In 1988, I was fortunate to work with the awe-inspiring director Jeff Steitzer and phenomenal writer/actor George Furth on a remounting of Merrily We Roll Along at A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle, WA. In an excerpt from the New York Times Special (May 10, 1988), Frank Rich wrote the following review: "As Seattle is the birthplace of ''Eastern Standard,'' so it may also be one of the final stops on the road to salvation for ''Merrily We Roll Along,'' the cult Broadway failure of the decade. Ever since this musical sputtered out in Harold Prince's misguided New York production of 1981, its authors have been revising it, attempting to create an entire show worthy of Mr. Sondheim's undying songs. The Seattle version, directed by Jeff Steitzer at A Contemporary Theater, a k a ACT, is Mr. Furth's further rewrite of the ''Merrily'' revision he did with Mr. Sondheim under the direction of James Lapine at the La Jolla Playhouse in 1985. In contrast to the current and sanitized London revision of Mr. Sondheim's ''Follies,'' the new ''Merrily'' is a spectacular improvement over the Broadway original."

Jeff Steitzer

George Furth

The cast included Joseph Dellger as Franklin Shepard and Linda Emond as Mary. It was a privilege to play the role of Charlie alongside the incredible cast and crew. (Click on the image to view the full program.)