THEATRE REVIEW: Merrily We Roll Along - The Longmore Theatre, Arden Theatre School, Manchester.

 


'Merrily We Roll Along' is a Stephen Sondheim forgotten gem, superseded these days by his later works. Written in the late 1970s off the back of his more famous 'Company', it tells the story of a famous composer, Franklin Shepherd, and his two best friends, lyricist Charley Kringas and writer Mary Flynn. The catch is that the story covers two decades but told in reverse, and so it ends with the three of them together, young, hopeful, looking forward to their lives and careers with adventure in the air, whilst we have already seen their disintegration and disappointments. 

The Arden School of Theatre's Musical Theatre third year students tackled this show today with all the energy and verve they could muster and they came out of it winning and smiling. Admittedly, they were, in the most part, tasked with playing characters that were older and more worldly wise than themselves and as such this was a difficult ask, especially when they have to become mini Benjamin Buttons! In general though this was managed with aplomb. This was a very accomplished and professional production in all ways, and director Nick Bond should be rightly very proud of his achievement.

A large band behind a screen at the rear of the stage worked well under the direction of Ollie Mills whilst the relevant dates were in red neon lights between them and the action. A real shame that they refused to work after the interval, but we understood.

The cast were a true ensemble this afternoon and although it seems only fair to praise the three protagonists more than others, it really cannot be done, since the whole team of 23 students brought this show to the high standard it was as one. This was one of the most proficient and slick shows I have seen the MT students perform in a long while; despite females having to play male roles (a problem with many student shows sadly as the number of female students often outweighs the male).

Jacob Hughes's simple but striking design worked well, as did the minimalistic but excellent choreography of Amy Corre, and the sound levels were just right too!

An almost perfect production performed by an obviously highly talented group who are nearing the end of their student days and blossoming into true would-be professionals. Just lovely!

Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
on - 11.12.25 

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