March 2012: Cincinnati

Merrily We Roll Along at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

Wow! I was absolutely blown away by this new production of Sondheim's most problematic musical. This was the first time the show has ever worked for me. My first exposure to the show was through the OCR, but I had seen the Broadway version in an excellent college production in 1991 and I had seen the revised version as presented at the Kennedy Center's Sondheim Festival in 2002. As far as John Doyle's previous work, I loved Sweeney, but hated Company with a passion. After seeing this Merrily, I really feel that his actors-as-musicians "technique" or "gimmick" really works best for dramatic pieces and not musical comedy. And Merrily is high drama as seen in this production. The first half is really intense and the book scenes are often played over an eerie, soft, high-pitched violin note that really puts you on edge. All three principals are outstanding, but Becky Ann Baker has never been better. She doesn't hit all of the notes, but I'm not so sure that some of it isn't intentional. I noticed it most in the early, drunken scenes and thought it might be due to vocal exhaustion from a 4 performance weekend. She seemed fine though in the later, sober scenes as long as emotions weren't running too high. It doesn't matter either way; she is electrifying as Mary and carries the heart of the show.

I was surprised to see the notices in the theater about the running time and that the show would play without an intermission. It wasn't exactly the posted 1 hour and 45 minutes, starting at 7:05 pm and ending a few minutes before 9 pm. Regardless, I thought the cuts were perfect. It plays almost like a mystery with just the right plot points revealed along the way. You really do wonder, "how did you get to be here?" as the show unfolds. I hope that this version gets licensed because it is really tight and smart. The new framework for the show using a younger version of Frank (or Frank's son? The role is listed as "Frank Jr.") is unwritten, but vital to this production. The show unfolds as he sorts through sheet music from a large box and a few pointed moments are actually played to him as opposed to being played to the audience. It renders a certain "It's A Wonderful Life"-future retrospection as the younger Frank sees what life might be like given a few bad decisions. The hope and happiness at the end no longer feel out of place. The characters are age appropriate (and dress appropriate) for when they are first introduced in the timeline of the show, meaning that Frank is old and dressed in a 70s leisure suit throughout the show while Beth is much younger and more conservatively attired. The ending only works with an older Frank impressing "Our Time" upon the younger Frank.

There were a few line flubs at the performance I saw, including one that could have been deadly. The reporter asked Charley, "It sounds like you think making MUSIC is a bad thing?" Yikes! Bravo to Daniel Jenkins for quickly getting the scene back on track (I doubt many audience members even noticed) and delivering an otherwise flawless and thrilling "Franklin Shepard, Inc."

I hope that this production moves on or gets taped, it really should be seen by more people. Outstanding work!