It started out like a song... And now the Merrily We Roll Along Broadway revival is getting a cast album. Sony Masterworks Broadway and the producers of the revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along have announced the New Broadway Cast Recording is now available to listen to digitally.
Directed by Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by George Furth. The Broadway revival officially opened October 10, after beginning performances September 19. It has since been breaking box office records at the Hudson Theatre. The limited run is set to continue through March 24, 2024.
The physical CD for Merrily will be released January 12, 2024, and is available for pre-order here. The recording includes new liner notes from Friedman and former New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley. See the album art below.
The tracklist is as follows:
Overture
Merrily We Roll Along
That Frank
First Transition
Old Friends — Like It Was
Franklin Shepard, Inc.
Second Transition
Old Friends
Growing Up
Third Transition
Not a Day Goes By (Intro)
Not a Day Goes By
Now You Know
Gussie's Opening Number
It's a Hit!
Fourth Transition
The Blob - Part I
Growing Up (Reprise)
Good Thing Going
The Blob - Part II
Fifth Transition
Bobby and Jackie and Jack
Not a Day Goes By (Reprise)
Sixth Transition
Opening Doors
Seventh Transition
Our Time
“Merrily We Roll Along’s initial short run may have been nothing but a footnote in the illustrious career of Stephen Sondheim without the preservation of his amazing score on the Original Broadway Cast Recording,” said Scott Farthing, EVP of Sony Masterworks U.S., in a statement. “How amazing that over 40 years later, Masterworks Broadway had the opportunity to memorialize the musical’s celebrated new revival to live alongside the iconic original album.”
Based on the George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart play by the same name, Merrily We Roll Along tracks the lives of three friends navigating the entertainment industry over three decades in reverse chronological order. Sondheim's score includes such songs as "Old Friends," "Now You Know," "Franklin Shepard, Inc.," "Good Thing Going," and "Not a Day Goes By."
The new Broadway cast recording is produced by David Caddick, David Lai, Joel Fram, and Maria Friedman. The album was recorded and mixed by Ian Kagey at Berklee at PowerStationNYC and Renaissance Recording NY.
Featured on the album are Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas, Jonathan Groff as Franklin Shepard, Lindsay Mendez as Mary Flynn, Krystal Joy Brown as Gussie Carnegie, Katie Rose Clarke as Beth Shepard, and Reg Rogers as Joe Josephson. Max Rackenberg and Brady Wagner are sharing the role of Frank Jr.
The cast also includes Calvin James Davis, Sherz Aletaha, Maya Boyd, Leana Rae Concepcion, Ken Krugman, Corey Mach, Talia Simone Robinson, Jamila Sabares-Klemm, Brian Sears, Evan Alexander Smith, Christian Strange, Vishal Vaidya, Natalie Wachen, and Jacob Keith Watson. Rounding out the company as swings are Morgan Kirner, Amanda Rose, and Koray Tarhan. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger.
The production features choreography by Tim Jackson and orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. Scenic and costume design is by Soutra Gilmour, with lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, sound design by Kai Harada, hair and wig design by Cookie Jordan, music supervision by Catherine Jayes, music direction by Joel Fram, associate music supervision by Alvin Hough, Jr., and music coordination by Kristy Norter.