By Josh Usmani
This weekend, the Case Footlighters present a new take on Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along –– one of Sondheim’s most enduring and infamously complex works. This intimate production will take place on a ¾ thrust stage — a stage with seating on 3 sides — at CWRU’s Carlton Commons. Merrily is currently resurging in popularity; recently, the West End production was broadcast in movie theaters across the country.
The story revolves around Franklin Shepard Sr., and the loss of his younger idealistic values. The play starts in 1976 and moves backwards in time to 1957, presenting the audience with the pivotal moments in Frank’s life and the effects of his single-minded pursuit of success on his closest friendships with his collaborator Charley Kringas and novelist Mary Flynn. The Footlighters will be performing the 1995 revision script with no alterations to the script, but with an entirely reframed narrative.
“Our concept is that the narrative that moves backwards is actually a series of memories being pieced together by Frank’s son, Frank Jr.,” says director and designer Surya Ravindran. “The concept was based on the 2012 Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park production of Merrily, and it’s what drives every decision that was made throughout the process,” he continues. “For example, we’re presenting it in a thrust stage to give a physical analogue to the new perspectives that Frank Jr. gains about his father. Both the set and costumes echo this memory motif in their design. The reason I love this show and the reason it’s so powerful is that it’s constantly moving and evolving with the audience.”
Now in their 15th year, the Footlighters are an entirely student-run musical theatre group at Case Western Reserve University. Since 1998, the Footlighters have produced one show per semester in an effort to promote musical theatre at CWRU, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland Institute of Music and throughout the local community. Each semester, over 1,000 students, faculty, staff and community members fill venues at CWRU. These students volunteer their time on top of all their other responsibilities at school, work and (hopefully) a social life.
The Footlighters’ productions offer students an opportunity to learn all aspects of theatre production including directing, choreographing, working backstage, acting, playing in or directing the pit orchestra, constructing sets, making costumes and publicizing the performances. Every aspect of each production is done by students.
Whitney Miller, President of the Footlighters and Chemical Engineering student at CWRU explains, “Footlighters is a very tight-knit group of students who all share a huge passion for musical theatre. We love to create a show from the ground up for our audience to enjoy, and this passion and love for theatre radiate from each production. Each show we perform is a new experience, and definitely worth seeing.”
Recent performances by the Footlighters include Avenue Q, Chicago, Sweeney Todd, Next to Normal, RENT, Pippin, Beauty and the Beast and West Side Story. The group was among the first colleges in the country to perform Avenue Q, and one of the only allowed access to the officially licensed puppets. You won’t want to miss the next chapter in the rich history of the Footlighters.
General Admission is $10, students are $5. Shows run Thu 11/21 @ 8:30pm, Fri 11/22 @ 8pm and Sat 11/23 @ 8pm & Midnight.
Josh Usmani is a 27 year old local artist, curator and writer. Since 2008, his work has been featured in over 50 local and regional exhibitions.
Case Western Reserve University, South Residential Village, Cleveland, OH 44106