In their hands,Merrily We Roll Alongmight be a Broadway hit at long last.
Merrily We Roll Alongbegins previews September 19 at the Hudson Theatre.
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Merrily We Roll Alongmade its Broadway debut in November 1981.
Sixteen performances later, it famously closed as a flop.
It immediately landed in the shadow of Sondheim and Princes previous work,Sweeney Todd.
But the show that contains them is a shambles.
Its failure broke down Sondheim and Princes collaborative relationship and became regarded as Sondheims black sheep.
I had no appreciation of the troubled history of the show until I watched the documentary.
Theres an inborn nervousness and a speed of thought evident in that song that I find exciting.
I like arguments in which no one is actually wrong people just want different things.
Thats maybe a difference in how we have talked about it versus other productions.
Thats just life sometimes, and no ones wrong.
In the early stages of the friendship, were all on the same page.
The mistake that we all make to a certain extent is we dont allow each other to change.
Shes an alcoholic trying to hold together these incredibly long relationships.Mendez:I got really drunk.
I go to that first.
What did you think when you were first cast together?Mendez:Jonathans how I got cast.
He was like, Lindsay should be Mary.
Dan was cast before either of us, but Dan didnt know either of us really, right?
An amazing actor and singer.
Even before meeting Dan, I had seen him inEquusand knew he was a theater animal.
Its likeWow, weve all seen Dan for the last 20 years in front of us.
[Groff and Mendez laugh.]
Then being like, Oh, fuck.
Groff and Mendez:Dan!
Radcliffe:I was watching them like, Theyve said so much.
I need to write notes to answer all the things that theyve said.
Were they about the show?Radcliffe:Yes and no.
Mendez:It was months and months before.
Lets be old friends.
Radcliffe:And now I send videos all the time.
Now Im like, You cant stop me.
Groff:Now you initiate sometimes.
I was rewatchingBest Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happenedand was struck by how young the original cast was.
I was ugly crying through that entire documentary because it was like sliding doors.
Mendez:I wouldnt have been brave enough to play Mary.
That part I could have done so beautifully.
But their story technically finishes at 40.
They could also not.
Theres not many friendships that are going to rise to that standard.
Jonathan, you havent mentioned Franks future past the show yet.Groff:I think healing begins.
Maria always says, you could start over again.
Its never too late in your life to be a good person.
I do think that this show is an offering for the audience.
There were people Off Broadway that would say, I called my dad.
I called my friend.
Radcliffe:Maria has specifically asked us to make eye contact with people in the audience.
There are some times you would see somebody a minute and a half into the show absolutely sobbing.
The specificity of that argument has gotten even deeper.
Mendez:I trust you both so much and you have my trust, so I can try something.
Theres so much care that theres no care needed.
Groff:It was hard at first to play the end at the beginning.
Mendez:When you sing, Its our time coming through, it just takes me back.
Thats how you fall into these moments.
How do you start the show at that place without any momentum?
How do you start at the end?Mendez:Ive gotten really good at snapping into a moment.
Thats what this play has done.
I leave hysterically sobbing and then have to come in and have it be five years earlier.
I do it 20 times in each show.
When we would finish the show Off Broadway, I would feel like I was 18.
I dont know this yet.
I dont know this yet.
I dont know this yet.
Groff:Its a life lesson.
Sometimes the things we take with us no longer exist.
And then I take that work into my life with my old friends.
With the level that you appreciate the show, is there a sense of responsibility toward it?
I definitely dont feel like the goal is redefining, but I share the sense of responsibility.
Its so fucking good, and I want to do justice to this story every night.
But theres a difference when were sitting and talking about it now.
But as an actor, Im not thinking about anything except the moment to moment of the show.
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