Paul Mescal joins the MERRILY movie | merrily we roll along casting drama, Blake Jenner replaced 

Just saw it tonight (9-30-23) on Broadway w. Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe & Lindsay Mendez). There was absolutely nothing lost by having the same actors play their characters at different ages. No aging make-up or wigs were used at all. It's theater: you have a willing suspension of disbelief & just go with it. The focus is on the story & the music, not the way the characters look. The new Broadway production is of the best musicals I've ever seen.

One of the main issues I see here is that Boyhood was an experimental passion project involving actor friends of Linklater, where they’d get together once a year to film. I don’t see this idea scaling super well to a musical film featuring actors cast via a more ordinary Hollywood casting process. Still, it’s an interesting idea and I’d love to check it out if they manage to make it.

I will be surprised if this film is ever completed. It's 20 years, so much can happen. Any of them could lose their voice, get seriously ill, have scandals or could even die... and this whole idea is so weird to begin with, there is so much ageing and de-ageing that can be done with cgi these days, it wouldn't have been a huge deal to just do that.

It’s Normal People not Ordinary People - that was a whole other thing with Mary Tyler Moore 😅

Broadway and Movie makers work hard but The Glee Curse works HARDER

OMGH, Mickey Jo, I LOATHE and DESPISE this idea. As someone who is now 73 years old, it's very likely I'll be dead by the time its released. Assuming it ever is. And I really love this show. Despite the very real problems with the original production (which I saw, amazingly enough given that it only ran for a week), it has one of Sondheim's most wonderful scores. The reprise of Not a Day Goes By never fails to bring me to tears. And, as others have noted here, Our Time, one of Sondheim's most beautiful and optimistic songs is equally heartbreaking because you've seen what Mary, Frank, and Charley become. I've always had a secret desire to mount a production that would feature Merrily one night and Follies the next, because, despite the very different styles of the shows, they explore the same fundamental theme - how sad it is to see youth and beauty turn into age and disillusion (something I didn't really understand when I saw the original production of Follies at age 21, but boy do I get now). Needless to say, that won't ever happen ... mostly because I'm neither a director nor a producer. Back to the movie. Does anyone know whether he's restoring The Hills of Tomorrow? Most of the subsequent productions of this show I've seen (after the original production) dropped it along with the opening high school graduation scene. I know it's a minority view, but I always thought that scene which introduced the initial Merrily We Roll Along number along with the idea of moving back in time, was one thing that really worked in the show, and its absence from other productions I've seen got things off to an unfortunate start. Best wishes, Lee Sauer

Paul Mescal played Phantom at age 16. He sings and plays the piano. He's an excellent actor and I have no doubt that he will be fantastic in the role of Franklin Shepard. Let's not forget, Franklin is not a particularly taxing vocal track. It is no super demanding vocal tour de force. He's not Sweeney or George. I'm excited for this casting announcement.

Merrily is one of my favourite musicals of all time and from the moment they announced the project, I knew we were in for a real bumpy ride.

Paul Mescal was also superb in a film called Aftersun that was released this year, I highly recommend. As for the film, I'm worried Linklater doesn't realize how much of a miracle it is that Boyhood actually worked out and this feels like trying to catch lightning in a bottle twice, my concern is if it fails it'll damage Boyhood's legacy as well.

I think the reason boyhood worked so beautifully was that the screenplay would be written throughout the twelve years of production and very much informed by the cast’s lives, especially the lead kid. The gimmick really worked. It felt quite lived in and the references were perfectly timely. But this musical is already brilliantly written. And make-up/cgi has gotten so good… i just feel it’s not worth the gamble.

Out of the productions of “Merrily” I have been a part of or seen, I have never felt that the ages of the actors at the beginning or end was the problem. I believe the problem is just that it’s not linear and that isn’t what some audiences are expecting or used to. I find the ending heart-breaking every time once the finale is done and you take a beat to realize where these hopeful kids will end up. And I think (for me), knowing it was shot first takes a little of that away from that feeling at the end that is so well earned by the non-linear structure. Love the show, so, so hesitant of this cast.

