Rolling back in time | the griff

Tisha Raj -?writer

Merrily We Roll Along is the latest production from the Theatre Arts program at MacEwan University?s Centre for the Arts and Communications.

Merrily We Roll Along will be playing at the John L. Haar theatre from Feb. 10 ? 18 (except Feb. 13) at 7:30 p.m. daily. A matinee show will be held at 2 p.m. on Feb. 12.

New Yorkers, Frank, Mark and Charley started out as young men who dreamt of changing the world. However, over the years they grow jaded and cynical about life. The story, set in the mid ?50s, follows this trio of friends and their lives over 20 years. The audience sees how people change and adjust over time, struggling to maintain relationships and friendships.

?The interesting thing about the play is it?s reverse chronological. So we see the three friends at the end of their relationship at the top of the play and then we go backwards in time,? explains Jim Guedo who is the director of the musical and chair of the Theatre Arts program.

The musical first made its debut on Broadway with a cast of youthful actors. Guedo formats his rendition in a way that?s true to its premier. ?You have 19- and 20-year olds; they?re the perfect age for when the characters start but then they have to end up playing 40 to 50 year old people so it?s a great acting challenge but it?s also a great acting exercise,? says Guedo.

This musical comedy is by no means just fluff. Audiences will be able to see a retrospective of their own relationships, friendships, compromises and the price of success.

Fresh from the success of Xanadu, a funny piece of musical kitsch, Guedo chose Merrily We Roll Along for it?s more serious musical concept. He says, ?If our students are planning to pursue a career in a music theatre in the real world, it?s the extreme poles that we do something that?s of light entertainment and then we do something that?s more challenging.?

Guedo regards Steven Sondheim, the composer and lyricist of Merrily We Roll Along as ?the Mount Everest of musical theatre composers.?

The second-year students of the Theatre Arts diploma course star in the show. ?We?re teaching them simultaneously while we?re working with them like professionals,? says Guedo of his role as director. In addition to preparing students for a professional experience, Guedo makes his expectations clear to his students while still training in a lab.

Performers are faced with more dialogue, performance and character development.? This is a contrast to Xanadu a jukebox musical, where it was more choreography based.

?It?s alerting them to deal with the complexities of the language, whether it?s in the text or whether it?s in the songs,? says Guedo when asked about the new challenges faced by the performers.? He goes on to add, ?They have to do more detailed, connected-emotionally connected work; which is why we?re doing it, so they have both extremes.?

Guedo anticipates audiences to be entertained throughout the musical. ?The music is great. It?s a very brassy-bold score and there is a lot of humour in it,? says Guedo.

Due to the nature of the play, young audiences are able to get a vantage point of the future, whereas the older crowd will be able to appreciate the play for its relevance.

?I think everyone can identify within a universal way . . . in some ways there are some people who?ve had a friend that they?ve known since they were 15 and 40 years later they?re ?thick as thieves? ? what makes that friendship sustain where other ones you drift apart and you don?t connect, or there are some friends that you may not see for three years and when you meet you just pick up where you left off, and there are some you meet after three years and they?re somebody else,? says Guedo.

Source: http://www.thegriff.ca/2012/02/rolling-back-in-time/

lionel richie cma awards cma awards christmas tree tax cmas cmas world series of poker