Stage to Screen: Merrily We Roll Along
Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff are lifelong friends in this filmed version of Stephen Sondheim's critical and commercial Broadway smash.
Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff are lifelong friends in this filmed version of Stephen Sondheim's critical and commercial Broadway smash.
Spanning three decades, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends—Mary and Charley. Featuring some of Sondheim's most celebrated and personal songs, the 2023 production won several Tonys, including best musical revival and acting awards for Groff and Radcliffe.
Told in reverse chronology over decades, the musical follows their friendship—Shepard (Groff), writer Mary Flynn (Lindsay Mendez) and playwright Charley Kringas (Radcliffe). The show features Sondheim classics like Old Friends and Franklin Shepard Inc. Maria Friedman, who helmed the stage show and was praised for finding a way to deftly crack the show's intricate narrative structure, also directed the cinematic version.
"Merrily We Roll Along is, at its core, a universal story about friendship: how it changes, how it lasts, and how it shapes who we become," Friedman said in a statement. "This isn't just a stage production captured on film—it's something more intimate."