I can't imagine filming over 20 years so many things will change not least the camera technology. Imagine watching a new film and it starts with footage filmed on an early naughties camera 😅

20 years? Ben and Beanie are currently 29. That means they're playing 17-18-year-olds as 27-30-year-olds. So, from the start, this project is already off. As wonderful as the music of Merrily is, it does not need a 20-year process to bring to the screen. This smells of a tired gimmick.

I have been hoping you would do a video on this, and recently requested it! Thank you so much! I knew NOTHING about this project other than what you've previously mentioned. You are the best!

Honestly I was so relieved to hear this announced!! Merrily is one of my most beloved musicals and I was really really hoping they would recast Blake Jenner after the awful allegations came out. It does seem like Ben and Beanie were already cast too old for the roles given that the characters are supposed to be 18-20 for the first scenes, though other than that I'm looking forward to their takes on the characters. I haven't really seen any of Paul Mescal's work but I'm excited for him too - definitely a relief as I said to have Blake replaced! But yeah they might as well make it in a shorter amount of time, especially as the older scenes skip a few years at a time... Very luckily I got to see the Off-Broadway run a few weeks ago through winning the on the day TodayTix lottery, was so happy I couldn't believe it. Jonathan Groff was an absolutely incredible Frank (though I wouldn't think he'd be right for the film or anything)!

Also Paul Mescal, I believe, can sing! Also by virtue of being Irish, everyone knows everyone, and my coworker went to school with Paul Mescal and saw him in their school production of Les Mis, where he played either Jean Valjean or Javert, and was apparently fantastic!

I just realized that in 20 years we're going to have people complaining that Ben Platt is too old for a role...Again! LOL Seriously though, I think Platt and Feldstein are great choices. I NEVER understood why they cast Jenner. The guy who won the second season of "The Glee Project?" That's who you cast in your MAJOR motion picture? I don't know if he's even done anything since "Glee," but he was forgettable on that show. And I felt all of that before the allegations came out. Those were just the nail in the coffin.

Your videos brighten my days particularly in the winter now. I don't know very many theater people ☹

I know this video is older lol but yes Paul Mescal can sing!! He played the Phantom in school, and he has a pretty strong basis in the theatre. He was also in the musical movie Carmen and has done background vocals for Phoebe Bridgers. Now, can he sing like Jonathan Groff can? No lol but Sondheim was always one to prioritize actors who can sing over singers who can act if you know what I mean. Richard Linklater is very interesting, he has been playing with time in a lot of projects over his entire career. Besides Boyhood, he made the Before Trilogy which is three movies revisiting the same couple over different times in their life. Idk really if his goal is realism exactly when he does these projects over time, but more he explores how time changes perspective. I think this can be a valuable thing to add to Merrily, so I’m excited to see what happens!

You should do a youtube search for paul mescal singing. He has an amazing voice.

I didn't know they filmed in 2019! Thought they filmed like mid last year for first time but guess not. Ben & Beanie have grown up so much since 2019 so wonder if they'll film it all again or do parts & just edit out certain parts Blake was in. If they're replacing him bc of the abuse stuff now I'm shocked he wasn't let go earlier bc it's been known for a while he was abusive to Melissa. I hope there's no other dramas & hope we get the film.

I’ve been waiting to hear your take on this! Edited to add that I had no idea that the same director that made Boyhood was directing this! I noticed many parallels. Also Paul Mescal I think is a great addition if he counters his known “nepo baby” costars as this fresh talent from more humble beginnings. The team did the right thing to recast so they don’t continue to associate with a known abuser.

