Merrily We Roll Along

For a show that folded after 16 performances, Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along has certainly proven to be one of the most durable works of the modern stage, and I doubt a year goes by when it doesn't have multiple productions around the world. There may have been problems with the book and the staging concept in 1981 (opinions differ), but the show has been revised and tweaked over the years to let the glories of the score shine on.

I have never been able to take seriously the suggestion that the mere fact of the action running in chronological reverse poses any serious barrier to enjoyment. Movies have used that and similar tricks many times, and audiences are nimble - let's give them some credit. A considerable emotional power can arise from the flipping of chronology, so that when you finally get to the beginning of the story - which is the end of the narrative - the effect is overwhelmingly moving. The reason why is clear: beginnings abound in possibilities, but the forward movement and eventual denouements of storytelling ultimately foreclose all possibilities but one - the story we have been told. When we see a beginning already knowing what will be foreclosed, the result often seems tragic even though the beginning itself is optimistic. Two works as otherwise dissimilar as Merrily We Roll Along and Gaspar Noe's film Irreversible make powerful use of this technique.

The closing number of Merrily, "Our Time," chokes people up because of the juxtaposition of what we know and the characters don't. A group of young people are gathered on a New York rooftop in October 1957 to watch Sputnik go by. This video clip is from a 2006 performance in Barcelona, I'm not sure whether in Spanish or Catalan; the performers are fresh and appealing and give the song its full emotional value (although I have to say, I will never get used to visible miking!). I give the English lyrics below.



Something is stirring
shifting ground
It's just begun.

Edges are blurring
all around
and yesterday is done

Feel the flow
hear what's happening
We're what's happening

Don't ya know
We're the movers and
We're the shapers
We're the names in tomorrow's papers
Up to us, man, to show 'em.

It's our time
Breathe it in
Worlds to change and worlds to win.

Our turn
coming through
Me and you, man, me and you.

Feel how it quivers
on the brink
(What?)
Everything

Gives you the shivers
Makes you think
There's so much stuff to sing

And you and me
We'll be singing it
Like the birds
me with music and you the words
Tell 'em things they don't know.
Up to us, pal, to show 'em.

It's our time
Breathe it in
Worlds to change and worlds to win.
Our turn
We're what's new
Me and you, pal, me and you.

Feel the flow
hear what's happening,
We're what's happening.

Long ago
All we had was the funny feeling
Saying someday we'd set them reeling
Now it looks like we can
Someday just began.

Something is stirring
shifting ground
It's just begun.

Edges are blurring
all around
and yesterday is done

Feel the flow
hear what's happening
We're what's happening

Don't ya know
We're the movers and
We're the shapers
We're the names in tomorrow's papers
Up to us, man, to show 'em.

It's our time
Breathe it in
Worlds to change and worlds to win.

Our turn
Coming through
Me and you, pal, me and you.

Years from now
We'll remember and we'll come back
Buy the rooftop and hang a plaque
This is where we began
Being what we can.

It's our heads on the block
Give us room and start the clock
Our dreams coming true
Me and you, pal, me and you.
Me and you.
Me and you.
Me and you.
Me and you.
Me and you.
Me and you.
Me and you.