About the work
Merrily We Roll Along is a musical by Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) with a book by George Furth, premiered on Broadway in 1981. Based on a play by Kaufman and Hart, it is famous for its backward-told plot.
Plot
The story begins in the present and moves backward through time: the successful but disillusioned Hollywood producer Franklin Shepard has betrayed his ideals and his friends. Scene by scene the work leads back—through broken friendships, failed marriages, and lost artistic dreams—to that hopeful moment on a New York rooftop where the young Franklin, Charley, and Mary, full of idealism, plan their shared future.
Cultural significance
Merrily We Roll Along was a famous flop at its premiere, closing after only 16 performances, but is today regarded as one of Sondheim's most moving works. Songs such as Not a Day Goes By and Old Friends became classics. An acclaimed 2023 Broadway revival won several Tony Awards and definitively confirmed the work's rehabilitation as a masterpiece about time, friendship, and lost ideals.