REVIEW | Merrily We Roll Along, National Youth Music Theatre
Toby Owers (Franklin) Madeleine Morgan (Mary) Thomas Oxley (Charley) in Merrily We Roll Along. Photo Konrad Bartelski★ ★ ★ ★
Reviewer - Annie
*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review
There are few things I consider to be perfect in the world, however, a Sondheim musical is undoubtedly always on the list, especially one as special as Merrily We Roll Along. Sondheim’s music has held the power to transport audiences into total euphoria for decades, and the fact that his scores have the ability to withstand as the world evolves proves how worthy of adoration they really are.
Last night I had the absolute pleasure of attending the Press Night for the National Youth Musical Theatre’s production of the show at Southwark Playhouse Elephant. To say I had high expectations, as it is one of my favourite scores ever, is perhaps an understatement. However, the night was just as magical and nostalgic as I could’ve hoped.
Although to some (perhaps) Merrily may seem a slightly mature choice for a youth theatre production, it was perhaps my favourite adaptation. The musical starts at their eldest age, and moves back to the three leads meeting in their early twenties, so the ageing of the cast worked entirely differently to some other productions where the cast fitted the latter half of the story - opposed to the first act. With this it brought a wonderfully nostalgic understanding to the show and the characters; the second act became more heartwarming and innocent, leaving the bitter moments even more heart-wrenching.
The young cast certainly have bright futures ahead of them - the level of talent on the stage was on par with some professional productions I have seen. Also, it is no secret that Sondheim’s music isn’t particularly the easiest to sing, making the cast’s performance even more impressive.
The leading trio; Franklin Shepard (Toby Owers), Charley Kringas (Thomas Oxley) and Mary Flynn (Madeline Morgan) all provide extremely strong performances and their vocals beautifully harmonise with one another - creating truly authentic and raw portrayals. With the show’s story happening in reverse, the arc of the story also starts with the most heightened emotions and works back to the traditional set up of each character’s personality. All three deal with this complex story brilliantly and have entirely embodied their characters and understood their stories. Owers is a true showman - confidently leading the company and retaining energy and professionalism. Oxley and Morgan both offer stunning performances - special shoutout must be given to Oxley’s “Franklin Shepard Inc” which was just sublimely performed and articulated so impeccably.
Another standout performance was Sophie Lagden as Gussie Carnegie - who portrayed the character with such confidence and breeziness - it was a wholly professional level performance.
The ensemble work, and play off of one another brilliantly - with slick movement and gorgeously tight harmonies, they animate the score so wonderfully. Though choreography is not used hugely in the show, the movement and physical skills used to accompany the music throughout and create a lovely flow through the show. The ensemble’s movement pieces in “The Blob” was very cleverly crafted piece that they executed so seamlessly.
The use of the stage was cleverly thought through, with an upper balcony creating height, given that the space is somewhat limited this was a smart move to create more interest and levels. The rest of the staging is kept simplistic, using only key motifs in certain scenes. This certainly was a carefully discussed option and props are only used when assisting a plot - which does create a higher level of professionalism - by not trying to over-dress the show. As a result, the costuming has been cleverly curated to set the scene - heavily implying which decade of the show we are in. Costumes use motifs to allude to the decade’s styles, however at times they do seem slightly muddled, more consistency across the ensemble would have helped the stage look more uniform. However, due to the small space, this smartly dresses the stage without the need to heavily rely on props and furniture.
Although the cast is extremely talented, with all leading roles having incredibly strong and often mature voices - there is a lack of diversity within the cast. As a company which is striving to encourage and support the next generation of musical theatre performers - it would have been great to have seen more diversity within the cast, or within the leading roles.
Overall, the company produced an extremely strong revival of a much loved classic - proving that both the future of Sondheim, and musical theatre is being left in extremely capable hands. I cannot wait to see what is in store for these young performers, and am excited to see the future of musical theatre flourish and continue to inspire the younger generations.
