Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened

Music on Film

Showings

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema Tue, Sep 28, 2021 7:30 PM
Film Info
Runtime:95 min
Copyright:2016
Country Listing:USA
Rating:G
Cast/Crew Info
Director(s):Lonny Price

Description

One of the most anticipated musicals in the history of Broadway, Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along opened to enormous fanfare in November 1981—only to close after sixteen performances. Despite its inauspicious beginnings, the musical's score has grown to become one of the composer's most beloved. This exuberant backstage documentary draws back the curtain on the extraordinary drama behind the short-lived production and its creation, while also telling the stories of the hopeful young performers whose lives were transformed by it. Featuring rare archival footage of rehearsals, and interviews with cast members Jason Alexander, Mandy Patinkin—as well as Sondheim himself and director Harold Prince—Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened is the next best thing to seeing a musical live.

Recorded discussion with Dora Mavor Moore award-winning actor Charlotte Moore, star of the RCM's production of Sondheim's Follies, along with director Richard Ouzounian, former Theatre Critic for The Toronto Star, moderated by the Royal Conservatory's Mervon Mehta.

Streaming ticket: $9.99 (Members from $7.99)

Presented in partnership with The Royal Conservatory

View our health & safety measures here.