Merrily We Roll Along (Broadway version)

[BluBonnet]

(This is not to be confused with the Richard Linklater movie of the same name. A feature film adaptation, directed by Richard Linklater and starring Paul Mescal, Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein, is also in the works and set to be shot over the course of 20 years.)

Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Worldwide Rights To Broadway’s ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ Film Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff & Lindsay Mendez

Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired worldwide rights to the film of the recent hit Tony winning musical performance Merrily We Roll Along starring Tony Award winner Daniel Radcliffe, Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff, Tony nominee Lindsay Mendez, Krystal Joy Brown, Katie Rose Clarke and Reg Rogers.

Directed by Maria Friedman, the musical by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth spans three decades in the lives of three longtime friends – composer Franklin (Groff), playwright Charley (Radcliffe) and writer Mary (Mendez). Originally produced on Broadway in 1981, the musical has some of Sondheim’s most celebrated songs including “Now You Know,” “Not A Day Goes By” and “Old Friends.”

The musical also has presents one of Sondheim’s twistiest and most poignant tricks: Audiences witness the characters’ lives unfold backward, from their fractured adult friendships to their youthful optimism. While the musical has long been considered one of Sondheim’s most difficult to stage, the 2023-2024 Broadway revival directed by Friedman was widely praised as having conquered the show, in no small part through the acclaimed performances.

The film is produced by Sonia Friedman, David Babani, Patrick Catullo, F. Richard Pappas, RadicalMedia’s Jon Kamen, and Dave Sirulnick. Executive Producers include Meredith Bennett, No Guarantees Productions, Scott Abrams, Jonathan Corr, Mary Maggio, Jeff Romley, Tony Yurgaitis, Andrew Cohen, Amanda Lipitz, Henry Tisch alongside Co-executive producer Stephanie P. McClelland. Karla Zambrano and Alec Sash serve as Supervising Producers.

The production won the 2024 Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical, as well as Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Groff), Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical (Radcliffe) and Best Orchestrations.

Said director Friedman, “Sony Pictures Classics is the perfect home for our film. From the very beginning, they felt what we felt—that Merrily We Roll Along is, at its core, a universal story about friendship: how it changes, how it lasts, and how it shapes who we become. This isn’t just a stage production captured on film—it’s something more intimate. The camera lets us see every flicker of feeling, every quiet shift, in a way that brings audiences closer than ever.”