(Intro) Merrily We Roll Along

[Intro]
Okay, it didn't happen exactly like that
At the final callback, we were all ushered into this big room
And Hal Prince stepped forward and said
"Well, I have good news and bad news
The good news is, you're all in the show"
Yay! Lots of jumping up and down and hugging
"The bad news is, I have to direct an opera in Houston
So we're going to postpone the show for nine months"
Yay?
Actually, it was okay
Because during those nine months we all bonded
And every month the cast would get together
For Mеrrily waiting parties
And occasionally, Steve would show up
And onе of these parties was at Lonny Price's apartment
And at one point, we all piled into Lonny's bedroom where the piano was
And Steve sat down and played "Good Thing Going" for us for the first time
I remember thinking, "I'm in a movie, this isn't real"
It was amazing
Well, finally after nine months we started rehearsals
And then we previewed
And then we opened
And two weeks later we closed
Welcome to the theatre!
You know, because Merrily closed so quickly
I suspect not many of you got to see me in the show
So I would like to re-create my performance for you now

[Verse 1]
Yesterday is done
See the pretty countryside

[Interlude]
But wait, there's more!

[Verse 2]
How did you get there from here, Mr. Shepard?

[Outro]
Thank you
Thank you so much
Yes, those were my two solo lines
If you get the original cast album, you'll hear them
And by the way, not to toot my own horn
But I still sing them in the original key
In addition to being in the chorus, I also understudied the female lead
Played by the wonderful Annie Morrison
Now Merrily previewed for almost two months
And every day we rehearsed
Putting in changes, and taking out changes, and putting changes back in
And it was a brutal schedule and Annie started to get sick
She never missed a performance
But in order to save her voice to do the show at night
During the day, she would stand on stage and rehearse her new lines
And I would sing in the front row of the Alvin Theatre
And sing her songs for her
And it didn't occur to me until much later
That of course, sitting a few rows behind me was Sondheim
And maybe it was those times singing for Annie
That was actually my audition for the future work I'd get to do with him