#frank shepard

[shepardkringas]

i know tumblr is not an ideal place to post edits but . hi guys

[cryingfranklinshepard]

day 1 of crying franklin shepard

[ladylylla]

mary flynn and franklin shepard hype moments and aura

[skeletazz]

believe me they kiss

[bendurbaby]

im going to post charley x frank content and their ship name IS going to be musical husbands. ok thanks stay tuned guys

[whereisldshadowlady]

She finally got around to watching Merrily We Roll Along, and now she’s obsessed

[brilliantorinsane]

Dipping in briefly because I watched the new Merrily proshot a week ago after never having heard a song from the play, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Easily the most fixated I’ve been on anything in a hot minute. So uhhh some notes:

Genuinely insane-making from scene 1 because on a first watch it’s already got me starting a running list of people I’d support if they wanted to shoot Frank dead and yet somehow there’s still something in the interactions between Frank and Mary that had me going, ‘once I find out what they used to have this loss is gonna hurt like hell, isn’t it. Goddamn it.’

my very original favourite song is Franklin Shepherd Inc, but my current runner up is Old Friends. Having that moment where all the fractures and resentments already in place and on full display in the same instant as all their affection and ease delight and creativity really encapsulates the death grip this musical has on me.

And then on a second listen it hit like a sledgehammer that Frank’s iteration of Growing Up right after Old Friends is Frank trying to integrate what he’s learned from Gussie into his old dreams and friendships! To really genuinely invest in the work of growing up!! And then he DOESNT

Fucking love Mary and Charlie’s dynamic where both are in love with Frank but not necessarily with each other (I mean you could go either way with that but in this production I lean towards not) BUT crucially they are NOT competitors and the other’s inclusion in the polycule is just as essential to them as Frank’s.

(also I do kinda think Mary and Charlie stay friends. It’s not the Same, but still something. Probably not for a bit after the TV interview but after the debacle that opens the play if not before. Whether Frank is ever allowed back depends entirely on whether he sorts his shit out)

(sorry Frank I know everyone made mistakes but when Mary and Charlie make mistakes I find it fun and endearing or just sad and when Frank makes mistakes I. don’t).

Having said that Good Thing Going as a breakup song for Charlie and Frank (which the audience recognizes as their breakup song but they ofc don’t) is heartbreaking but also so. Gentle. Their actual breakup is about as explosive as possible but you hear Good Thing Going and it’s almost like on some level they were already preparing to learn to forgive each other one day, before they ever let themselves imagine the possibility of a break.

I love how when sometimes Mary gets too overwhelmed she just makes a really loud noise. Screams or hisses or bangs shit. Genuinely one of my favourite of her qualities.

‘it’s a palpable hit’ is such a mean line to throw in there. Let up Sondhiem you’ve already got me so good you don’t have to throw in Hamlet foreshadowing just when I’m trying to enjoy the moment and pretend I don’t already know exactly how it contributes to it all going to shit. Jesus.

Shoutout to Daniel for delivering ‘do you think about getting married’ line on the roof like he’s considering proposing on the spot. But ALSO how he delivers the kinda mean line about ‘dippy’ girls but then keeps staring after Mary, like he’s already a little entranced. K there’s more but I have to go to work 🫡

[lemonboy38]

One of the many things I love about Merrily We Roll Along, is how every time you rewatch it there’s another little callback/reference you can notice.

like genuinely, I’ve listened and studied and rewatched it many times and recently found more interesting details on my latest run.

I’m not sure if I was just completely oblivious to this, but I’ve just recently made the realisation that when Frank says the only mistake he made was saying “yes when he meant no”, is a callback to Charley in The Blob Part II telling Frank to just “say no” to singing GTG again. I was always a little confused by Franks “yes when he meant no” line, so I guess this was an example of him people pleasing. Anyways I’m not sure if that was supposed to be noticed my first watch through but I thought it was neat.

oh also I love the reoccurring “me Columbia, him Juilliard” line from Charley. Originally said on the rooftop scene to Mary, with so much warmth then it’s said again in the interview and there’s just so much exhaustion in his voice.

my third note is a little more far fetched, possibly delusional but who cares. I recently remembered that Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t actually wear glasses, so Charley wearing glasses is a costume/directorial choice? Also checked in the original production, Lonny Price’s Charley also seems to have glasses (however I’m not sure if he actually wore them in real life. I fear I’m not the person for og merrily info, ik of some people who definitely are). Anyways, my connection of this was that The Blob, Tyler I think, and later Frank wear the shaded sunglasses that hide the window to their souls. Also, Frank first puts on the sunglasses when he’s boarding the yacht, after he was just told to ignore and escape his problems/work. It’s an interesting juxtaposition, because Charley maintaining those clear glasses while Franks are shaded could sorta imply a couple things. Some being, Charley’s view on their dreams stays clear and unchanged through the years while Frank’s view gets clouded as he takes on his “rich and happy” persona. Also could be a reference to their emotions, with Charley being open and Frank becoming closed off as he gets older. Or there’s genuinely no meaning behind them besides that Charley looks cool in glasses and Frank likes his badboy sunglasses (most likely option, honestly). Either way, I enjoy over analysing things. My brain already does it anyways, so why not make it fun and about my favourite musical!

Anyways there’s my ramble, i don’t know if any of this even makes sense outside my brain because re reading it I don’t understand my own words but oh well