Practicing Dreams
Hi friends, both old and new,
I am delighted to write to you about Ferrell Studio’s upcoming production of Merrily We Roll Along. Though, I should forewarn you, writing about a show that moves backwards in time has made me unsure of where to begin. With that being said, I think it’s only appropriate to start at the end.
If you’re unfamiliar with the show, Merrily We Roll Along traces the 20-year friendship of three artists as they navigate the increasingly divergent paths their creative dreams set them on. Unlike other Sondheim musicals, the story is told in anti-chronological order, starting at the end and ending at the beginning.
We’re first introduced to our protagonist, Franklin Shepard, in 1976 as the host of a party celebrating his latest Hollywood accolades. Hesitantly and drunkenly at his side is Mary Flynn, his dearest friend and an aspiring fiction writer who remembers the artist Frank used to be. And lastly, in the subsequent scene, we meet Charley Kringas, Frank’s oldest friend and writing partner, whose artistic convictions have put him at odds with Frank’s changed ambitions.
Without giving away too much, the brilliance of these characters being revealed through this format is that the audience gets the unique opportunity to see the consequences before the causes. In most stories, we watch people grow closer and we root for them to stay that way. In the case of Merrily, we meet them at their worst and are then asked to understand, and ultimately forgive, the people we’ve already seen them become.
And maybe what actually endears us to them is that none of them set out to become the people we first meet in 1976. In fact, when we see them at the beginning of their story, they are optimistically united in what they want. Frank and Charley want to write a musical and get it produced, while Mary wants to make something of her own and find the friendships that make creating art worthwhile in the first place. They dream of making something meaningful and successful and, most importantly, of making it together. What changes isn't necessarily the dream, but what each of them is willing to sacrifice to make it happen.
Perhaps the strangest part of telling this story is that, while Frank, Charley, and Mary spend the show moving backward toward their beginning, our cast is still very much experiencing our own beginnings. That makes Our Time, the theme for our season, feel particularly fitting. When asked what “Our Time” means to them, the answers from our cast varied, but each came with a similar refrain that insisted we should fully inhabit the hopes and possibilities in front of us while they’re still ours. And yet for all of our different definitions of success, one thing amongst us was unanimous: While we can allow ourselves some idealism, it’s imperative to remember that achievement means very little if you lose the people you wanted to share it with.
In conversations with our cast, we recognized Frank in the part of ourselves that wants more, Charley in the part that refuses to compromise, and Mary in the part that simply wants the people we love to come with us. None of those instincts are inherently wrong, but neither are they entirely compatible. Together, they remind us why these characters can’t be reduced to a hero, a sellout, or a friend left behind. The people we love are complicated and often contradictory, generous, yet selfish; principled, yet inflexible; loyal, yet misguided. Finding pieces of ourselves in all three has made it difficult to see any of them as simply good or bad, but instead we’re left with the uncomfortable but necessary truth that people can be well-intentioned and still get things wrong.
For Frank, Charley, and Mary, “Our Time” is something they only recognize once it has passed. For us, it is something we have the luxury of recognizing while we’re still living it. We hope our production reminds you of the clumsy hopefulness of being young and the exhilarating uncertainty of not knowing where your choices will take you. And wherever you are in your own story, we hope you leave remembering to appreciate the people beside you, notice the honesty in the things you’re making, and remain open to all the possibilities that are still wide open for you.
Performance Dates and Times
Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, August 22, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Saturday, August 22, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Sunday, August 23, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Location: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Auditorium, Metuchen, NJ
Runtime: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission
