Wicked's Gaelen Gilliland Will Be Part of Cast of Fire Island Merrily We Roll Along

By Andrew Gans
17 Aug 2010

Gaelen Gilliland
Gaelen Gilliland

Gaelen Gilliland, who has appeared on Broadway in 9 to 5, Legally Blonde and Wicked, will play Gussie in the Fire Island Pines Arts Project's upcoming production of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along.

Performances at the Brandon Fradd Theatre in Whyte Hall are scheduled for Sept. 3 at 8 PM, Sept. 4 at 6 PM and 9 PM and Sept. 5 at 6 PM and 9 PM.

The cast will also feature Daniel McDonald (Frank), Nicole LaFountaine (Mary), Steven Alan Black (Charley), Scott Marshal (Joe) and Mary Catherine McDonald (Beth).

Merrily We Roll Along, according to press notes, "is a tune-filled, optimistic musical that begins in the present and moves backwards, tracing the lives of wealthy, jaded composer Franklin Shepard and his two estranged friends through each milestone of their personal and professional lives (good and bad). The show ends with a touch of rueful irony, as the three best friends at the start of their careers face a bright future: young, talented and enthusiastic about the worlds waiting to be conquered."

Based on the play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, Merrily We Roll Along features a score by Sondheim and a book by George Furth. Concerning the lives of three friends — composer Franklin Shepard, lyricist Charley Kringas and writer Mary Flynn — the musical is told backwards in time and boasts such classic Sondheim tunes as "Like It Was," "Not a Day Goes By," "Good Thing Going," "Now You Know," "Our Time" and "Old Friends."

The musical bowed on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on Nov. 16, 1981, where it ran for only 16 performances. The original cast included Jim Walton, Ann Morrison, Lonny Price, Terry Finn, Jason Alexander, Tonya Pinkins, Daisy Prince and Liz Callaway. Musical Theatre Works presented a one-night-only original cast reunion benefit concert of Merrily in New York City on Sept. 30, 2002. Merrily — under the direction of Christopher Ashley — was also part of the 2002 summer of Sondheim at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets for all events are on sale in the Fire Island Pines harbor two weeks prior to the event; visit www.fipap.org for ticket purchases and additional event information.