“New York City hasn't seen Merrily since 1994, and for musical-theater (and Sondheim) aficionados, this is a don't-miss: Who knows when you'll have another chance to hear this score, with Jonathan Tunick's beautifully brassy orchestrations, played by 23 musicians? Seriously: 23 musicians! Gods of the theater, smile on us and bless us with a cast recording.”
–Entertainment Weekly

“In the nearly four decades I have been reviewing theater I have seen shows revived, altered, sometimes but seldom improved. But never --- until last night -- have I seen one totally, gloriously reborn…This production seems the fulfillment of the promise that was always in the score. It is a powerful reminder of what our musical theater can be at its best.”
–Howard Kissel, Huffington Post

“As Mr. Donnell, Ms. Keenan-Bolger and Mr. Miranda perform the seemingly blithe trio ‘Old Friends,’ you’re aware of the contradictory feelings of love and irritation and resentment that inform every element of the song. No composer of musicals has ever sustained as many strata of emotions in a single number (or a single phrase) as Mr. Sondheim does.”
–The New York Times

Merrily We Roll Along, composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim and bookwriter George Furth’s first collaboration following their landmark Company, opened on Broadway in 1981 to some of the most savage reviews of Sondheim’s career, closing after a run of only 16 performances. But fitting for a show that runs in reverse, the end was only the beginning of the story. Sondheim moved on to success with James Lapine on Sunday in the Park With George; Furth then encouraged Lapine to take a look at the show, beginning a major overhaul of Merrily by Sondheim and Furth that lasted over 20 years. In 2011, with the work complete, original orchestrator Jonathan Tunick was brought in to score the new songs; he ended up reorchestrating the entire score, giving it a consistency and clarity he felt it deserved. In 2012, New York City Center’s Encores! series premiered this new version of Merrily We Roll Along, starring Colin Donnell, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Adam Grupper, Elizabeth Stanley and Betsy Wolfe, and featuring a 23-piece orchestra conducted by Rob Berman. Howard Kissel in the Huffington Post found the show "totally, gloriously reborn... This production seems the fulfillment of the promise that was always in the score. It is a powerful reminder of what our musical theater can be at its best." Entertainment Weekly proclaimed it a "don’t miss" event, exclaiming, "Who knows when you'll have another chance to hear this score, with Jonathan Tunick's beautifully brassy orchestrations... Gods of the theater, smile on us and bless us with a cast recording!" PS Classics is proud to present a two-disc new cast recording of Merrily We Roll Along -- one, in effect, thirty years in the making -- complete with 52-page full-color booklet with essay, synopsis, lyrics, production photos and an expansive note (excerpted below) by Jonathan Tunick.

1. Overture
   
2. Merrily We Roll Along
   
3. That Frank
   
4. First Transition
   
5. Like It Was
   
6. Franklin Shepard, Inc.
   
7. Second Transition
   
8. Old Friends
   
9. Growing Up
   
10. Third Transition
    
11. Not a Day Goes By
    
12. Now You Know
    

1. Entr' acte
   
2. Gussie’s Opening Number
   
3. It's a Hit!
   
4. Fourth Transition
   
5. The Blob Part I / Growing Up (Reprise)
   
6. Good Thing Going
   
7. The Blob Part II
   
8. Fifth Transition
   
9. Bobby and Jackie and Jack
   
10. Not a Day Goes By (Reprise)
    
11. Sixth Transition
    
12. Opening Doors
    
13. Seventh Transition
    
14. Our Time