MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG Adds Final Benefit Performance in January

New York Theatre Workshop has added a final benefit performance of Merrily We Roll Along on Sunday January 22, 2023, at 2pm. Proceeds from the performance will benefit NYTW's education and engagement programming across the 2022/23 season. Featuring music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a book by George Furth, and based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart, Merrily We Roll Along is choreographed by Tim Jackson and directed by Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman. Merrily We Roll Along is presented by special arrangement with Sonia Friedman Productions, the Menier Chocolate Factory (Artistic Director David Babani) and Patrick Catullo. Merrily We Roll Along begins previews at New York Theatre Workshop (79 E 4th Street, New York, NY 10003) tonight, and is set to open December 12, 2022.

Each ticket sold will include a tax-deductible donation that will support NYTW's 2022/23 education and engagement programming, which provides thousands of students, teens, artists, and local residents access to some of the most exciting theatre artists of our time. The initiatives supported by this special performance include Learning Workshop, a multi-disciplinary in-school arts education program serving 2,000 students each year; CheapTix, a subsidized ticket program that provides access to young people, seniors, artists and members of NYTW's local community; Mind the Gap, a free program that brings together teens and elders to share their stories and write plays inspired by each other's lives; and NYTW's 2050 Fellowships, which offer professional development and training opportunities to both early-career artists and arts administrators.

Tickets for this performance are priced at two levels: $1,500, which includes one ticket to the final performance; and $2,500, which includes one ticket to the final performance and an invitation to an exclusive after-party. Tickets can be purchased online at NYTW.org, or by calling 212-460-5475. All tickets to the closing performance include a tax-deductible contribution.

Spanning three decades in the entertainment business, Merrily We Roll Along charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends - writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. An inventive, cult-classic ahead of its time, Merrily We Roll Along features some of Stephen Sondheim's most celebrated and personal songs. Maria Friedman first directed the musical at London's Menier Chocolate Factory which subsequently transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre to critical acclaim-the most five-star reviews in West End history-winning the Olivier Award for Best Musical.

The cast of Merrily We Roll Along will include Sherz Aletaha (Man of La Mancha) as Scotty/Mrs. Spencer/Auditionee, Krystal Joy Brown (Hamilton) as Gussie Carnegie, Katie Rose Clarke (Wicked) as Beth Shepard, Leana Rae Concepcion (Comfort Women) as Newscaster/Waitress/Auditionee, Jonathan Groff (Hamilton) as Franklin Shepard, Carter Harris ("Only Murders in the Building") as Franklin Shepard Jr. (alternates with Colin Keane), Colin Keane (Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin) as Franklin Shepard Jr. (alternates with Carter Harris), Morgan Kirner (Hello, Dolly! National Tour) as Swing, Corey Mach (Kinky Boots) as Tyler/Make-Up Artist, Lindsay Mendez (Carousel) as Mary Flynn, Daniel Radcliffe (The Lifespan of a Fact) as Charley Kringas, Talia Robinson (Dear Evan Hansen) as Meg Kincaid, Reg Rogers (Tootsie) as Joe Josephson, Amanda Rose (Dear Jane) as Swing, Jamila Sabares-Klemm (Baby) as Dory/Evelyn, Brian Sears (The Book of Mormon) as Newscaster/Photographer/Bunker, Evan Alexander Smith (Little Shop of Horrors) as Swing, Christian Strange (The Butcher Boy) as Ru/Reverend, Koray Tarhan (A Christmas Carol) as Swing, Vishal Vaidya (Love Life) as Jerome, Natalie Wachen (RENT) as KT and Jacob Keith Watson (Carousel) as Terry/Mr. Spencer.

Merrily We Roll Along features choreography by Tim Jackson (Stepping Out), orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick (Sweeney Todd), music supervision by Catherine Jayes (The Color Purple) and music direction by Alvin Hough, Jr. (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), with scenic & costume design by Soutra Gilmour (& Juliet), lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker (Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord), sound design by Kai Harada (Mr. Saturday Night), and hair & wig design by Cookie Jordan (Into the Woods). Casting is by Jim Carnahan, CSA & Jason Thinger, CSA, with additional casting by Taylor Williams, CSA. UnkleDave's Fight-House (The Great Society) will provide fight & intimacy direction, with Jhanaë K-C Bonnick (Slave Play) serving as stage manager.

Merrily We Roll Along was originally directed on Broadway by Hal Prince and was originally produced on Broadway by Lord Grade, Martin Starger, Robert Fryer and Hal Prince in association with Ruth Mitchell and Howard Haines.

The performance schedule for Merrily We Roll Along is as follows:

November 21 - December 11: Tuesday-Thursday at 7pm; Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; Sunday at 2pm & 8pm. There will be an added performance on Monday November 21 at 7pm. There will be no performance on Thursday November 24. There will be no matinee performance on Saturday November 26. There will be no public performances on Sunday December 11.

December 13 - January 22: Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesday at 1pm & 7pm; Thursday at 7pm; Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; Sunday at 2pm. There will be no performances on Sunday December 18 at 8pm; Saturday December 24; Sunday December 25; Saturday December 31 at 8pm; Sunday January 1; and Wednesday January 18 at 1pm. There will be added performances on Friday December 23 at 2pm; Monday December 26 at 7pm; and Friday December 30 at 2pm.

NYTW is committed to making tickets available to every production via its CHEAPTIX initiative. For Merrily We Roll Along, NYTW will offer a limited number of tickets to all regular performances beginning November 23 for $25 via a CHEAPTIX Digital Lottery in partnership with TodayTix. The lottery is offered in lieu of NYTW's standard CHEAPTIX and CHEAPTIX RUSH programs to ensure that tickets are guaranteed at every performance.

TodayTix allows you to enter the CHEAPTIX Digital Lottery via the app, available in the App Store or Google Play Store. The entry period for all performances beginning November 23 will begin each performance day at 12:01am ET and continue until winners are notified via push notification 3-4 hours before the selected performance begins. Entrants may request 1 or 2 tickets, and entry in the digital Lottery is free and open to all. All entry rules apply.

In addition to Merrily We Roll Along, the NYTW 2022/23 season includes american (tele)visions by Tow Playwright-in-Residence Victor I. Cazares (Pinching Pennies with Penny Marshall), directed by NYTW Usual Suspect Rubén Polendo (); Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, in a new adaptation by Pulitzer Prize finalist Clare Barron (Dance Nation, You Got Older), directed by Tony Award winner and NYTW Usual Suspect Sam Gold (Othello, Fun Home); 2019 winner of the Yale Drama Prize, How to Defend Yourself by Liliana Padilla (Born 1000 Times), co-directed by Tony Award winner and NYTW Usual Suspect Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown), Liliana Padilla and Helen Hayes Award winner Steph Paul (The Last Match); and The Half-God of Rainfall by Hays Festival Poetry Medal winner Inua Ellams (Barber Shop Chronicles), directed by Obie Award winner and NYTW Usual Suspect Taibi Magar (Help).