Paul Mescal is doing the Carmen movie with Melissa Barrera (Vanessa in the In The Heights film)

Love your channel, Mickey Jo, and I think you are spot on about this ongoing movie production of Merrily We Roll Along, which is my favorite Sondheim show. I always believed this musical would benefit from a movie treatment because it would be so much easier and clearer to handle the reverse aging process and the reverse narrative on film, but Linklater's approach is well, ridiculous. It's a movie not a lifetime commitment for heaven's sake. I am sad that this project was not put in the hands of a great musical film director who would cast and shoot the film with ingenuity and insight on how to clear up the problems the stage presentations often encounter.

As fascinating as the filming concept is, they should have gone for like, 10 years. That feels so much more doable if you’re going to try this technique, and I think the production may be underestimating the power of prothetic makeup. They could easily be given older appearances with out the passage of 2 whole decades lol. As much as I would love to see this film when I am 45, I sadly doubt I’ll see that day 😔

13:33 great point. Especially for this musical. But I didn’t want to see Beanie and Ben in this show 4 years ago….will I want to see them in 16? I guess if they somehow grow into people I’m interested in watching in a musical, sure? 🤷🏼‍♂️

Haven't seen the show yet (hoping to see the nyc production when new tickets go on sale) but the idea of filming the story over 20 years intrigues me. Aside from the things you mentioned like changing appearances and aging, I would hope that the actors evolve and refine their craft over that time and change the characters in more unconscious and natural ways. That said, I'm generally more pessimistic and I feel like this will not be the last issue to potentially derail the entire project

Merrily was the first production i was involved in in college and it was probably the musical that cemented Sondheim as my favorite Broadway composer/lyricist. That being said, it is completely up in the air as to if this "realistic" approach will hurt or hinder this film. After all, it is still told in the same non linear format as the stage version so will movie audiences react the same way as a Broadway audience? I do think the benefit is that a theatre audience is much more apt to suspend disbelief with regards to actors playing up or down in age than a movie audience (see Ben Platt as Evan Hansen as a perfect example) and obviously it would be a mistake to do a Crown and try to find different age appropriate people to play the same roll, as the connection to the characters would be harder to maintain. I am also interested to see who else they'll get to fill out the cast... especially Beth and Gussie... and then they're going to have to find a kid who'll age with the filming too which will be interesting...

I saw Blake Jenner and all I could think of was Ansel Elgort as Tony in West Side Story...another actor who has allegations (sexual assault of a minor) against him and has "blamed the victim". While the movie tanked on its own, there were a large number of people who went on social media stating they wouldn't see the film due to Elgort's casting. No, Jenner isn't as known as Elgort but he was in Glee and there are several "Glee was so toxic" docu-series coming out. You don't think domestic assault between 2 married IRL cast members won't be included?

Ooh. First I've heard of the film adaptation. It's a fantastic score, and the Menier Chocolate Factory production was fabulous.

Follies - is very cinematic I think

Merilly would have to be my number one favourite show. Super nervous about the movie. Wish I could go see the current adaptation in New York. Hope you're right that it'll launch it into the mainstream. Honestly perfect stunt casting. And having watched Menier provid a thousand times it's clearly in safe directorial hands.

I'm not sure how "official" it was, but I do remember reading somewhere that when he was making Boyhood, Richard Linklater had an agreement with Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette that neither one of them would get any kind of plastic surgery or fillers and that kind of thing over the course of the 12 years they would be filming so that they would believably be playing the same character over the course of that much time.

