Merrily We Roll Along

Following on from the success of the recent Broadway revival, WAAPA Third Year Music Theatre students presented Merrily We Roll Along, supported with an orchestra comprised of WAAPA Music Students and designed and crewed predominantly by WAAPA Production and Design Students.

Designer Clay Chase, assisted by student Daisy Churchman, gave us a bare staged Roundhouse, save for a grand piano, moved frequently throughout the show. Behind the band, visible on stage was a poster wall, featuring images of shows mentioned throughout, and a prominent rotating date counter, used as the date rolled back throughout the story. Bright and colorful costumes helped to hone in on the dates, moving backwards from 1976 until 1957. Lighting design by Blair Cotteral helps to define place and time.

An 8-piece band play well under the guidance of Musical Director Craig Dalton, with sound well-balanced by Zac Bowers.

The story of three lifelong friends, composer Franklin Shepard, playwright Charlie Kringas and writer Mary Flynn, is well told by the ensemble cast, moving well as a team and executing the choreography pf Deby Holmes with panache.

Our leading trio had strong rapport, with believable and complex relationships established between Franklin (Nye Morrison), Charlie (Koert van der Laan), and Mary (Olivia Chatto) in well sung, layered performances.

The “other woman”, the glamorous Gussie Carnegie, was played with flair by Chloe Taylor, while Franklin’s wife Beth was given a sympathetic and complex portrayal by Rachel Seo. 

It is impossible to mention all of the cast, when everyone was working well, but Sebastian Cruse as lawyer Jerome and Bianca Metcalf as child Frank Jr were particularly memorable.

An easy to watch and bitter-sweet production that was clearly enjoyed by the audience.

Kimberley Shaw

Photographer: Stephen Heath