Editing Stephen Sondheim (section)

==== ''Merrily We Roll Along'' ====
''[[Merrily We Roll Along (musical)|Merrily We Roll Along]]'' (1981), with a book by [[George Furth]], is one of Sondheim's most traditional scores; songs from the musical were recorded by [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Carly Simon]]. According to Sondheim's music director [[Paul Gemignani]], "Part of Steve's ability is this extraordinary versatility". The show was not the success their previous collaborations had been: after a chaotic series of preview performances, it opened to widely negative reviews, and closed after a run of less than two weeks. Due to the high quality of Sondheim's score, the show has been repeatedly revised and produced in the ensuing years. [[Martin Gottfried]] wrote, "Sondheim had set out to write traditional songs ... But [despite] that there is nothing ordinary about the music."{{sfn|Gottfried|1993|pp=146–147}} Sondheim later said: "Did I feel betrayed? I'm not sure I would put it like that. What did surprise me was the feeling around the Broadway community—if you can call it that, though I guess I will for lack of a better word—that they wanted Hal and me to fail."{{r|wolf}} Sondheim and Furth continued to revise the show in subsequent years. An acclaimed feature documentary on the show and its aftermath, ''[[Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened]]'', directed by ''Merrily'' cast member Lonny Price, and produced by [[Bruce David Klein]], Kitt Lavoie, and Ted Schillinger, premiered at the New York Film Festival on November 18, 2016. A [[Merrily We Roll Along (film)|film adaptation]] of ''Merrily We Roll Along'', directed by [[Richard Linklater]], began production in 2019 and is planned to continue for the next two decades to allow the actors to age in real time.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/richard-linklater-film-merrily-we-roll-along-be-shot-20-years-1235414/|title = Richard Linklater Musical to Be Filmed Over 20-Year Span|last = Galuppo|first = Mia|work = [[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date = November 28, 2021|date = August 29, 2019}}</ref> An off-Broadway revival starring [[Jonathan Groff]], [[Daniel Radcliffe]], and [[Lindsay Mendez]] ran from November 2022 to January 2023 at the [[New York Theatre Workshop]]; it moved to Broadway in fall 2023. ''Merrily'' won 2024 Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Jonathan Groff), Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical (Daniel Radcliffe), and Best Orchestrations ([[Jonathan Tunick]]).<ref>[https://www.tonyawards.com/winners/year/2024/category/any/show/any/ "Winners 2024"], Tony Awards</ref>

''Merrily''{{'}}s failure greatly affected Sondheim; he was ready to quit theater and do movies, create video games or write mysteries: "I wanted to find something to satisfy myself that does not involve Broadway and dealing with all those people who hate me and hate Hal."{{sfn|Gottfried|1993|p=153}} After ''Merrily'', Sondheim and Prince did not collaborate again until their 2003 production of ''[[Bounce (musical)|Bounce]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Simonson|first1=Robert|last2=Jones|first2=Kenneth|date=June 30, 2003|title=Sondheim and Prince Bounce Back After 20 Years with Goodman Theatre Premiere, June 30|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/sondheim-and-prince-bounce-back-after-20-years-with-goodman-theatre-premiere-june-30-com-113986|access-date=November 29, 2021|magazine=[[Playbill]]}}</ref>