New York Theatre Workshop announced today details for the Merrily We Roll Along CHEAPTIX Digital Lottery and, due to popular demand during the priority access period for NYTW members and Repeat Defenders, an additional two weeks of performances. Featuring music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a book by George Furth, and based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart, Merrily We Roll Along is directed by Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman and choreographed by Tim Jackson, Merrily We Roll Along is presented by special arrangement with Sonia Friedman Productions, the Menier Chocolate Factory (Artistic Director David Babani) and Patrick Catullo.
Merrily We Roll Along will begin previews at New York Theatre Workshop (79 E 4th Street, New York, NY 10003) on November 21, 2022, and is set to open on December 12, 2022. Originally set to run through January 8, 2022, Merrily We Roll Along will now run through January 21, 2023.
Spanning three decades in the entertainment business, Merrily We Roll Along charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends — writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. An inventive, cult-classic ahead of its time, Merrily We Roll Along features some of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal songs. Maria Friedman first directed the musical at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory which subsequently transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre to critical acclaim—the most five-star reviews in West End history—winning the Olivier Award for Best Musical.
Merrily We Roll Along will feature Jonathan Groff as “Franklin,” Lindsay Mendez as “Mary” and Daniel Radcliffe as “Charley”. The full cast of 19 additional performers will be announced at a later date.
The creative team for Merrily We Roll Along will include Catherine Jayes (The Color Purple) as music supervisor and Alvin Hough, Jr. (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) as music director, with scenic & costume design by Soutra Gilmour (& Juliet), lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker (The Lucky Ones), and sound design by Kai Harada (Mr. Saturday Night). Casting is by Jim Carnahan, CSA & Jason Thinger, CSA, with additional casting by Taylor Williams. Dave Anzuelo (The Great Society) will serve as fight & intimacy director, with Jhanaë K-C Bonnick (Slave Play) as stage manager.
The performance schedule for Merrily We Roll Along is as follows:
November 21 – December 11: Tuesday-Thursday at 7pm; Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; Sunday at 2pm & 8pm. There will be an added performance on Monday November 21 at 7pm. There will be no performance on Thursday November 24. There will be no matinee performance on Saturday November 26. There will be no public performances on Sunday December 11.
December 13 – January 21: Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesday at 1pm & 7pm; Thursday at 7pm; Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; Sunday at 2pm. There will be no performances on Sunday December 18 at 8pm; Saturday December 24; Sunday December 25; Saturday December 31 at 8pm; Sunday January 1; and Wednesday January 18 at 1pm. There will be added performances on Friday December 23 at 2pm; Monday December 26 at 7pm; and Friday December 30 at 2pm.
NYTW is committed to making tickets available to every production via its CHEAPTIX initiative. For Merrily We Roll Along, NYTW will offer all tickets for the first two performances plus a limited number of tickets to all other regular performances for $25 via a CHEAPTIX Digital Lottery in partnership with TodayTix. The lottery is offered in lieu of NYTW’s standard CHEAPTIX and CHEAPTIX RUSH programs to ensure that tickets are guaranteed at every performance.
TodayTix allows you to enter the CHEAPTIX Digital Lottery via the app, available in the App Store or Google Play Store. The lottery for the November 21 and November 22 performances will open at 2pm ET on Wednesday September 14 and entries will be accepted will be through 12pm ET on Monday September 19. The entry period for all other performances will begin each performance day at 12:01am ET and continue until winners are notified via push notification 3-4 hours before the selected performance begins. Entrants may request 1 or 2 tickets, and entry in the digital Lottery is free and open to all. All entry rules apply.
Single tickets for Merrily We Roll Along are $145. Standard ticketing fees apply. Tickets will now go on sale October 3, 2022, at 12pm ET to allow additional time for NYTW to prepare their system to accommodate everyone who wants to buy tickets. All non-lottery tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, online at NYTW.org or by phone from the NYTW Box Office at 212-460-5475. There will be no in-person sales on October 3, 2022. There will be a per-person limit of 8 tickets for this production.
In addition to Merrily We Roll Along, the NYTW 2022/23 season will feature american (tele)visions by Tow Playwright-in-Residence Victor I. Cazares (Pinching Pennies with Penny Marshall), directed by NYTW Usual Suspect Rubén Polendo (</remnant>); Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, in a new adaptation by Pulitzer Prize finalist Clare Barron (Dance Nation, You Got Older), directed by Tony Award winner and NYTW Usual Suspect Sam Gold (Othello, Fun Home); 2019 winner of the Yale Drama Prize, How to Defend Yourself by Liliana Padilla (Born 1000 Times), co-directed by Tony Award winner and NYTW Usual Suspect Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown), LilianaPadilla and Helen Hayes Award winner Steph Paul (The Last Match); and The Half-God of Rainfall by Inua Ellams (BarberShop Chronicles).