Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Rights to Live Filmed Version of Tony Award-Winning ‘Merrily We Roll Along’

Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired worldwide rights to the film of the recent, smash Tony Award-winning musical performance, Merrily We Roll Along. 

Merrily We Roll Along stars Tony Award winner Daniel Radcliffe, Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff, Tony nominee Lindsay Mendez, Krystal Joy Brown, Katie Rose Clarke and Reg Rogers. 

The film is produced by Sonia Friedman, David Babani, Patrick Catullo, F. Richard Pappas, RadicalMedia’s Jon Kamen, and Dave Sirulnick.  Executive Producers include Meredith Bennett, No Guarantees Productions, Scott Abrams, Jonathan Corr, Mary Maggio, Jeff Romley, Tony Yurgaitis, Andrew Cohen, Amanda Lipitz, Henry Tisch alongside Co-executive producer Stephanie P. McClelland.  Karla Zambrano and Alec Sash serve as Supervising Producers.

Spanning three decades, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends — writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. Originally produced on Broadway in 1981, then becoming an inventive cult-classic ahead of its time, Merrily We Roll Along features some of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal songs.

Currently, Oscar-nominated director Richard Linklater is shooting a feature film version of the musical over the span of 20 years (in the vein of his 2014 film Boyhood) that stars Academy Award nominee Paul Mescal (Aftersun), Tony Award winner Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen) and SAG and Golden Globe nominee Beanie Feldstein. That film version is currently five years into production.

The 2023-2024 Broadway revival, directed by Maria Friedman, redefined the show for a new era, bringing Sondheim’s intricate score and George Furth’s book to vivid life with extraordinary depth and clarity. The production was widely praised for its emotional rawness, humor, and deeply felt performances, with Groff, Radcliffe, and Mendez delivering what critics and audiences alike hailed as career-best work. The show became an undeniable sensation.

This critically acclaimed musical production won the 2024 Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical, as well as Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical and Best Orchestrations.  Additionally, it garnered the most five-star reviews in West-End history and shattered the Hudson Theatre’s house record during previews on Broadway, solidifying its place as a landmark event in Broadway history.

“Merrily We Roll Along is unlike anything we’ve seen before. With precise editing and a knowing camera that moves from closeup to sweeping gesture, Maria Friedman not only establishes herself as a formidable filmmaker but she more than preserves the seminal performances of Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez in creating with them an even greater goosebump experience for the audience than ever.  We are thrilled to be sharing this new glorious presentation around the world,” said Sony Pictures Classics.

“As a film history maven, Steve would be overjoyed that Sony Pictures Classics, the home of countless brilliant, auteur-driven independent films, is our partner in bringing this production of Merrily We Roll Along to the world. The success of Maria’s film derives in large measure from her lifelong friendship and collaboration with Steve on so many of his shows, not least playing Mary in a 1992 production of Merrily that Sondheim and Furth rebuilt on her, which led to her stage directing debut of this revival in London with him by her side in 2012. The Sondheim Trust could not be more thrilled, knowing this musical masterwork will now be accessible to Steve’s fans and new audiences all over the world,” stated Rick Pappas of the Stephen Sondheim Trust.

“Sony Pictures Classics is the perfect home for our film. From the very beginning, they felt what we felt—that Merrily We Roll Along is, at its core, a universal story about friendship: how it changes, how it lasts, and how it shapes who we become. This isn’t just a stage production captured on film—it’s something more intimate. The camera lets us see every flicker of feeling, every quiet shift, in a way that brings audiences closer than ever. Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s work has never felt so personal. Steve was a dear and lifelong friend and bringing Merrily to the screen has been a deeply personal journey. When I first directed the show, I wanted to find its emotional truth—and that stayed with us all the way through to this film. Sony Pictures Classics understands how to share something this tender and meaningful with the world. Their care and passion will ensure this version of Merrily honours Steve and George in the way they deserve,” adds Director Maria Friedman.

The deal was negotiated between Metzger Iwashina Media and Danny Passman of Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman on behalf of the producers, and Sony Pictures Classics.