''Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened'' is a 2016 theatrical documentary film directed by

Lonny Price Lonny Price (born March 9, 1959) is an American director, actor, and writer, primarily in theatre. He is perhaps best known for his creation of the role of Charley Kringas in the Broadway musical '' Merrily We Roll Along'' and for his New York d ...

and produced by

Bruce David Klein Bruce David Klein is a producer, director, and writer of television, film, and digital entertainment. He is the founder of Atlas Media Corp. and serves as its president and executive producer. On the television front, Klein was an early innovator ...

with Price, Kitt Lavoie and Ted Schillinger.

Scott Rudin Scott Rudin (born July 14, 1958) is an American film, television, and theatre producer. His films include the Academy Award-winning Best Picture ''No Country for Old Men,'' as well as '' Uncut Gems'', '' Lady Bird, Fences, The Girl with the Drag ...

and Eli Bush serve as executive producers. The film tells the story of the making of the original Broadway production of '' Merrily We Roll Along''. The film is a production of Atlas Media Corp. in association with Allright Productions. In September 2016, the film was acquired by Abramorama for theatrical distribution. The film premiered at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...

in October 2016 and was released theatrically on November 18, 2016.

About the film

'' Merrily We Roll Along'' is a 1981 musical based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and

Moss Hart Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright, librettist, and theater director. Early years Hart was born in New York City, the son of Lillian (Solomon) and Barnett Hart, a cigar maker. He had a younger brother ...

. The book of the musical was written by

George Furth George Furth (born George Schweinfurth; December 14, 1932 – August 11, 2008) was an American librettist, playwright, and actor. Life and career Furth was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of George and Evelyn (née Tuerk) Schweinfurth. He was ...

with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim.

Hal Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...

directed the original production, which opened on Broadway in 1981 and closed after 16 performances. ''Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened'' features interviews with the creators and original cast of the now-classic show as well as rare and never before seen footage from the rehearsal process.

Film includes appearances by

* Jason Alexander * Donna Marie Asbury * James Bonkovsky * David Cady * Liz Callaway *

Terry Finn Teresa Jo Ann Bernadette "Terry" Finn (born August 6, 1955) is an American actress best known for creating the role of Gussie Carnegie in the original Broadway cast of the Stephen Sondheim/Hal Prince/George Furth musical comedy '' Merrily We Ro ...

Paul Gemignani Paul Gemignani is an American musical director with a career on Broadway and West End theatre spanning over forty years. Career Gemignani began his career in 1971 as a replacement musical director for Stephen Sondheim's ''Follies'', eventually le ...

Adam Guettel Adam Guettel (; born December 16, 1964) is an American composer- lyricist of musical theater and opera. The grandson of musical theatre composer Richard Rodgers, he is best known for his musical '' The Light in the Piazza'', for which he won the ...

* Steven Jacob * Ann Morrison *

Mandy Patinkin Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...

Tonya Pinkins Tonya Pinkins (born May 30, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Her award-winning debut feature film ''RED PILL'' was an official selection at the 2021 Pan African Film Festival, won the Best Black Lives Matter Feature and Best First Fea ...

Abigail Pogrebin Abigail Pogrebin (born May 17, 1965) is an American writer, journalist, podcast host for Tablet magazine, and former Director of Jewish Outreach for the Michael Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign. Family and early life Pogrebin was born in N ...

* Daisy Prince *

* Forest D. Ray *

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is curren ...

* Clark Sayre * David Shine * Stephen Sondheim *

Jim Walton James Carr Walton (born June 7, 1948) is an American businessman, currently the heir to the fortune of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. As of October 2022, Walton was the seventeenth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$61 b ...

* James Weissenbach * Maryrose Wood

Critical reception

Critical reception of the film was overwhelmingly positive. David Rooney of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' called the film a “lovingly assembled documentary” and stated that “Mickey and Judy would have loved it, bittersweet ending and all.” Michael Schulman of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' called it a “moving documentary” and wrote: “It’s hard now to imagine the audience members who stormed out, exasperated, during the original run, but seeing the cast members reflect on the ordeal shows how devastating it was to realize they were on a sinking ship—and that those 'gods' Sondheim and Prince were mortal after all.” Odie Anderson of the

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

said the film "is sure to satisfy theater wonks, Sondheim fans, curious moviegoers and lovers of Broadway." Jude Dry of

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

gave the film an A rating, saying, "’Best Worst Thing’ is more than a story about a Broadway show; its most poignant moments examine the thrill of dreams coming true, and the inevitable comedown afterwards."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3282712, Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened... 2010s English-language films