NEW YORK — On opening night of the Broadway revival of “Merrily We Roll Along,” one person in the audience was strangely not nervous — the director.
“It was the only time in my life that I felt completely calm,” said Maria Friedman, who directed the program for seven Tony Award nominations, including for the three lanes and their direction.
“When you drive something or do something, there’s always a crazy rush of adrenaline. I had that, but I had a very peaceful feeling that, whatever happens, this is the show I wanted to see. That’s how I wanted it.”
“Merry we roll,” the Stephen Sondheim- George Furth’s musical, which flopped when it opened on Broadway in 1981, came to glorious life under Friedman’s touch.
“This show was one of the most special experiences of my professional career,” he said. Daniel Radcliffe, who co-stars with Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Méndez. “To be nominated for this and for all three of us to be nominated — and the show and Maria, our director — is really lovely.”
Friedman was, in many ways, the best person to direct a new version. Her friendship with Sondheim lasted 40 years, she acted in a British production of the show in 1992 and directed a version at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2012.
“It’s in my marrow. She is with me. She will always be with me,” she said. “I feel continually grateful that this came my way.”
The exhibition moves back in time from 1976 to 1957 as it examines the friendship of three artists, Franklin, Charley and Mary. It begins with unhappiness, broken marriages, and hurt feelings, only to end with hope, becoming a bittersweet tale about youth and dreams and how we all eventually go off the rails.
The current Broadway revival dates back to the 1992 production, with Sondheim and Furth offering rewrites and changes. Years later, Friedman, having played Mary, initially thought it was, of course, all about Mary.
“So when I read the script and I was asked to direct it, I thought, well, who knew? Everything was leading to Frank,” she said. “We made this thread that goes all the way to the end, which is a beautiful leaf swaying in the wind, looking for anchors.”
Sondheim and Friedman were intertwined. She delved into his material for “Maria Friedman: By Special Arrangement,” her Sondheim solo show, and again in Sondheim’s “Passion” and to play Dot in the British premiere of “Sunday in the Park with George.”
“The thing about Steve is he was the most curious person. Like all the geniuses I met, he never stopped being interested in anything that was in front of him,” she said.
“I care as much about whether I get a cup of tea or a cup of coffee as I do about doing great work. Passion runs through my veins, my enthusiasm, my curiosity for life. I’m either asleep or I’m turned on.
When Friedman talked to Sondheim about reviving “Merrily We Roll Along,” she said she wanted to do it for him. “He said, ‘Don’t do this for me. Do this for you. That was it,” she recalled.
Sondheim didn’t want to talk about it or explain his work. He promised to attend a late rehearsal or preview when Friedman established his vision and only then would they have a conversation. “He wanted his work to be interpreted. He was a total contributor,” she said.
When he came, they talked about the opening number of Act 2, and she suggested he change the lyrics to “Growing Up” – he had written “folding tents” and she suggested “letting it go”, thinking that it was more colloquial. Sondheim consulted academics and the lyric change was approved.
Although he saw the production many times in London, Sondheim died before the critically and financially successful Broadway revival opened. He knew Radcliffe was on board and perhaps Groff.
“You can imagine my heart is full. I mean, really full. And there’s also a little crack because my dear Steve wasn’t there to see the commercial success.”
Broadway is in the midst of a Sondheim revival these days, with a star-studded revival of “Into the Woods” in 2022 leading to the Josh Groban-led “Sweeney Todd” a year later. “Gypsy” with Audra McDonald is expected to arrive later this year, and Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga will perform a revue featuring Sondheim songs next year.
What makes Friedman happiest is that his “Merrily We Roll Along” — one of the favorites to win best revival at the Tony ceremony on June 16 — has now been restored to the cannon.
“The sweetest thing is that now he’s on the same level as the greats, with his ‘Sweeney’, with his ‘Sunday in the Park with George’. ‘Gladly’ is being spoken as if it were for the best. For some people it’s because they have a lot of heart. There’s so much heart.”
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Mark Kennedy is in http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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