Richard Linklater wants to film Merrily We Roll Along for the next 20 years
Assuming that climate change won’t destroy us, Richard Linklater plans to film the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along for the next 20 years.
Richard Linklater is known for filming movies over extended periods of time. His movie, Boyhood, was filmed over a duration of time to show the same boy growing up. Why, you ask? Probably because showing the actual passage of time rather than casting multiple actors is kind of cool.
Now though, Linklater is taking to Sondheim: Merrily We Roll Along is being adapted for film! Don’t worry, though, he’s still back to his old tricks. For the next 20 years, stars like Beanie Feldstein and Ben Platt are going to be super employed because Linklater’s plan is to film the movie for 20 years.
The musical, which does span 20 years, shows the life of Franklin Shepard. He’s a wealthy songwriter and producer. But the show presents his transition from a penniless composer to the man we see 20 years later.
That being said, it doesn’t necessarily need to be filmed over 20 years. To be honest, it can be done with some make-up. Why? Because it is based on a musical, which means that, on stage, they show the 20 year span of someone’s life in living color (meaning in the flesh) with no problem.
Still, it is going to be interesting to see how a musical is going to work that way because, as we age, our voices change — and the idea that these actors can maintain their voices will be the real test. Also, you know, we’re chancing that the world won’t die before we ever get to see Merrily We Roll Along.
The choice of show is also interesting because, out of all of the Sondheim musicals, it is the one that nearly forced Sondheim to stop writing. Because of Merrily We Roll Along, we ended up with Sunday in the Park With George.
Maybe it is because Linklater loves a good movie filmed over a child’s entire journey through the education system, or maybe it is something else, but this version of Merrily We Roll Along is certainly going to be interesting.
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