Theatre and Dance to present Merrily We Roll Along

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo's Department of Theatre and Dance will present Merrily We Roll Along on March 30-April 2 and April 6-9 in the Drama Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Performances will be held at 8 p.m. on March 30-April 1 and 2 p.m. on April 2 and 9.

Merrily We Roll Along is based on the book by George Furth, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Nationally renowned director and choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge, who worked with Stephen Sondheim on the Arena Stage (DC) production of this musical, joins UB as a special guest artist for this unparalleled event. Nathan Matthews is the music director.

Sondheim's musical adaptation of the Kaufman and Hart play transforms the story of three successful people looking back on their lost friendship. Frank, Mary and Charley grew up to realize their dreams and goals, but may have paid a greater price than they anticipated. Frank's anguished question -- "Why?" -- begins the journey backwards in time, recalling rivalries, jealousies, triumphs, failures and loves both unrequited and reciprocal, as the three seek to discover how they got from "there" to "here." Merrily We Roll Along tells a masterful tale of three remarkable people reflecting on years of aspiration and reality, and dreams both fulfilled and lost.

Merrily We Roll Along is based on the Kaufman and Hart play of the same title. In it we are transported back in time, as a disillusioned, middle-aged songwriter, Franklin Shepard examines his life from its idealistic beginnings to its somewhat jaded present. The show goes backwards in time and the characters grow younger, as it spans the time period between 1980-1957.

The work of Marcia Milgrom Dodge as a director and choreographer has been seen throughout the United States, in Canada, Great Britain and South Korea. She has directed or choreographed more than 75 productions for academic, regional and New York City theaters. Her first play, the Edgar Award nominated Sherlock Holmes & The West End Horror, co-written with her husband Anthony Dodge, had its world premiere production at Bay Street Theatre in June 2002 and recently played to sold-out houses at the Asolo Theatre Company in Sarasota, Fla. On Broadway she served as associate choreographer of high society at the St. James Theatre.

She has collaborated with Rupert Holmes, Stephen Sondheim, Robert Falls, Des McAnuff, Richard Adler & Bill C. Davis, Douglas C. Wager, Gregory Boyd, Michael Cristofer and Joanne Woodward. Marcia is a resident director of the Phoenix Theatre Co. at SUNY Purchase and frequent guest director at New York City universities and conservatories, including Marymount Manhattan College, Fordham College and the Collaborative Arts Project 21 at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She choreographed an Emmy Award-winning episode of Sesame Street ("The Tango Festival") and Remember Wenn for AMC. She is currently on the faculty of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA).

Tickets for Merrily We Roll Along are $16 general admission, students $8. Students (of any school) must present valid student ID at the Center Box Office to receive discount. Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS. The Center for the Arts is a Ticketfast location.