Hey, Old Friends! Encores! Merrily We Roll Along Begins Run at City Center

Encores! kicks off its 19th season with the Stephen Sondheim and George Furth musical Merrily We Roll Along. Directed by frequent Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, the musical opens at New York City Center on February 8 and continues through February 19.

Merrily We Roll Along stars Colin Donnell as Franklin Shepard, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Charley Kringas and Celia Keenan-Bolger as Mary Flynn in addition to Elizabeth Stanley as Gussie Carnegie, Betsy Wolfe as Beth Shepard and Adam Grupper as Joe Josephson. The production also features Zachary Unger, Whit Baldwin, Rachel Coloff, Ben Crawford, Joshua Dela Cruz, Bernard Dotson, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Marja Harmon, Leah Horowitz, Mylinda Hull, Michael X. Martin, Sean McKnight, Kenita R. Miller, Patricia Noonan, Andrew Samonsky, Pearl Sun, Charlie Sutton, Jessica Vosk, Karl Warden and Michael Winther.

Merrily We Roll Along examines the lives of three pals whose friendship is tested by time, events, ambition and fate. The story is told in reverse chronological order beginning in 1980 and ending in 1955. The musical first opened on Broadway on November 16, 1981 and ran for 16 performances. Lapine directed a re-worked version in 1985 at California's La Jolla Playhouse.