They can't have signed contracts for the full 20 years due to the De Havilland Law, which which makes it illegal in the US to contract someone for more than seven years of work. The Boyhood cast did not have signed contracts either. Boyhood also had a set budget that the distributer agreed upon: 200,000 per year, adding up to 2M total over the 12 years. That makes sense that a distributer would not put that much money into something that is this huge of a huge financial risk. So I can't imagine the budget for Merrily is very great either, which is also concerning for many reasons. I think Boyhood also did well because it had an original script that was written and adjusted as it went along. It was all brand new, so there were no expectations of how fans hoped to see it adapted. They also started filming in 2002, before social media and smartphones. Myspace didn't even launch until one year after they started filming. So no one was talking about it extensively or getting regular updates on the film to continue discussing extensively. I think all of that mostly hurts Merrily. I don't even thing twenty years of buzz helps them revenue wise when it's a niche group of people that are excitedly waiting for it. I like the idea of something being shot over time, because makeup and CGI aging both are distracting in the sense that all you're focused on is how different and how good/bad the actor looks, not the impact of the story. But the risks are so astronomical that it also makes zero sense to film over time. So I'm torn, I feel both excited and scared.

Richard Linklater was 59 years old when this project was first announced. Which is by no means ancient, but... It's not the age I would make a public (and financially consequential) commitment to be alive for 20 years. Honestly, I wouldn't make that kinda commitment at any age lest the gods strike me down for my hubris.

Paul Mescal is fucking amazing!!!!!!!! and he can hold a note to most definitely. and his acting chop? ooh, nobody should worry about it because he got it, just check his newest film "Aftersun".

There was a filmed version a few years ago shown in theaters like they do with operas by Phantom Events and Sondheim has a cameo in it during the Opening Doors number! FANTASTIC! You can’t do better than that! And where is this film now?

It's actually called Normal People, not Ordinary People, based on the book by Sally Rooney :) I have neither watched the show nor read the book, but by virtue of being Irish, it has been shoved down my throat at every turn

Paul Mescal has a strong voice and a background in musicals (maybe not as prominently as Blake Jenner). He's in the upcoming Carmen movie adaptation. You can seek out his singing on RU-vid, it's not hard to find 🙄

Really enjoyed this fellow, he is spot on and gets it.....ten gold stars! Ian Marshall Fisher

To be honest even if one of them dies. I feel within the next 20 years we’ll be able to fully recreate them digitally with AI. And I feel they’ve signed a contract allowing that to happen if something mad happens to them.

I admire with what he did with Boyhood but that's because we didn't know about it until it was coming out & the subject matter with an unknown kid at the center of hit was very powerful. This on the other hand we know about from the start so will already be forming opinions on based on who was casted ect. As you said "flavor of the week" & that can go for the other main cast members as well we don't know. So we'll either be like "OMG they actually got it done we applaud the commitment so we'll go see it" or it will never get finished. I don't think there is any other option tbh & this is coming from someone who doesn't care that much for the musical & likes Ben some but that's about it.

Paul Mescal has an amazing voice. He played phantom on the schools production as a 16 year old!! How do you know he doesn't have a background in musical theatre?? Paul is probably one of the most versatile actors around, and he will be fantastic!!! Paul's professional stage debut was as Jay Gatsby in the great gatsby, The same theatre that orson Welles made his stage debut!!!! This is also the production that moved to London after its run in Dublin. By the way, the programme was normal people! I normally love your videos and I'm not saying this one is not good, but don't criticise Paul just because he's not what you've envisaged for the role!!! He will be brilliant!

Interesting concept and it would work for a production that the authenticity of the actors aging and the passage of time was vital. However in this case I don’t necessarily think it should be applied to a good if not minor Sondheim musical. Employ the makeup arts and CGI wizardry. Benjamin Button with Brad Pitt did pretty well. In other words, get it done ASAP so the momentum of Sondheim memory is not diminished over 20 years of production and end up at the late Autumn of the actor’s careers.🤔🤨

My question was do they have to sign a contract saying they wont do anything too dangerous? Like what if they die?

What are they going to do if one of these actors dies halfway through? Or has some other reason they physically can't perform? If they pull it off, that'll be cool, but so much could go wrong.

