Merrily We Roll Along (Stage Production)
Louise
Gold played Gussie, at The Leicester Haymarket, previews between
14 April - 9 May 1992 (Previews from the 10 April 2002).
The
musical is notable for being "The
show that goes backwards"
Cast
Mary - Maria Freidman
Frank Sheppard - Michael
Cantwell
Gussie - Louise Gold
Charley - Evan Pappas
Joe - Gareth Snook
Beth - Jacqueline Dankworth
Waitress & Evelyn - Julie Armstrong
Terry & Minister - Jon Clairmonte
Meg - Lucy Dixon
K.T. - Kate Copstick
Ru - Phillip Day
Mrs Spencer - Michelle Fine
Bunker - Daniel Gillingwater
Make-up Artiste & Reporter - Deirdre Forrest
Scotty & Mr Spencer - Matthew White
Dory - Dwan Kastelle
Jerome - Phillip Wrigley
Dresser & Secretary - Karen Skinns
Tyler - Alan Mosley
Frank Jnr - Scott Bradley, Dominic Burr, Matthew
Fraser
Party Guests, reporters, TV crew etc
- played by members of the company.
Production Team
Music and Lyrics - Stephen Sondheim
Book - George Furth
Based on the original play by George S Kaufman and Moss
Hart.
Directed and Staged by - Paul
Kerryson
Designed by - Martin Johns
Orchestrations by - Jonathan Tunick
Musical Direction by - Julian Kelly
Lighting Designer - Chris Ellis
Sound - Shaun Knowles
The
cast of this production made a cast
album recording of the songs, which is available
as either a double CD or a single CD, the latter has also been produced on
cassette.
It
would seem likely that Sound person Shaun
Knowles may also be the same person credited as Sound Operator Sean Knowles in The Cherry Orchard ,
but it is not known for sure.
It
is perhaps worth noting that, with this being regional theatre, the productions
three leading ladies: Maria Friedman, Louise Gold, and Jacqueline
Dankworth, had to share a dressing room. Legend
has it (well Ms Friedman and Ms Gold have both told the story in their
respective one-woman shows, Maria Friedman By Special Arrangement
and LOUISE GOLD ... By Appointment
respectively) that on opening night the trio discovered that Stephen
Sondheim had sent every actor in the company the SAME good luck card and
message, namely: A photograph of himself which he had signed with the words “...out
of the entire cast you are by far the best.”
It
is perhaps worth noting that in Merrily We Roll Along, Gareth Snook’s
character, Joe is that of a producer of Broadway Musicals. It turns out that in
the same year that he played Joe in MWRA, Gareth Snook (along with the
Queen of West End Musical Directors, Kate Young) produced a charity
production of The Hired Man at The Palace Theatre in London,
and more recently he worked as a producer on a production of The King Of
Comedy.
Michael Cantwell, Louise Gold, Gareth Snook
and Michelle Fine would be reunited later that year in another Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins
.
Maria Friedman and Louise Gold had previously appeared together in Kids At Heart, they have gone on to appear
together in: A Time To Start Living, and Sondheim At The Barbican. They also
appeared separately in Chicago & Company, and may have
appeared together in Will-Aid
Louise Gold and Michelle Fine were also reunited on the JAY/TER
recording of Stop The World I Want To Get Off.
Louise
Gold and Gareth Snook later appeared on the JAY/TER recording of On The Town and Anything Goes (recording) - Website Recommended Album.
Michael
Cantwell, Louise Gold and Daniel Gillingwater were reunited several years later in One Touch Of Venus.
Louise
Gold returned to The Leicester
Haymarket theatre two and a half years later
to head the cast (which included Alan Mosley) in Calamity Jane.
Louise Gold, Maria Friedman, Jacqueline Dankworth, Michael
Cantwell, Kate Copstick, Lucy Dixon,
and, Gareth Snook subsequently appeared
on the JAY/TER recording of Cabaret.
