After 44 previews, Stephen Sondheim & George Furth's musical Merrily We Roll Along first opened on November 16, 1981 at Broadway's Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon). It played only 16 performances before closing, but has since gone on to become a beloved, cult favorite for Sondheim fans, inspire the documentary Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened, and receive countless revivals the world over—each trying to crack the code that makes the show work. Below, BroadwayBox showcases several of these productions as well as concert performances to create the ultimate Merrily experience. (Sorry for all the bootlegs, but it's Merrily!)
Overture (Charlie Rosen’s Broadway Big Band)
Merrily We Roll Along (2017 Huntington Theatre)
That Frank (2002 Kennedy Center)
Old Friends (2012 Encores!)
Like It Was (An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin—starts at 1:51)
Franklin Shepard, Inc. (2002 Kennedy Center)
Growing Up (Jim Walton at the Sondheim Birthday Concert)
Not a Day Goes By (Bernadette Peters in Concert)
Now You Know (Molly Pope in Concert)
Gussie’s Opening Number (Lauren Baez in Concert)
It’s a Hit (1996 Australian Company)
The Blob (2009 Hebrew Company)
Good Thing Going (2016 Wallis Theatre)
Bobby and Jackie and Jack (Baldwin Wallace/Music Theatre Project)
Not a Day Goes By Reprise (Lynchburg College)
Opening Doors (HBO’s Six by Sondheim)
Our Time (OBC)
