Background and Production History
Hart, on a journey from Hollywood to New York in 1931, was inspired to write a play about an American family's difficulties, over 30 years, coping with the challenges of life in the 20th century, beginning with their innocence and optimism at the beginning of the century to the dashed hopes caused by the stock market crash of 1929. Before he could realize his vision, however, he was scooped by Noël Coward's British version of a similar story, Cavalcade, and he shelved the idea. A few years later, however, Hart turned to Kaufman, his collaborator on the 1930 hit, Once in a Lifetime. The idea had now evolved to tell a story backwards about an idealistic, yet ambitious playwright and his difficulties.
The Broadway production, directed by Kaufman, opened on September 29, 1934 at the Music Box Theatre, where it ran for 155 performances. The 55-member cast included Kenneth MacKenna as Richard Niles, Walter Abel as Jonathan Crale, Jessie Royce Landis as Althea Royce, and Mary Philips as Julia Glenn.
The play was never revived on Broadway, and its tour following the Broadway production was short.
Read more about this topic: Merrily We Roll Along (play)
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