BWW Reviews: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at Le Petit Theatre

Le Petit Theatre wrapped up their 2014-2015 season with crowd pleaser MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. Music and lyrics written by none other than the amazing Stephen Sondheim, MERRILY tells the story of a one Franklin Shepard (Richard Arnold) and his rise to fame in Hollywood. Sounds like a dream, right? But you see, there's a catch. Frank's road to becoming a great Hollywood producer comes with loss in other areas of his life. He abandons his career as a Broadway musical composer along with his family and friends. Turns out fame and money aren't what bring Frank the happiness that he is looking for.

While the story seems tragic, and it is in a sense, the show is filled with humor and is told in quite a unique way... backwards! We start at the end of the story when Frank has reached the height of his Hollywood fame and is hosting a premiere party for his latest film with the most shallow and frivolous of his "friends." Mary Flynn (Leslie Castay), one of Frank's oldest and most darling friends, is in attendance and she is terribly disappointed by what Frank has become. As the play rolls along (pun intended), we go back in time to see the events from Frank's past that have gotten him to where he is at the play's start. We also meet his friend and fellow composer Charley Kringas (Kevin T. Murphy), and his past and present lovers Beth Shepard (April Lynn Nelson) and Gussie Carnegie (Wendy Miklovic).

I'll admit that I was a bit lost for the first 15 minutes or so of the show. I couldn't make sense of what was happening; although, I must attribute this to the way that MERRILY was written, and not to Le Petit's interpretation or the actors' performances. Once I caught on, I realized that not only did the play move backwards, but also the title song has a reprise after every scene to help the story move backwards from one year to the next. It was the thread that sort of kept the story held together.

While the cast as a whole did a great job, by far the stand out performance for me was Kevin T. Murphy as Charley Kringas. Mr. Murphy received quite a roaring applause after singing "Franklin Shepard, Inc.," and rightly so. This was the most natural scene in the whole show. Everyone who has a best friend knows what it's like to get absolutely ticked off at each other. You can only keep your mouth shut and stay polite for so long, but then there's something that tips you over the edge and you just can't hold it in any more. I like to call it 'verbal vomit.' Everything spills out of your mouth at once... all of the thoughts and feelings you've been bottling up inside... and no one can stop you until you've let it all out. Murphy captured this emotional outpouring so well that you couldn't help but to get made at Frank right along with him. What makes the scene even better is that while Charley is ranting on and on about how horrible Frank has been and how he needs to get back to composing, they are actually in the middle of a television interview... Oops. And that was the breaking point for Charlie and Frank. Friendship over.

It was also great to see Leslie Castay on stage again. I first saw Ms. Castay perform in Southern Rep's production of NEXT TO NORMAL, and I have been hoping to catch her in a show again. Castay has a way of playing her characters so that they pull on your heartstrings. Whatever Mary Flynn was feeling, I was feeling too... disgust and resentment towards Frank at his party, longing for the old days when the three amigos were the best of friends, love and infatuation for Frank, and excitement of meeting Charley and Frank for the first time as they watch Sputnik soar across the night sky. So many emotions, and so many beautiful moments!

Overall, I liked this show. It was very different from anything I've seen before, and as always Le Petit, you did a marvelos job of providing a lovely evening of entertainment.

Season tickets for Le Petit's 2015-2016 season are available now, and it looks like it's going to be a great one. You can look forward to OUR TOWN, THE BLUEST EYE, SLEEPING BEAUTY, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, and A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM. Click here for tickets and more information. We'll see you next season!

ARTICLE MAY ALSO BE VIEWED AT: http://www.nolabackstage.com/single-post/2015/07/02/BWW-Reviews-MERRILY-WE-ROLL-ALONG-at-Le-Petit-Theatre

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