Merrily We Roll Along - Lyric Arts - September 2026

Merrily We Roll Along

Program Cover

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by George Furth

Based on the original play by George S. Kaufman and Max Hart

Review by Ernest Edwards

Lyric Arts 2026/2027 season is off to a strong start with the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along. 

If you have never heard of Merrily We Roll Along before, it focuses on the friendship of three friends Charlie (Noah Hynick), Frank (Brandn Veerman) and Mary (Maureen O’Malley). The story flows backwards from 1976 back to 1957. The musical asks the questions “How did you get to be hear?”  “What was the moment?” As the show progresses, we see the moments that shaped the journey the characters take during the musical. 

In addition to the talented cast, what really brings this show together is the costumes designed by Eleanor Schanilec. With the story taking place in the 1960’s and 1970’s, we get see some great fashions from those time periods. Scenic Designer Greg Vanselow and Projections Designer Brady Whitcomb do a great job of showing us the Hollywood Hills in the 1970’s and various locations for NYC in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The scene change choreography during the interludes was fun to watch.  

This musical contains some of the Stephen Sondheim songs like “Not Day Goes By”, “Old Friends”, “Merrily We Roll Along”, “We Got a Good Thing Going”, “Our Time” and many more. 

Let’s talk about this cast! Noah Hynick as Charlie is the one to watch during this musical. He has so many great moments. One of the his best moments is the song “Franklin Shehard, Inc”. Emily Grodzik plays Gussie, Steven Ramirez plays Joe, Faith Winship Smith plays Beth. For last nights production Frank Jr was played by Jaxson Kingdon. Maureen O’Malley as Mary, brings a lot to the story. She is the glue that tries so hard to keep Charlie and Frank together through thick and thin. Brendan Veerman plays Frank. Frank goes through a lot throughout with this musical. There’s a range of emotions that Frank goes through and Brendan Veerman is able to take us on along on Frank’s journey. The rest of the ensemble does an amazing job rounding out the rest of the cast in the musical. 

What Stephen Sondheim and George Furth do with this with this musical, is they start with a dark future

Photo by Dan Norman

and take us back to the beginning where the future is bright and optimistic. 

Spoiler Alert! Director Scott Ward adds a moment at the end where he has the cast freeze, and Frank steps out and looks at the stage and is filled with a wave of emotion. Like Frank has been able to look back on his life and where it has lead. Does he have regrets? He just might. I have never seen a production with that for the ending before, it’s a quite powerful. 

This is one of my favorite musicals. It’s a mix of the songs, the core characters, and telling the story backwards that seems to hit all the right moments to me. 

Merrily We Roll Along plays through October 4, 2026. Check out www.lyricarts.org for tickets. 

Ball: A Musical Tribute to My Lost Testicle - Artistry - September 2026

Ball: A Musical Tribute to My Lost Testictle

Program Cover

Written and Performed by Max Wojtanowicz

Co-Conceived by Max Wojtanowicz and Nicole Swoboda

Review by Ernest Edwards

I was at the first performance of Ball: A Musical Tribute to My Lost Testicle, which is being presented at Artistry’s Black Box Theater for a a limited time with dates through September 20, 2026. Artistry’s Black Box Theater is the perfect venue for this one man show. 

It’s been ten years since actor Max Wojtanowicz received his cancer diagnosis and went through nine weeks of chemotherapy. The events are as follows: cancer diagnosis in January, chemo begins in February, presented idea to Fringe Festival in April of that year, and then presents/performs the show in August at the annual Minnesota Fringe Festival. Max said the show was so well received that it toured for over two years. 

I’ve know Max as an actor, but never knew this very personal story of his. I haven’t done Fringe in years, as I have usually had a business trip that same week. 

There was a one moment that included audience participation. Max invites a person from the audience to represent his boyfriend. Yours truly was that person the night I went to the see the show. It was fun to be on stage and watch Max work his magic act up close and personal. 

We did learn that when his diagnosis and treatment started, he was in a relationship with his boyfriend for six months at the time. His boyfriend didn’t run away. He stayed by his side during all of this, and even went with him to some of his chemo treatments. Today Max has been married to this very same man for 8 years. 

We also learned that testicular cancer is treatable and has a higher survival rate than other forms of cancer. Seeing this show also reminded me of the friends and family who have had their own battles with cancer.

I want to say “Thank You” to Max for sharing such a personal story with us, and for revisiting this part of his life on the tenth anniversary of his diagnosis and treatment. 

Don’t let the subject matter get you down. While cancer is a serious topic, Max tells this story with humor and heart. It’s a very nice mix for telling this story. 

While the 2026/2027 theatre season is off to a strong start with several shows opening this weekend around the region. Ball only plays for two weekends. This is the must see show. Put Ball on the top of your list. 

Ball has a run time of 60 minutes and continues through Sunday September 20, 2026, check out www.artistrymn.org for tickets.