Merrily We Roll Along.

"Merrily We Roll Along" will be a top Tony contender for Best Musical come June. The show has everything in a great musical... great singing, excellent acting, big staging and effective lighting. Director Maria Friedman has the three main stars, Daniel Radcliffe, Johnathan Groff and Lindsey Mendez in top form.

The musical originally played for a short period of time in 1981 with Hal Prince as its director; its cast was almost exclusively teenagers and young adults and as a result was rejected by both critics and audience alike. In its recent production "Merrily" has a first rate cast. The stars and its ensemble cast bring high octane to this Stephan Sondheim, Kaufman and Hart piece.

"Merrily We Roll Along" played off off Broadway in late 2022 in the East Village.From its previews at NYTW the show garnered tremendous buzz leading up to its limited run at the Hudson Theatre. With mostly the same cast from downtown, "Merrily We Roll Along" is a splendid musical; both pleasing and its lightheartedness, the musical is warm and engaging. Much of that is due to great orchestrations (Johnathan Tunick), scenic and costume design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting by Amith Chandrashaker, and sound design by Tim Jackson.

The plot takes us from the early 80's then backwards to the late 1950's. As it unfolds, the three stars are in a strained relationship, Charley Kringas (Radcliff) and Franklin Shepard (Groff) are not longer speaking. Mary Flynn (Mendez) yearns for the old days and cannot stand what became of Shepard. In the early seventies the three had some tension, but they had a true bond and a genuine love and deep friendship. It ends up with the three just meeting one another, they were wide eyed and full of dreams, their worlds were just beginning.

With a very deep fall season on Broadway, "Merrily We Roll Along" is a must see! The musical clicks on all cylinders and is first rate!

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The Royal Hotel is a Bomb.

While Julia Garner and Jessica Henwick are good in their roles, director Kitty Green (she was one of the writers as well) had a weak direction and a weaker story. Co-written with Oscar Redding this movie goes nowhere! Henwick's character runs out of money while on vacation with Garner in Australia. The two are from Canada and can only find work in the male dominated, testosterone laden remote Outback mining town.

If the story doesn't seem ridiculous enough, the two work at night fending off the Aussie animals who smell fresh meat in the water. There are not too many likeable characters in this movie. The girls make mistake after mistake with guys, the risks they take and end up in a place that no one would ever believe.

While the cinematography is good, the direction is awful and the writing, where the plot takes us makes the audience start looking at their watches about 45 minutes into it. What were the writers trying to accomplish in this hour and a half movie is anyone's guess.

Some of the confusing parts are that one of the girls run out of money on a party cruise. Garner is hooking up with some random guy when her friend alerts her to her new found plight. The two go to a government office to secure a job for a few weeks. Why they end up in literally the middle of nowhere is weak at best. When they do arrive the place is so old and dilapidated, it seems like a throw back to the depression era.

The supporting cast are mostly unlikable adding to the viewing misery! The miners give new meaning to the word redneck. The girls serve drinks, clean up and after two days, wallah! They know more about the bar then the second generation owner and his miscast wife.

This movie has no imagination, limited acting and a horrible plot, which is why I give it a D.

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