‘Merrily We Roll Along’ looks to turn triumphant Tony-winning revival into Hollywood awards gold
Merrily We Roll Along rolled its way through the 2024 Tony Awards, winning four of the seven trophies it was nominated for, including Best Musical Revival, Jonathan Groff for Lead Actor in a Musical, and Daniel Radcliffe for Featured Actor in a Musical. Now the filmed performance of their take on the Stephen Sondheim standard is looking to repeat its golden success at the upcoming movie awards.
While Merrily We Roll Along is not eligible for the Oscars, due to the same Academy rules about filmed performances that derailed Hamilton‘s shot, Gold Derby has exclusively learned that the Merrily movie version is able to compete for the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards and several guild awards, including the Producers Guild, Directors Guild, SAG’s Actor Awards, and the ACE Eddie Awards.
Sony Pictures Classics will submit Merrily in the comedy/musical categories for the Globes, including Best Musical/Comedy Film, Best Musical/Comedy Actor for Radcliffe and Groff, and Best Musical/Comedy Actress for Lindsey Mendez. The trio of performers will also be submitted as leads for SAG’s Actor Awards and the full cast will be entered for Best Ensemble.
Radcliffe and Mendez both got promotions for the purpose of the upcoming Hollywood awards; they were entered in the featured category at the 2024 Tony Awards.
The filmed version of Merrily We Roll Along will be released by Sony Pictures Classics and Fathom Entertainment on Dec. 5
Inspired by a 1934 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, Sondheim and collaborator George Furth‘s Merrily chronicles the coming together and splitting apart of three old friends: Franklin Shepard (Groff), Charley Kringas (Radcliffe), and Mary Flynn (Mendez). The unique conceit of this particular musical, though, is that time merrily rolls on backwards; the tale starts in the wake of their final fracturing as cynical adults and rewinds the clock to their first meeting as wide-eyed youths on the cusp of a big future. The revival was helmed by Maria Friedman.
Note: Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge and Penske Media Corporation, which owns Gold Derby.
