Merrily We Roll Along [2007 Bonus Tracks]

by Merrily We Roll Along / O.B.C.

Overview

Songwriter Stephen Sondheim and librettist George Furth's 1981 musical Merrily We Roll Along, based on the 1934 George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart play, was -- like its predecessor -- more of a critical success, at least over time, than a popular one. In fact, with a run of only 16 performances, the musical was an outright flop, the worst commercial failure in the career of Sondheim, Broadway's leading composer, since Anyone Can Whistle ran nine performances in 1964. The reasons may have been several, the most significant one perhaps being the same backwards structure adopted by the play (each scene takes place earlier in time than the one before it), which intrigued critics but tended to leave audiences confused and disengaged. Other reasons may have included the casting of young unknowns and the low-key staging and costumes, which consisted largely of sweatshirts. Then there was the plot, which concerned an idealistic young playwright (in the play) or composer (in the musical) who becomes jaded during the course of the story, except of course that in this telling he starts out jaded and becomes idealistic. In any case, the reason why the musical was remembered after those 16 performances and revived several times was Sondheim's score, which is one of his best. Writing from personal knowledge and covering the time period of his own career (1955-1980), Sondheim composed some of his most moving love songs ("Not a Day Goes By," "Good Thing Going") and some of his wittiest patter songs ("Franklin Shepard, Inc.," "Bobby and Jackie and Jack") in a collection that held together extraordinarily well. That young cast turned out to have some budding talents, including Lonny Price, who went on to a successful career as a stage director, and Jason Alexander, who starred on-stage (Jerome Robbins' Broadway) before achieving national television fame on Seinfeld. This is one of those cast albums, like House of Flowers or Anyone Can Whistle, that makes the listener marvel that the stage production could have failed when the music is so wonderful. [The 1985 CD reissue of the album added as a bonus track the song "It's a Hit!," which had been eliminated from the initial 1982 LP release for space reasons. The 2007 CD reissue added two more bonus tracks, one a previously unreleased demo recording of "It's a Hit!" enthusiastically performed by Sondheim himself, and the other a live performance of "Not a Day Goes By" by Bernadette Peters from her album Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall.] ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	03/20/2007
Label:	Rvg
UPC:	0828766863727
Rank:	85870

Tracks

1. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Overture
2. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~The Hills of Tomorrow / Merrily We Roll Along (1980) / Rich And Happy
3. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Merrily We Roll Along (1979-1975) / Old Friends / Like It Was
4. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Merrily We Roll Along (1974-1973) / Franklin Shepard, Inc.
5. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Old Friends
6. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Not A Day Goes By
7. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Now You Know
8. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~It's A Hit!
9. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Merrily We Roll Along (1964-1962) / Good Thing Going
10. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Merrily We Roll Along (1961-1960) / Bobby And Jackie And Jack
11. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Not A Day Goes By
12. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Opening Doors
13. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Our Time
14. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~The Hills Of Tomorrow
15. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~It's A Hit (Bonus track)
16. Merrily We Roll Along, musical~Not A Day Goes By (Bonus track)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Stephen Sondheim   Primary Artist,Lyre,Vocals
Original Broadway Cast   Primary Artist
Donna Marie Elio   Primary Artist,Vocals
Ann Morrison   Primary Artist,Vocals
Jim Walton   Primary Artist,Vocals
David Loud   Primary Artist,Vocals,Orchestra
Marianna Allen   Primary Artist,Vocals
Sally Klein   Primary Artist,Vocals
Lonny Price   Primary Artist,Vocals
Bernadette Peters   Primary Artist,Vocals
Jason Alexander   Primary Artist,Vocals
Clarissa Howell   Orchestra
Paul Pizzuti   Orchestra
David Shine   Vocals
Steven Jacob   Vocals
Charles McCracken   Orchestra
John Moses   Orchestra
Jack Gale   Orchestra
Tonya Pinkins   Vocals
John Beal   Orchestra
Liz Callaway   Vocals
Merrily We Roll Along Cast Ensemble   Choir/Chorus
Garry Stevens   Vocals
Janie Gleason   Vocals
Avron Coleman   Orchestra
The American Theatre Orchestra   Orchestra
Gary Stevens   Vocals
Harold Prince   Director
Charles Millard   Orchestra
David Cady   Vocals
John X. Reed   Orchestra
Paul Hyams   Vocals
Geoffrey Horne   Vocals
Clark Sayre   Vocals
Abby Pogrebim   Vocals
Alan Shulman   Orchestra
Tom Shea   Vocals
Seymour Barab   Orchestra
Paul Ingraham   Orchestra
David Gale   Orchestra
Les Scott   Orchestra
Tom Fay   Orchestra
Harriet Orenstein   Orchestra
Nick Cerrato   Orchestra
Irving Berger   Orchestra
Daisy Prince   Vocals
Roger Wendt   Orchestra
Steve Johns   Orchestra
Paul Gemignani   Conductor,Musical Director
Maryrose Wood   Vocals
Giancarlo Esposito   Vocals
George Maniere   Orchestra
Edward Strauss   Orchestra
Terry Finn   Vocals
Steve Uscher   Orchestra
Forest D. Ray   Vocals
James Bonkovsky   Vocals
John Campo   Orchestra
Robert Ayers   Orchestra
David Shiner   Vocals
Merrily We Roll Along Pit Orchestra   Orchestra
Mary Johansen   Vocals
Marc Moritz   Vocals
Abby Pogrebin   Vocals

