opening title number, the choreography has the cast going up and down those stairs repeatedly, and they creak every time (the stairs, not the cast). If the artists were miked it would not be so noticeable - see my first note (surely they could at least have afforded a couple of good quality shotgun mikes for overall coverage?). As for the costumes, they look just fine except they mostly have nothing to do with the period. A delicate tea length soft green gown cut on the bias is ALL 30’s and Brooks’ costuming is completely anachronistic. This is the seventies, and the sixties, and a little of the fifties – where does anything on the stage reflect those eras? One of the advantages of my advanced age is that I lived through ALL those eras as an adult and never saw anyone wearing clothes or hair like that.

The same is true of the choreography, sometimes it’s terrific, sometimes it’s so out of the date established that it’s hard to get a fix on the timeline.

If this were a small community theatre company one could lower one’s expectations and say everything is adequate…considering. But it isn’t. And adequate will not cut it. Near enough isn’t EVER good enough.

Coral Drouyn

Pnhotographer: Jodie Hutchinson

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