He is in Natalie Portmans husband film carmen opposite Melissa barrera

Proof that he can sing - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KYFprSQKfD4.html 😊

Well, I'll say this for the idea: I think this kind of experiment would have appealed to Sondheim. There's a slim chance it might produce spectacular results, and if it should happen to crash and burn, it will only add to the legend of one of Sondheim's most notorious flops. Personally, I've always thought that what's primarily wrong with *Merrily* is that the gimmick of presenting the story backwards makes no sense for a story in which each "previous" scene, rather than showing unexpected events, shows events that are more or less precisely what you might have guessed they would be on the basis of what you've already seen, and because the arrow of time is something that can't be altered, each "previous" scene has to be played forward in time, from the past to the future, which means that the show doesn't truly go backwards. Each scene just takes place at an earlier time than the last. And even this is so contrary to human understanding that the only way anyone can grasp what's going on is to see the show and/or read the synopsis or script enough times to be able to refer mentally to events that take place in the show's "past" while watching the "later" scenes that are presented first -- in essence, mentally reversing the order of the scenes so that the plot can be understood in a conventional way. I'm convinced that this is the only way the show has achieved any popularity (despite its excellent score).

This will never be completed. Let's just get a contemporary pro-shot.

I'm a big Paul Mescal fan but I'm surprised he signed up for this. I love musicals and I think Merrily We Roll Along could make for an interesting film but this might be too much of a risk. Hope it turns out miraculously well though.

omg i am so stupid, this whole time i thought this was a christmas musical

Merrily is, I think, my really favorite musical. In a way, it is about aging. I think doing a 20 year filming is maybe a potentially wonderful idea; but wow the casting is important. Will the actors still have their skills, their audience appeal, over that period of time? We have already seen Ben Platt/Beanie lose a great deal of buzz. Plus: it's a Musical; I don't think realism is all that important.. or its biggest problem.

Why don't they just "Crown" it? Cast different actors for different periods of the characters lives

there are some seriously good sfx and cgi artists out there, i get the centiment of filming it over 20 years but this film will never see the light of day im almost convinced

Seeing how cameras and technology changes the look of the film over 2 decades should be interesting... Also, I've never heard of Paul Mescal and had to look him up. I've never seen anything he's been in on film, and because he's a UK stage actor but not a major one, his name has never made it's way to me here in the states. To me, it feels like they cast "a nobody" instead of a named talent; if they went for someone with the talent rather than just a big name, I'm actually ok with that!

At least Paul Mescal has the charisma require to play the role. But I don't think this film will ever come out - so many things can go wrong between now and 2039. Beyond the cast, the studio might pull the funding, something may happen to the Director etc Think about how much the world has changed and what has happened since 2003!!!!

normal people*

its Normal People, not Ordinary People. i think Paul is ok for the role, i initially liked Blake too. but are they redoing all the scenes shot in 2019? bummer

“Who has never been introduced to either makeup or CGI” 🤣 to be fair, art, as a universally recognized rule, is not art unless it is 1000% realism.

Merrily We Roll Along has had many, many successful productions and doesn't need "fixing". The original production failed because of several ill-advised decisions. First, having a very young cast playing the characters didn't work in the scenes where they were playing twice their age. Second, the production and costume design (essentially T-shirts with character names on them) made the production look cheap, more like a rehearsal than a broadway show. Some audience members felt cheated. But many others immediately recognised the show as brilliant and managed to see it multiple times in the very short run. I've seen numbers of productions since. A Donmar Warehouse production in the 90s was excellent. The Kennedy Centre Sondheim Celebration production was excellent. And the show is now frequently done around the world. The fact that it's never made money on Broadway means nothing these days, since the economics of Broadway is twisted and corrupt and pretty much skewed against anything making a profit.

Hmmm, I think this is down to more than the domestic abuse allegations. I mean they were three years ago, and frankly since when did any white guy in Hollywood lose their job for being a piece of shit? It seems odd timing. Don’t get me wrong, if it is down to this, good. More of it, please.

