Daniel Radcliffe’s friendship with Lindsay Mendez made ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ big screen adaptation go smoothly
And ‘Along’ comes a movie
B’way history. West 44th’s Hudson Theatre, B’way’s second oldest. In 1903, it played “The Wizard of Oz.” It headlined George M. Cohan, Louis Armstrong, Steve Allen. Operator Henry Harris’ apartment remains unoccupied on the fourth floor. And there on Monday, the Cinema Society screened Sony Pictures Classic’s new film “Merrily We Roll Along.”
In the stone age, it was Stephen Sondheim’s B’way hotshot musical. Now, reborn for film, it stars some of the play’s famous names.
Daniel Radcliffe: “Screwing up is often a team going from not famous to famous and successful all together. Then what happens is — if success comes — they change as human beings.”
Per Harry Potter there’s always a cost.
He says, “Chances of keeping heads screwed on and nobody becoming crazy is slim. Happens often. Bands who start really young and manage to endure 20, 30 years, I always think guys must’ve stayed cool and close to be able to keep the friendship.
“I love this particular show. They’ve become my best friends. But I’ve had bad relationships. Things can go bad. Can go backward. Starts with losing someone close then regaining the person. Doing ‘Jeopardy’ someone was really not nice to me — and it was this show’s Lindsay Mendez who helped me.”
Mendez — now on CBS’s “Elsbeth” — plays the show’s female lead and says: “This show is a lesson in personal history. When I did the original production I was actually pregnant. I had support from the cast. I’ll never forget that. Wardrobe people kept changing my costume. Their attitude was ‘do your job.’ That was important to me. They wanted me. They helped me. I never even kept that shmatta. I tell you, if you’re valuable, and if you work at it you can continue on undisturbed.
“You cannot hold onto memories. You must let them go. So how did I look when I was going through all this? Think: Are any of us really happy with the way we looked?”
An ongoing ‘Battle’ in Hollywood
WAIT. More movies. More stars. More quotes. Leo DiCaprio’s thriller “One Battle After Another” has him playing a counter culture activist. He says his own dad informed the character. Leo: “My father was kind of a hippie. But he didn’t build any bombs. Me, I can’t live off the grid for more than a few days. I get bored. And I don’t absolutely know what it means to live off the grid.” Whether or not the politics of the flick with Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn are aimed right or left, he says it’s fair and balanced. He also says: “This film pisses both sides off.” Hollywood is now up to its class showing it.
Fur-ever friends
ATTENTION: Per a survey, 45% of pet owners have already bought Christmas gifts for their pets. Me — a longtime and forever dog lover and dog owner — I say: “The other 55% have a life.”
NEW York State is now voting on whether to open gambling casinos in the city. Great idea. We can put it alongside a cannabis store. Also, Queens Boulevard has a huge advantage over Las Vegas. A true mazel tov. This way you don’t have to go far to lose your money. From Queens you can always hitchhike home.
Truly only in New York, kids, only in New York.
