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Daniel Radcliffe won’t be competing against his Merrily We Roll Along Broadway co-star Jonathan Groff for a Tony Award next June, and the reason has nothing to do with performance quality: The awards administration committee ruled today that Radcliffe will be eligible in the featured performer category, apparently leaving the lead category to Groff.

Lindsay Mendez, who plays Mary Flynn, the musical’s most prominent female character, will, like Radcliffe, who plays Charley Kringas, be eligible in the featured slot (the Tony’s equivalent to Oscar’s “supporting” categories).

While Groff’s character of Franklin Shepard has traditionally been considered the main character of the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical, this year’s hit Maria Friedman-directed revival included the three stars’ names above the title, leaving some wiggle room with regard to the category decisions.

Indeed, audience members might be hard-pressed to decide which actor goes where: While...

Irony dwells in the bones of "Merrily We Roll Along," a musical that plays backward in time. The 1981 sinking of the original Broadway production of "Merrily We Roll Along" is a chaos best told by the documentary "Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened." The critics and audience were reportedly baffled by the reverse chronological storytelling and director Hal Prince's purposefully amateurish methodology, which casts high schoolers and young adults playing fortysomethings aging down to twentysomethings. It closed down after 44 previews and 16 performances. The loss demoralized the creatives so much that lyricist-composer Stephen Sondheim and Prince — mavericks who birthed successes like "Company" and "Sweeney Todd" — halted their collaboration for years. This short-lived run underscores the musical's themes: friendships breaking up and showbiz realities thwarting artistic plans.

Away from Prince's high-schoolish shell, major productions have repackaged "Merrily." This material also turned out to be a fitting endeavor for filmmaker Richard Linklater,...

What a difference 40 years makes. After opening to pans and a run of only 16 official performances in 1981, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical “Merrily We Roll Along” has been remounted on Broadway for the very first time. Maria Friedman has stepped into the director role once occupied by Sondheim’s frequent collaborator Hal Prince — “Merrily” was their first flop after an impressive string of successful shows in the 70s. The revival opened on Oct. 10 at the Hudson Theatre for a run slated to end in March.

“Merrily” boasts marquee names Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, and Daniel Radcliffe. The trio play Franklin Shepard, Mary Flynn, and Charley Kringas, respectively, the three creatives at the heart of the musical that’s told in reverse over the course of 20+ years. It begins in a moment of personal and professional disillusionment and estrangement and unspools to a simpler, earlier time when their friendships...

Troubled musicals, like troubled friendships, can often seem like defeats lying in wait, sponging up every last second of loving care, effort and good intention. So Maria Friedman’s smartly tended production of that most troubled of stage properties, the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth backwards musical Merrily We Roll Along deserves all the applause – and ticket-buying business – it’s getting at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre.

Opening tonight, the musical is drawing rapturous audience responses, no doubt in large part because of the splendid performances by three very appealing stars – Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez.

But even if we could, for the sake of argument, put the talents of this delightful trio singing some of Sondheim’s loveliest songs, aside for a moment, the undeniable charm of this production has to be credited to a sort of relief – the relief of knowing that, for the most part, Friedman...

Update, with opening night: An official opening night date has been set for the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along: Following the previously announced Sept. 19 preview launch, the opening night will be Tuesday, October 10 at the Hudson Theatre.

Previous, July 10: The first, star-packed Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along has extended its engagement by two months, giving ticket buyers until March 24, 2024 to see the production featuring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez.

Performances begin Tuesday, September 19 at the Hudson Theatre. The original closing date was January 21, 2024. The extension was announced today by producers Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Patrick Catullo, and Jeff Romley, who cited popular demand as the reason for the longer run.

Directed by Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along features music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a book by George Furth,...

The upcoming Broadway revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez will play its first performance at the Hudson Theatre on Tuesday, September 19, producers announced today.

Directed by Maria Friedman, the production played a sold-out Off Broadway run at New York Theatre Workshop last year. The preview date for the strictly limited, 18-week Broadway engagement was announced by producers Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Patrick Catullo, and Jeff Romley.

Merrily We Roll Along features music and lyrics by Sondheim, a book by George Furth, and is based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart. The revival is choreographed by Tim Jackson

In addition to the previously announced stars, the production will feature Krystal Joy Brown as Gussie Carnegie, Katie Rose Clarke as Beth Shepard, and Reg Rogers as Joe Josephson.

“Normal People” star Paul Mescal, who made a splash last week when he was cast in the “Gladiator” sequel, is replacing Blake Jenner in “Merrily We Roll Along,” according to an individual with knowledge of the project.

Richard Linklater is directing the feature film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim and George Furth musical of the same name.

Mescal will play Franklin Shepard, a once-in-a-generation composing talent who morphs into a self-centered Hollywood producer barely clinging to his second marriage.

Jenner, the former “Glee” star, left the project shortly after allegations of domestic abuse were raised by his ex-wife and former co-star Melissa Benoist in 2019. Jenner would issue an apology almost a year later.

Also Read:

‘Merrily We Roll Along’ Off Broadway Review: Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe Try to Resuscitate a Sondheim Flop

“Merrily We Roll Along” also stars Ben Platt in the role of Charley Kringas and Beanie Feldtsein as Mary Flynn,...

The Off Broadway musical revival of the Stephen Sondheim and George Furth classic Merrily We Roll Along, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff & Lindsay Mendez will move to Broadway in the fall, producers anounced today.

The announcement – from producers Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Patrick Catullo and Jeff Romley – heralds the first ever Broadway revival of the show. The production is currently playing a critically acclaimed and completely sold-out run at New York Theatre Workshop through January 22 following sold-out runs at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory and the Olivier Award-winning West End transfer produced by Sonia Friedman Productions.

Directed by Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along features music & lyrics by Sondheim, a book by Furth, and is based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart. Radcliffe plays writer Charley Kringas, Jonathan Groff is composer Franklin Shepard, and Lindsay Mendez is author Mary Flynn. Additionally, the...

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The 1981 musical that reunited composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim and librettist George Furth, a decade after their landmark work on Company, has the rare distinction of being arguably Broadway’s most revered flop. Merrily We Roll Along closed after just 16 performances; audiences found the reverse-chronology storyline confusing and the decision to cast young actors took the sting out of scenes with the characters in disillusioned middle-age. Reviews were dismissive, and the experience was so difficult that Sondheim and his longtime director Harold Prince didn’t work together again for more than 20 years.

That fractured collaboration between two giants of the theater no longer with us has poignant echoes in the plot of Merrily, which was adapted from the 1934 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. But it’s not just historical significance that makes the show play much more accessibly today.

Issues with Furth...