Another major problem with filming over 20 years is worrying about the current state of politics and environmentalism. Is the world even going to exist in 20 years? Are humans going to wipe themselves out or make the planet inhabitable? At this point, who can say! It's one thing to film a small movie with the main actor being some nobody until the movie comes out. But something on this scale with the amount of work that goes into it just from a musical perspective is insane and completely unnecessary. I would rather have it be a prosthetic and cgi fest then have it not come out at all because it had to be scrapped halfway through. The only movies that should take that long from now on should be documentaries.

Mascal was in NORMAL People not ORDINARY People

I was one of the few people who saw the original production and loved it! Why not do something like “The Crown” and film the movie with different actors?

If I’m honest it seems stupid 😂 there’s too many variables that can happen, when you can get a great pay off filming in a practical usual way, not to mention people are cancelled Everyday, sometimes justified others it turns out we’re wrong and they are redeemed or vindicated our culture isn’t right for this as well as illness, accidents, pressure to maintain this, are there clauses in contracts to not allow dangerous activities eg skiing it seems a lot especially when movie musicals aren’t a sure fire hit and the commitment from cast and crew is a lot, I dunno guess we’ll find out 😂

Just proshot the current broadway prod....

Do you know anything about musical theatre? "Not a Day Goes by" requires some serious vocal chops and breathing techniques. A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd require near Operatic skills. So, which shows are you talking about that rely more on the words than the music, I would love to know. Because it isn't Follies and the list is being pared down. If I were you, I would stop repeating what other people say about Sondheim and start thinking for myself.

Why is the director so sure everyone involved is going to be alive in 20 years? Himself included. This just feels like an unnecessary filming idea

I don't think anyone will care about any of them in 20 years. I already don't care about Beanie after her failure in FG - she couldn't sing Styne, not likely able to sing Sondheim.

Colour me deeply skeptical about this project! I really appreciate your take on this…I was really not impressed with Boyhood, and applying that process to a movie musical just seems deeply counterproductive. Not least because Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein are already to old to be playing college students, but also because intermittent filming over decades might be really impractical with Broadway actors, who tend to have more demanding fixed schedules over longer periods of time than Hollywood actors. Is Ben Platt just going to miss out on workshopping or originating roles for twenty years if that conflicts with filming Merrily? (Not that I would mind, as I’m not his biggest fan, but that’s beside the point.) Obviously Broadway actors do take breaks for filming, but it really depends on what kind of schedule they’re trying to set for the adaptation. Theatre audiences are also already used to suspending disbelief about age, whether it’s adults playing the child roles in Sorkin’s version of Mockingbird or just adults playing older or younger. I don’t need or want hyperrealism in my movie musicals, thank you very much, and makeup and CGI can do marvellous things! This whole endeavour just feels like an ill-advised gimmick, no matter how much I’d like to see Merrily get a film adaptation.

Finally the industry learned from how poorly Ansel Elgort was received in WSS and realized no one wants to watch a film starring an abuser

Honest the concept to film this for 20 years is a gimmick and not a good one. Boyhood wasn't even that good either. This proves that things can change at a drop of a hat. Not to mention so much can change in 20 years time including people dying. By the time this thing is done Richard will be in his 80s, if he makes it. Why not cast people of varying ages who look similar? Or you know hire makeup artists who know what they are doing

To pull out the infamous quote: “Dear boy, why don’t you try acting?”

I mean if Blake Jenner is a problematic person maybe that makes him the perfect casting for Frank 😅

It’s far from genius. I’d call it idiotic... sorry, idiosyncratic. There ought to be more merit to a movie than saving money on hair and make up.

oh no another st8 bloke being an abuser and violent, thats a surprise isnt it.

‘Does not have much of a background in musical theatre’? You don’t know very much about Paul, do you? You didn’t even get the name of his TV series correct - for which he won a BAFTA!

It’s a pity Daniel Radcliffe can’t act at all