Maria Friedman’s recording credits include The History Of The Musical
Julian
Kelly’s conducting can be heard on Simply Musicals, The
Great Musicals - Wonderful Tales, The Great Musicals – Dashing Heroes, Blushing Maidens,
and, The Best Of The Musicals.
Louise Gold under the direction of Paul Kerryson and the musical direction of Julian Kelly went on to appear in the Sondheim musical Follies: Follies
Orchestrator Jonathan
Tunick’s own conducting can be found on The Greatest Musicals of the 20th Century.
Louise
Gold spoke about this show on Tim McArthur Interview.
Louise
Gold has gone on to sing in the Side By Side By Sondheim 30th Anniversary Gala,
in which Stephen Sondheim himself put
in an appearance.
Lucy Dixon, and, Michelle Fine may have gone on to appear in Dear Ralph.
Jacqueline
Dankworth, Maria Friedman, and, Louise Gold’s recording credits include Centre Stage Showtime!, and, The Great Musicals - From Broadway to Hollywood.
Michael
Cantwell, and, Louise Gold went on to appear in Mary Poppins, and as part of The Company Of Mary Poppins in a late
night FUNdraising special.
Jacqueline
Dankworth’s recording credits include The Great Musicals – Laughter And Tears.
Jacqueline
Dankworth’s recording credits also include Magic Of The Musicals, on which Julian
Kelly’s conducting can also be found.
Gareth
Snook, Jacqueline Dankworth, Evan Pappas,
and, Deirdre Forrest may have
previously taken part in Thing A Thon, which Maria Friedman was involved
with.
Jacqueline
Dankworth, Maria Friedman, and, Julian Kelly’s recording credits include 100 Hits Musicals.
Louise
Gold, and, Jacqueline Dankworth’s recording credits include Let’s Go On With The Show – Hit Songs From The West End
& Broadway.
About
six months after this production, Louise
Gold’s mother was appearing on the same stage in a play called Blood
Wedding.
Stephen
Sondheim’s numerous credits of course also
include writing the lyrics for Gypsy, and, Candide In Concert.
Critics
Comments
"Louise
Gold sets the pulse racing as the vampish destroyer of Frank's first
marriage" Michael Coveney, THE OBSERVER, 26 April 1992
“Another Leicester
coup was Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, featuring some of our top young
talent like Maria Friedman, Louise Gold and Michael Cantwell.” Liz Gilbey,
Plays International, June 1992
"Louise Gold's Broadway vamp has an almost
burlesque style" Martin Hoyle, THE TIMES, 16 April 1992
"Louise Gold looks the part and belts out
her music in rip style; she handles her flamboyant party-talk with a certain
disdain, like someone who would prefer not to know anybody who talked like
that" David Murray, FINANCIAL TIMES, 18 April 1992
""Good thing going" cheapened to
a vulgar torch song for the vulgar Gussie (the excellent Louise Gold)"
Edward Seckerson INDEPENDENT, 15 April 1992
"Louise Gold gives us a canny, uncliched
parody of the predatory prima donna of Broadway." Robin Thorner,
THE GUARDIAN, 20 April 1992
Links about Merrily
We Roll Along (Stage Production)
The Guide To Musical
Theatre, Synopsis of show: http://www.nodanw.com/shows_m/merry_we_roll_along.htm
Sondheim
Guide page for Merrily We Roll Along: http://www.geocities.com/sondheimguide/merrily.html
About
Maria page for Merrily We Roll Along: http://www.aboutmaria.com/merrilywerollalong.html
Theatre
Radio’s interview with Louise Gold http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/news/display?contentId=88986
TheatreNow.Com
interview: Gold On Stage: Louise Gold
In Follies: http://www.theatrenow.com/asp/link.htm?news.asp?art=3430&cat=1 This
is an interview carried out by Theatre.Com’s Paul Webb, one hot summer’s day,
while Louise was appearing in Follies at The Royal Festival Hall. Although the
interview is ostensibly about her role in Follies she also talks about her
other Sondheim performances (including Merrily We Roll Along), along with:
Memphis Tennessee, Political Theatre, and Spitting Image.
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