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guests at the party is Althea Royce, his materialistic wife; Sam Frankl, a prolific composer; and Julia Glenn, Niles's final remaining true friend and a struggling alcoholic. The party guests play poker and talk until Cyrus
Winthrop, an art dealer who invented a material called "cellopaper" a long time before, mentions a painter named Jonathan Crale. Crale used to be a close friend of Niles, but they have since parted ways. After the arrival of newspapers gushing praise for Niles's newest play, Julia returns heavily drunk and collapses onto the drink table. After returning to her feet, she leaves the party and Niles for good. After one of the guests, Ivy Carrol, cuts her hand picking up glass, another guest, David, retrieves iodine to treat the wound. After Ivy and David leave, Althea confronts Niles about his possible affair with Ivy and how he only cares about making a hit. The argument is reaching a climax when Ivy returns, and in the heat of the moment Althea throws the iodine in Ivy's face and proclaims that everything is over between her and Niles. The curtain comes down.
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Albert Ogden, the boat's captain. Julia asks Niles whether he's finished the play he's been working on, and Ogden replies yes; Niles has finished a yacht-set comedy play called "All On Deck" that Ogden is sure will be a hit. This isn't the play Niles had been writing his friends about; he had been working on a more serious play about coal miners. When Julia asks Niles why he abandoned that play, he replies, " don't want plays like that now." Niles leaves, and Julia breaks down. Julia laments that the last time they saw the "real" Niles was the day he got on the boat, and regrets telling him to take the cruise. Crale slumps into an east chair and plays a chord on his accordion, and the curtain comes down.
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contact with Crale, and Crale is now going to Niles's favorite lunch spot to see if he can talk to him. Julia and Crale reminisce about their past for a bit, but then Niles appears. Niles and Crale's reunion quickly devolves into blows. Julia pleads with the two to stop fighting as an excited crowd gathers. The curtain comes down on the crowd's cheers drowning out Julia.
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with witnessing Niles's destruction. Crale leaves, and Niles is about to start following his advice when Althea enters. She has divorced Harry to be with Niles. Niles receives word that Harry has killed himself in response. Althea embraces Niles, and after a moment he embraces her too. The act one curtain comes down.
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were bought for $ 75,000. George leaves and Crale enters. Crale reminds Niles of the time when he was just starting out and wrote plays for art, not money, and tells him to remove Althea's bad influence from his life and focus on the woman who truly loves him: Julia, who has taken up drinking to cope
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have been covering the scandal and trial nonstop. The trial has been very stressful for Niles, and his friends, along with Ogden, try to convince him to take a cruise to escape the stress. Niles seems unconvinced and wants to stay with his friends, but abruptly two tabloid photographers jump in with
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In Scene I, it is 1934, and
Richard Niles is a pretentious 40-year-old playwright who writes successful but forgettable frothy comedies. Niles is hosting a party for his wealthy friends at his Long Island home on the opening night of his newest play. His life is empty, petty and loveless. Among the
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In Scene I, it is 1925 in Crale's studio. Julia arrives, practically giddy with excitement. Niles is to return soon from an eight-month cruise and she is excited to see him again. While Crale and Julia are trying to figure out which port he will arrive at, Niles comes into the house accompanied by
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On a journey from
Hollywood to New York in 1931, Hart was inspired to write a play about an American family's difficulty over 30 years coping with the challenges of life in the 20th century, beginning with their innocence and optimism at the century's start to the dashed hopes caused by the stock
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In Scene II, it is 1927 in the
Restaurant Le Coq D'Or. Several guests are chatting about the plays of Althea Royce, who is at the height of her peak as an actress. She has only recently married Niles. Julia and Crale arrive, trying to rekindle their friendship with Niles. Niles has cut off all
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In Scene III, it is 1926 in
Richard Niles's apartment. Niles's brother George comes to visit, and confronts him about rumors of an affair with Royce, who is married to Harry Nixon. He denies it, and the conversation is interrupted with news that his latest play's
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has noted that the play suffers from a "Depression sensibility. The notion that you can't get ahead without selling out is one that held particular appeal.... There was something both morally and politically suspect about worldly fortune at a time when, as
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In Scene II, it is 1924 in the courthouse. The divorce proceedings for
Richard Niles and Helen Murney have attracted large crowds. Helen filed for divorce after catching Niles cheating with Althea on a
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wrote, "Superbly staged...; superbly acted by the biggest cast seen in a legitimate
Broadway production this season, Merrily We Roll Along is an amusing and affecting study...."
