(just saw the Merrily proshot 3 times in theaters, will be posting rampantly. this rant is but one of many)
the thing that kills me every time Frank justifies his turn to the commercially viable is that he always, ALWAYS mentions how he has "a son to consider and an ex wife draining him". this pisses me off so much (in a good way) and i want to go through why.
to start, here are both of the times he uses this reasoning post-divorce:
"Charley, I have a son to support. I have an ex-wife draining me. What happens if we finish this show, we get it on, and they say it’s no good?"(scene 2, before The Interview) "Charley, I am thirty-one years old. Beth wiped me out with the divorce. I’ve got a son to consider. So forgive me, Charley, if I happen to need money." (scene 3, right before Old Friends)
now, the reason I specify post-divorce is that before the divorce, the idea that Frank and Beth were having money issues is very believable. Musical Husbands hasn't yet taken off, they have a young son, and i can't imagine being a legal secretary covers the cost of living in New York, even if Frank is supplementing the income.
what makes it frustrating when Frank says this after the divorce is that every time he does so, it is directly contrasted with both his newfound opulence and Charley's worse financial state. for example, when Frank says this in scene 3. right before he justifies the movie version of Musical Husbands by talking about finances, there are MULTIPLE COMMENTS made about how lavish his new apartment is. using finances isn't a good justification; if he REALLY still wanted to make the kind of shows he made in his youth, he would live accordingly. this is the biggest early sign we get that Frank's desire for the rich life has begun to overshadow the desire to change the world that he had in his youth.
this is very directly contrasted with Charley, who has 4 kids and a wife to support, but still wants to make shows that matter in a deeper way than the commercially viable things they've been wrangled into making.
"Frank, I have four kids to support. And I don’t give a rat’s ass what “they” say. If I say it’s good. If you say it’s good. That’s what’s important. That’s all that’s important." (scene 2, right after Frank's line)
"FRANK Well, I owe it all to you guys for making me go. I didn’t do anything that wasn’t rich. Rich living, rich food, rich people. "CHARLEY Well, poor Evelyn, my poor wife, who never comes in from our poor house in the poor country, poor thing, is dropping off our four poor children at her poor mother’s…" (scene 3) "Then let’s us do the work and the money will come. Frank, we cannot keep making our stuff the other thing we do!" (scene 3, right after Frank's line about Beth)
in scene 2 before The Interview, we are again shown a contrast between Frank's statements and his actual wealth. when he shows up with Gussie, they are the picture of wealth and opulence. Charley directly calls this out during Franklin Shepard Inc. i'd paste the lyrics i'm talking about like i did the lines, but it'd be kind of redundant cause it's literally just THE WHOLE SONG. "...he makes a ton of money / and a lot of it for me" is probably what i'd point to as the most obvious callout, but the WHOLE SONG is about how Frank is so consumed with making money that he forgot the passion of his youth: music.
Charley's heart is still in it. he still wants to change the world with Frank, still wants it to be their time. but Frank? he's too caught up in living the good life to realize the dreams he had in his youth are only slipping farther away, even as they become practically easier for him to achieve. he's taken a right when he should have taken a left (hehehe).
this contrast is just such good characterization for Frank. you can directly see how he's justifying what i'd call the loss of his soul (i will probably be posting something about the "that was the old frank Shepard" vs "without music I'll die" thing soon), both to himself and to others. we see him get richer and richer, more and more successful, and at the same time, become less and less of the dreamer he was in his youth, something that is pretty much directly stated in Growing Up. you can feel the cognitive dissonance; he's already successful, but he needs SOMETHING to explain the fact that he hasn't made Take a Left yet, SOMETHING to excuse his taking of the path that he's starting on. no, Frank can't be the problem; it's his ex wife, his finances, anything but the reality: Franklin Shepard has lost touch.
anyways. that's basically the whole rant. fuck i love this musical. will probably post more thoughts about it; i'm tryna get my hands on a copy of the script (the 1980, 1994, and 2023-4 versions), if anyone has access to one or all three PLEASE hit me up. or just if you want to talk about this musical with me. i want to hear more perspectives and fun little details; like for example, someone on a Reddit thread made the connection of their show being called "Take a Left", and how a lot of the characters will say "right" in certain scenes (ex/ post-divorce yacht extravaganza). ugh. it disgusts me how good this show is.
xoxo live laugh love Sondheim