Technical Credits

Clarissa Howell   Performer
J.J. Stelmach   Art Direction
Robert Kimball   Liner Notes
David Shine   Cast
Nick Sangiamo   Photography
Roxanne Slimak   Art Direction
Richard Jay-Alexander   Liner Notes
Steven Jacob   Cast
Charles McCracken   Performer
John Moses   Performer
Trio   Performer
Bernadette Peters   Performer
Joe   Performer
Jack Gale   Performer
Tonya Pinkins   Cast
Eddie Cantor   Composer
Darcy Proper   Mastering,Reissue Producer,Mastering Engineer,Reissue Coordinator
Johnny Hartman   Composer
Jay David Saks   Producer
John Beal   Performer
Didier C. Deutsch   Reissue Producer,Reissue Coordinator
Jonathan Tunick   Orchestration
Liz Callaway   Cast
Lonny Price   Cast
Charley   Performer
Elizabeth A. Wright   Editorial Director
John Reed   Performer
Nancy Lee Swift   Literary Supervision
Jim Walton   Cast,Cast
Al Miller   Preparation
Paul Pizzutti   Performer
Beth   Performer
Avron Coleman   Performer
Gary Stevens   Cast
Charles Millard   Performer
Martha Swope   Photography
David Cady   Cast
Donna Marie Elio   Cast
Paul Hyams   Cast
Geoffrey Horne   Cast
Clark Sayre   Cast
Thomas Z. Shepard   Producer
Alan Shulman   Performer
Tom Shea   Cast
Seymour Barab   Performer
Daisy Prince   Cast
Ann Morrison   Cast
Paul Ingraham   Performer
David Gale   Performer
Les Scott   Performer
Ted   Performer
Tom Fay   Performer
Harriet Orenstein   Performer
Mary   Performer
Jane T. Brier   Editorial Supervision
Nick Cerrato   Performer
Irving Berger   Performer
Mathilde Pincus   Preparation
Larry Fuller   Choreographer
Roger Wendt   Performer
Stephen Sondheim   Composer,Lyricist,Performer,Liner Notes
David Loud   Cast,Performer
Paul Goodman   Engineer
Steve Johns   Performer
Marianna Allen   Cast
Ruth Mitchell   Associate Producer
Maryrose Wood   Cast
Joy Gilbert Monfried   Project Director
Giancarlo Esposito   Cast
George Maniere   Performer
Frank   Performer
Terry Finn   Cast
Sally Klein   Cast
Steve Uscher   Performer
Forest D. Ray   Cast
Eduard Strauss   Performer
James Bonkovsky   Cast
John Campo   Performer
Robert Ayers   Performer
Terry   Performer
Howard Haines   Associate Producer
The Orchestra   Performer
David Brown   Performer
Joy Gilbert Manfried   Project Director