Merrily We Roll Along
This musical tells the story of a composer turned Hollywood impresario by looking backward to learn what it cost to get there. Based on an earlier play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, Merrily We Roll Along features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth, and was originally produced on Broadway with a youthful cast playing the characters at all ages. It should be a good match for this production mounted by the Capital City Theatre Conservatory program, featuring musical theater students and program alumni working with professionals such as director Kitt Lavoie (who also directed a documentary about the original Broadway cast, Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened). Shows at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 5-6 and 2 p.m., Aug. 7. More info and tickets at capitalcitytheatre.org.
press release: Capital City Theatre, Madison’s professional regional Equity musical theater company, presents the Conservatory production of Merrily We Roll Along Aug. 5-7, 2022 at Mitby Theater, located at 3550 Anderson St, Madison. Tickets are on sale now at CapitalCityTheatre.org for $20 adults/$15 students. Capital City Theatre respectfully requests that audience members wear a mask during the performance.
Based upon George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s 1934 play of the same name, Merrily We Roll Along follows the successful career of Broadway composer turned Hollywood producer, Frank Shepard. Throughout the course of the show, during which time regresses from 1976 to 1957, we learn how Frank, with the help of his best friends, Charley (who writes the books and lyrics) and Mary (who is a writer in her own right and is always around for support and guidance), accomplishes his career goals.
The trio of friends are inspired to become big players in American musical theatre. After witnessing the Russian satellite, Sputnik, orbiting the earth on a cold October night, they feel destined to “change the world.” However, over time, Frank learns what the cost could be of putting fame and fortune above friendship. Directed by Kitt LaVoie, Writer and Producer of the documentary featured on Netflix, “Best Worst Thing That Could Have Happened” about the original Merrily We Roll Along Broadway production.
The cast and crew of Merrily We Roll Along are made up solely of Capital City Theatre Conservatory (CCTC) students and alumni working alongside and mentored by a professional production team. This is the next stepping stone for conservatory students who have participated in CCTC’s Find Your Light performance intensives. This will be Capital City Theatre’s third CCTC production.
“The CCTC performance of Merrily We Roll Along implements all the protocols, etiquette, and collaborations they will encounter when working professionally,” said Gail Becker, Director of Education at Capital City Theatre. “This production is a fully produced show with a 13-piece professional orchestra. Sets, sound, costumes, etc. are designed by professionals and fully budgeted. The cast is exceptionally talented and a reflection of our premiere training programs.”
Kitt Lavoie, director is also a, playwright, filmmaker, arts administrator, and educator. He is the only living playwright to have had their plays performed on all seven continents. Plays and musical books include Sabbatical (Lincoln Center), Kiki Baby (Theater for the American Musical Prize), and realer than that (winner, Samuel French New Play Festival). He wrote and produced the acclaimed documentary Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened, about the original Broadway cast of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along (New York Times' Top 10 Films of 2016, Playbill’s Top Five Theater Documentaries, Evening Standard‘s Ten Best Arts Documentaries, Esquire’s 20 Best Documentaries of All Time). As a theatre director, Kitt has staged more than 150 productions in the United States, Europe, and Asia with a special focus on new work. He is Artistic Director of the Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival and for 22 years was Artistic Director of The CRY HAVOC Company, a new play development theater in New York. Kitt is a member of the acting and directing faculty at NSKI Høyskole in Olso and at the Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance at Southeast Missouri State University where he heads the Acting and Musical Theatre Performance programs. Kitt holds an MFA in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School at New School University and is a member of the Dramatists Guild (Kansas City/St. Louis Regional Representative), the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.
Andrew Abrams, musical director, has worked Off-Broadway, regionally, and on tour as a professional director, musical director, conductor, composer, and Equity actor. Off-Broadway: Between the Lines (York Theater), Pirates of Penzance (New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players). Tours: Cinderella (with Eartha Kitt), State Fair (with John Davidson), Cabaret (with Andrew McCardle), Kiss of the Spider Woman, Fiddler on the Roof (with Theodore Bikel). Regionally: Masterclass (with Rosemary Prinz), Mikado (Theatre Virginia) and numerous others. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from UW-Madison and a Master of Arts in Musical Theatre from University of London-Goldsmiths. He is a graduate of the advanced year of the BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop in New York City, where he wrote But I’m a Cheerleader, the Musical, which showcased in Trafalgar Square at West End Live in June, 2019, and had its first commercial production at the Turbine Theatre in London in February, 2022. For CCT, Andrew recently directed the sold-out run of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 18, Edges and Musical Directed/Conducted most of the other mainstage productions. He has also served on Faculty at NYU, Hofstra University, New York Film Academy, and Mountview Academy in London.
To learn more about Capital City Theatre’s Conservatory Program and learn more about the Find Your Light program, go to visit https://capitalcitytheatre.
To purchase tickets to Merrily We Roll Along, go to https://app.arts-people.com/
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