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In Scene III, it is 1923 in Althea's apartment. Althea is having a party to celebrate the success of Niles's newest play. At the party is Harry Nixon, Althea's husband. He
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wrote: "After this declaration of ethics, it will be impossible to dismiss Mr. Kaufman and Mr. Hart as clever jesters with an instinct for the stage."
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the leopard skin rug and stage a photo op. Niles breaks down crying and agrees to go on the cruise, and the curtain comes down.
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production received mostly good notices but was a financial failure and has not been revived on
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was initially a failure but has subsequently been more successful, having been revived several times.
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production, directed by
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market crash of 1929. But before he could realize his vision,
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395:1934 production at Internet Broadway Database
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355:"Theater; A Sondheim Musical Keeps Evolving"
16:1934 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
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100:rug after returning to a party, and the
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400:At This Theatre: Music Box Theatre
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307:. October 8, 1934. Archived from
301:"Theatre: New Plays in Manhattan"
112:Background and production history
353:Richard, David (June 10, 1994).
266:"Description of the show from
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905:The Royal Family of Broadway
699:George Washington Slept Here
782:Musicals based on his plays
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1047:Plays set in New York City
1042:Plays by George S. Kaufman
1004:The Senator Was Indiscreet
985:The Man Who Came to Dinner
977:You Can't Take It with You
691:The Man Who Came to Dinner
659:You Can't Take It with You
499:The Deep Tangled Wildwood
330:Maslan, Laurence (2002).
219:and lyrics and music by
213:musical of the same name
763:The Solid Gold Cadillac
755:Fancy Meeting You Again
491:Helen of Troy, New York
241:"Merrily We Roll Along"
969:The Man with Two Faces
873:The Butter and Egg Man
531:The Butter and Egg Man
268:American Theater Guide
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798:Merrily We Roll Along
715:The Late George Apley
635:Merrily We Roll Along
451:Some One in the House
384:Merrily We Roll Along
197:Franklin D. Roosevelt
156:as Althea Royce, and
31:Merrily We Roll Along
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849:Merton of the Movies
825:Someone in the House
675:The Fabulous Invalid
483:Merton of the Movies
996:Films as a director
865:Beggar on Horseback
667:I'd Rather Be Right
507:Beggar on Horseback
332:"A Backward Glance"
311:on October 20, 2012
154:Jessie Royce Landis
152:as Jonathan Crale,
1037:Plays by Moss Hart
945:Once in a Lifetime
731:Hollywood Pinafore
707:The Land Is Bright
587:Once in a Lifetime
443:Plays and musicals
359:The New York Times
177:The New York Times
148:as Richard Niles,
130:Once in a Lifetime
51:musical adaptation
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723:Seven Lively Arts
436:George S. Kaufman
201:inaugural address
199:said in his 1937
167:Critical response
142:Music Box Theatre
36:George S. Kaufman
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683:The American Way
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889:Not So Dumb
515:Be Yourself
275:Answers.com
207:Adaptations
150:Walter Abel
119:Noël Coward
1027:1934 plays
1021:Categories
921:The Expert
651:Stage Door
643:First Lady
475:The '49ers
389:Faded Page
286:2007-09-19
227:References
913:June Moon
571:June Moon
124:Cavalcade
45:The 1934
40:Moss Hart
391:(Canada)
138:Broadway
102:tabloids
47:Broadway
790:Sherry!
364:May 28,
315:May 28,
250:May 28,
171:Critic
87:Act Two
65:Act One
1007:(1947)
988:(1942)
980:(1938)
972:(1934)
964:(1933)
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940:(1932)
932:(1932)
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884:(1929)
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828:(1920)
820:(1919)
801:(1981)
793:(1967)
774:(1955)
766:(1953)
758:(1952)
750:(1951)
742:(1948)
739:Bravo!
734:(1945)
726:(1944)
718:(1944)
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523:Minick
518:(1924)
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494:(1923)
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478:(1922)
470:(1922)
462:(1921)
454:(1918)
833:Dulcy
809:Films
459:Dulcy
192:Times
366:2019
317:2019
305:Time
252:2019
182:Time
136:The
57:Plot
38:and
387:at
175:of
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