_____           _____  
|  ___|_ _ _ __ |  ___|_ _ _ __ ___ 
| |_ / _` | '_ \| |_ / _` | '__/ _ \
|  _| (_| | | | |  _| (_| | | |  __/
|_|  \__,_|_| |_|_|  \__,_|_|  \___|
overthinking entertainment

Movie: Merrily We Roll Along

Filmed recording of the hit Broadway stage production from 2024. Johnathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez star as three best friends whose relationships unravel over the course of about 20 years - only the story is told backwards. Featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by George Furth.
Currently screening in movie theaters through Fathom Entertainment.

The production was filmed in June, 2024, shortly after winning four Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Orchestrations for Jonathan Tunick, Leading Actor in a Musical for Groff, and Featured Actor in a Musical for Radcliffe.

Playbill.com list of links to reviews of the film.

For more on how the original 1981 version of the show became a famous flop, see The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened, available to rent/buy on Amazon.
posted by dnash on Dec 05, 2025 at 9:43 AM

---------------------------

I had the good fortune to see this live (on a different night), and it was excellent. I'd previously seen Radcliffe in How to Succeed and Lifespan of a Fact, and he never disappoints.
posted by jedicus at 9:53 AM

---------------------------

I've been on a Sondheim kick the last few years, but I haven't seen any performance of this play, so I'll be looking forward to it. Thanks.
posted by growabrain at 11:15 AM

---------------------------

I was blessed enough to see it live on stage twice (once when Lindsay Mendez was absent). IF YOU CARE ABOUT SONDHEIM AT ALL, you gotta see this. Really amazing work. Groff and Radcliffe earned those Tonys.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:03 PM

---------------------------

I also saw this twice on stage, fully agree about Groff (of course) and Radcliffe! The chemistry with all three leads was off the charts.

Here they are being insanely cute:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29uZb6wnqfw&list=RD29uZb6wnqfw&start_radio=1

& Daniel Radcliffe's "Frankin Shepard Inc"... I guess this was a promo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FZ0CeEIYu4

In related news, it appears that Richard Linklater's reprising his "Boyhood" style of filmmaking with a production of "Merrily" that films over the course of a couple decades. Supposed to wrap in 2040ish. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrily_We_Roll_Along_(film)
Main cast: Paul Mescal, Ben Platt, Beanie Feldstein
posted by torticat at 11:13 AM

---------------------------

Seeing this tomorrow!! thanks for posting!
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:11 AM

---------------------------

Sondheim fans might already be familiar, but while googling Ben Platt the other day I also came across this, appropriately...

This is only tangentially related to "Merrily" (and Beanie and Ben at 32:58 aren't all that), but the ladies at 1:58:47? May they live forever
posted by torticat at 3:11 PM

---------------------------

Saw this tonight, and I did see it on Broadway as well, with the main six cast members all in that night.

My overall impression hasn't changed, which is that for me, Lindsay Mendez steals the show, particularly in "Now You Know."

My impression of this pro shot in particular is . . . I missed the set! We're sooooo tight in on the characters for most of it, I had to rely on my memory to even picture what the set looked like. It also means not seeing all three of them at the same time as much (or all four, or all six, depending on what year we're in), which made the whole thing feel much more all about Frank than all about friendship.

Still, I was really happy to see it again. This was my favorite bit of ancillary media with the cast.
posted by lampoil at 5:17 PM

---------------------------

My impression of this pro shot in particular is . . . I missed the set!

EXACTLY! It was nothing but sweaty closeups. Not to say that ruined it for me, but damn, throw us a Broadway-experience bone every now and then, whydontcha? No sense of space, no big picture, nothing. Jealous of those who got to see it all for real.

[It] made the whole thing feel much more all about Frank than all about friendship.

And THIS. My friend, who had zero experience with the show, called it "an episode of this WAS your life" for Frank. But as someone who's seen it (and performed in it), my take is, the focus was never meant to be just on him. It's an equal-opportunity tragedy in reverse for all of them.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 3:43 AM

---------------------------