The cast album of the currently running Broadway revival of “Merrily We Roll Along” has been digitally released from Sony Masterworks Broadway. The cast announced the release during the curtain call of the Nov. 14 evening performance. The Nov. 15 album drop was accompanied by the release of a music video featuring the titular song.
The album features Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-nominated score with orchestrations by Tony winner Jonathan Tunick. A physical CD will be released on Jan. 12, 2024.
In a company led by Tony nominee Jonathan Groff as Franklin Shepard, Tony winner Lindsay Mendez as Mary Flynn and Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas, the cast recording also features performances by Krystal Joy Brown as Gussie, Katie Rose Clarke as Beth, Tony nominee Reg Rogers as Joe and Max Rackenberg and Brady Wagner as Frank Jr. (Calvin James Davis joined the company also as Frank Jr. after the album had been recorded.) Rounding out the company are Sherz Aletaha, Maya Boyd, Leana Rae Concepcion, Morgan Kirner, Ken Krugman, Corey Mach, Talia Simone Robinson, Amanda Rose, Jamila Sabares-Klemm, Brian Sears, Evan Alexander Smith, Christian Strange, Koray Tarhan, Vishal Vaidya, Natalie Wachen and Jacob Keith Watson.
“‘Merrily We Roll Along’’s initial short run may have been nothing but a footnote in the illustrious career of Stephen Sondheim without the preservation of his amazing score on the original Broadway cast recording,” said Scott Farthing, executive vice president of Sony Masterworks U.S., in a statement, referring to the original Broadway production of “Merrily,” which ran for only 16 performances in 1981. The current revival opened on Oct. 10 at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre, where it has broken several box office records. Its limited run is scheduled to end March 24, 2024, having extended from a previously announced closing date of Jan. 21.
“How amazing,” continued Farthing, “that over 40 years later Masterworks Broadway had the opportunity to memorialize the musical’s celebrated new revival to live alongside the iconic original album.”
Featuring a book by George Furth, based on a 1934 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, “Merrily We Roll Along” follows the decades-long progression of three friends as they navigate not only show business, but their personal relationships.
The cast recording is produced by David Caddick, David Lai, Joel Fram and Maria Friedman, the latter of whom directed the production. Additionally, Friedman jointly provided the album’s liner notes, along with former New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley.
“Merrily We Roll Along” is produced on Broadway by Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Patrick Catullo and Jeff Romley.
