yet another unhinged merrily rant but can we momentarily appreciate the majestic thematic grandeur of the overture? firstly, despite some folks' complaints of orchestral shallowness, i think the pit for the current broadway production is spectacular, and frank(lin sheppard)ly unrivaled by previous productions.
Joel Fram's music direction showcases brilliant musical storytelling, and he masterfully conducts the 14 musician orchestra (14, by the way, is the same musician count for the touring company of les mis [a show with a famously booming score] for example, so complaints of the pit's hypothetically lackluster nature based solely on its makeup are frank(lin sheppard)ly un-based. one potential reason i conjure as to why veteran merry-rollers take umbrage with the new broadway cast recording is simply due to improved audio quality. the crisper sound makes the instrumentation sound pared back when really the swingers are swinging in full swing.
anyways, to reorient this post; the overture goes unnecessarily hard. it poignantly expresses the symbolic journey of the show before the audience even has the chance to realize what they're getting themselves into. starting with the business-y "That Frank," leitmotif, we quickly progress into the musical mayhem that is the distorted creativity leitmotif (featured prominently in “Growing Up,” “Good Thing Going,” and “Franklin Sheppard Inc.”) which is used transitionally throughout the overture. It brings us through “Now You Know” into the aforementioned “Good Thing Going,” which is arguably the emotional core of the show, and then, in one of the most palpable title-cards I’ve ever hear in an overture, “Old Friends.”
unlike some other overtures, merrily’s acts similarly to a shakespearean prologue, whispering the themes and plot of the show into the audiences ear even before the first utterance of the opening number.
I've never had this experience particularly with these two. I'm feeling so much love and admiration and respect and at the same time, it feeling like family... it's crazy.
I never thought I'd get so much enjoyment watching people take those lie detector tests, yet here I am watching Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez and I am having the time of my life with it. I haven't even seen Merrily We Roll Along but I'm so entertained bc I love all three of them and their chemistry alone makes me want to see the show