Orlando – Valencia College Theater invites audiences to follow a trio of lifelong friends backward in time through three decades in June when the college presents the hit musical, “Merrily We Roll Along.”
With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, the musical carries audiences back in time, from 1976 to 1957, as the three characters navigate success and show business.
The musical opens at Valencia College’s Black Box Theater on June 7, for seven performances, including a matinee on June 9. Tickets are available at https://tinyurl.com/mssv4x9z
The show tells the story of how three friends’ lives and friendship change over the course of 20 years, focusing on Franklin Shepard, a talented composer of musicals who, over those 20 years, abandons his friends and songwriting career to become a Hollywood movie producer. The show’s story moves in reverse chronology, beginning in 1976 at the friends’ lowest moment and ending in 1957, at their youthful best.
“Merrily We Roll Along” is a 1981 American musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth. Sondheim and producer Hal Prince based the musical on a 1934 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.
The musical premiered on Broadway in 1981 but was not a commercial success. A 2023 Broadway revival, however, has earned acclaim from critics and audiences, and garnered seven Tony nominations, including “Best Revival of a Musical,” “Best Direction of a Musical” and acting nominations for the three lead actors: Jonathon Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez.
The latest production “transports us back to a more idealistic age: when possibilities seemed endless, friends were forever, and hopes weren’t yet dashed by life’s realities,” noted critic Patrick Ryan of USA Today.
Valencia College’s production of the musical opens on Friday, June 7, with additional performances on June 8, 10, 13, 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m. A matinee performance will be held on Sunday, June 9, at 2 p.m.
The play will be staged at Valencia’s Black Box Theater, in Building 3 on the college’s East Campus, located at 701 N. Econlockhatchee Trail, Orlando.
Tickets to Valencia College’s production are $15 for general admission; $10 for students, alumni, faculty, staff, senior citizens and members of the military; $7 for children 12 and under.
“Merrily We Roll Along” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com
Music and Lyrics by Book by Stephen Sondheim, George Furth
Based on the original play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Originally Directed on Broadway by Harold Prince
Originally produced on Broadway by Lord Grade, Martin Starger, Robert Fryer
and Harold Prince, in association with Ruth Mitchell and Howard Haines
Any video and/or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.