In theater, chemistry is crucial, particularly in a musical about deep, long-lasting friendships. Fortunately, the stars of the highly anticipated Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along are filled to overflowing with admiration for one another and for the show they’re bringing to vibrant life at the Hudson Theatre after a sold-out 2022 Off-Broadway run. As they navigate the reverse chronology of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s portrait of three mixed-up people, Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez draw the audience in with empathy and immense talent.
Radcliffe, of course, needs no introduction. As the title star of eight Harry Potter films, he literally grew up on the big screen. As an adult, he has juggled independent films and challenging star turns in Broadway revivals of Equus and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Groff nabbed a best actor Tony Award nomination at age 22 for Spring Awakening and went on to TV’s Glee, Looking, and Mindhunter, as well as a juicy role as Agent Smith in the most recent Matrix film. Mendez won a Tony for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in the 2018 Broadway revival of Carousel before costarring in the CBS legal drama All Rise. During a lighthearted rehearsal-break chat with Broadway Direct, the stars referred to themselves as “theater nerds” thrilled to be sharing the stage for a second time in Merrily We Roll Along.
“The three of us have a very similar sense of humor and outlook on theater, which we love,” Mendez begins. “Jon and Dan are incredibly gifted actors — so complex, so present, and so fun to play with in every moment. It’s the biggest honor of my acting life to do this with the two of them.” Radcliffe praises Groff’s truthfulness and likability in the notoriously difficult role of composer-turned–film producer Franklin Shepard, and calls Mendez “one of the most ferociously talented people I’ve ever worked with.” Not to be outdone, Groff says that Mendez “has this backbone, this inner strength, that lifts the entire company. Her skill is off the charts.” As for Radcliffe? “Dan is like Beyoncé,” Groff declares with a laugh. “I’ve never met a person more passionate about acting. It’s an inspiration to be around him every day.” Laughing, Mendez concludes, “Our friendship will never fade!”
This mutual admiration is key to director Maria Friedman’s thrilling production, which invites audiences to identify with Franklin and his friends Mary Flynn, a novelist-turned-critic, and Charley Kringas, a lyricist-turned-playwright. In scenes that begin around 1980, we see the painful effect of Mary’s unrequited love for Frank over the prior two decades and Charley’s disappointment at the fracturing of his and Frank’s youthful songwriting partnership. “It’s a complicated show about a really simple thing,” Radcliffe observes. “It shows the complexity of relationships over time, which, in some ways, is an intimate story, but it’s also the biggest subject in the world.” Adds Mendez, “It’s rare to tell a love story about friendship, not to mention telling it backwards, which is a fascinating exercise for us as actors. Normally in a show, you carry everything you just did into the next scene, but here, you’re letting it all go [as the characters get younger]. That’s been hard, but also really fun and freeing — it forces us to stay absolutely present at every moment.”
In Friedman’s production, Franklin is the linchpin whose memories set the musical in motion, a framing that works because of Groff’s quiet magnetism. “He finds the truth in what Frank wants and never judges his character,” Mendez explains of her costar. “We all know people who bend the way the wind blows, but Jon does it with this incredibly huge heart and soul that no one can resist or say no to, including myself and Dan.” Groff modestly turns the conversation toward the show’s opening sequence, when every cast member — including wives, ex-wives, collaborators, and hangers-on — take the stage to sing “How did you get to be here?” during the title song. “We’re looking to the audience and encouraging them to track our journeys from the 1970s to the ’50s,” he says, “but we’re also asking them to reflect on their lives and how they got to be where they are. We’re inviting them to see themselves in all of us on stage.”
The miracle of Merrily, which had a disastrous Broadway debut in 1981, is that it includes some of Stephen Sondheim’s loveliest songs, including modern classics “Old Friends,” “Good Thing Going,” “Not a Day Goes By,” and “Our Time.” “It’s such an interesting Sondheim [score] because it is so hummable,” says Groff. “The songs are so tuneful, and yet the stories are so thorny; I think we ache for more musicals like that. This show is 42 years old, but it feels ahead of its time. It’s thrilling to deliver big scenes and complex characters and adult themes in a musical. It’s inspiring to young writers to be able to say, ‘You can write a show this complicated, and it can be on Broadway.’”
From the first note of the overture, Merrily We Roll Along is a deeply satisfying, emotional ride for both the stars and their audience. “When the music begins and the people start cheering, I’m thinking, ‘Oh my god!’” Radcliffe says with a laugh. “There is nothing better than doing a show you know people are excited to see.” Echoes Mendez, “We’re going nuts too, because it’s such an honor to be in this, and I’m happy we’re getting to share it with more people. This is what we all dreamed of when we moved to New York: a Sondheim musical on Broadway.”