From left, Junior Scott Burrows, senior Darion Roberts and senior Mallory Astrow make a pact their future selves will eventually break in West Springfield’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s lyrically complex musical “Merrily We Roll Along.” Photo courtesy of West Springfield Spartan Theatre Company
For a group of high school drama students full of hopes and dreams for the future, the message in performing a show where the tragic consequences of poor decisions are played out over the course of 20 years isn’t lost on them.
The West Springfield High School Spartan Theatre Company is preparing to open its spring musical, Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” on April 24. Though a veritable flop when it opened on Broadway in 1981, a British version that had been revived and retooled won the 2012 United Kingdom equivalent of a Tony award for Best Musical.
Senior Barbara Lawson plays Beth, lead character Frank Shepard’s first wife, and choreographed the production. The pit orchestra, set design, tech and projections are also primarily run by students, helping expand the categories for the musical’s consideration in the Cappies high school theater awards contest.
“It’s a challenging role, getting the arc of the character,” she said. “You have to be hopeful even though you know it’s so tragic.”
THE STORY of Frank (played by senior Darion Roberts) and his apparent fame and fortune as a Hollywood film producer is told in reverse, beginning in 1976. Working backwards in time, the audience sees how Frank compromises his friends, family, talent and ideals for a shot at success.
“Your actions cause basically everything that happens in your life,” added Lawson.
Junior Scott Burrows plays Charlie, Frank’s best friend. Taking a cue from the musical to his own life, he said he will “tread very carefully. It’s the perspective that just doing the right thing doesn’t mean it will make you happy.”
The themes of love and loss, especially from an adult perspective, were a challenge for senior Brandon Pelar, who normally appears in more comedic roles. Pelar plays producer Joe Josephson, whose wife leaves him. “The character is in his forties; I consider how it felt to have a friend leave and expand on that,” he said.
The emotional intensity of the show is something Pelar said “makes it much easier to access the characters,” along with the possibility not as many people have seen “Merrily” as more common high school musicals such as “Grease” or “Hairspray.”
Taking on the complex lyrics of Sondheim was something drama director Bernie DeLeo and music director Dustin Brandt knew a cast lead by a talented senior class could handle. Though even with talent and experience, the ensemble spent the entire first month of rehearsals primarily on music to get the words down.
Brandt, a musician and Falls Church resident, was hesitant about exposing the students to mature content about growing up that is “completely out of their reality,” but impressed with how excited they were to sing the music.
DeLeo sees it as a “cautionary” tale for the young thespians and audience members alike, about staying true to your interests when “you could chase money and let talent lie fallow.”
There’s a dark earnestness in the storytelling, that just as a character becomes likeable through their previous selves, reality sets in that their sad outcome has already been decided.
“[The students] love the dark, the challenge,” said DeLeo. “It’s great to see them embrace Sondheim, the show.”
"MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG” opens April 24 at 7 p.m. and continues April 25 at 7 p.m., April 26 at 2 p.m. and April 30-May 2 at 7 p.m. Tickets ($10) are available at www.spartantheatre.com. For more information on the National Capital Area Cappies, visit www.cappies.com/nca.