''Merlin'' is a musical based on a concept by popular

illusionist Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

Doug Henning Douglas James Henning (May 3, 1947 – February 7, 2000) was a Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician. Early life Henning was born in the Fort Garry district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and began practising magic at Oaken ...

and

Barbara De Angelis Barbara De Angelis (born March 4, 1951) is an American relationship consultant, lecturer and author, TV personality, relationship, personal growth adviser and spiritual teacher. Biography De Angelis received a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia P ...

, written by

Richard Levinson Richard Leighton Levinson (August 7, 1934 – March 12, 1987) was an American screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link. Life and career Levinson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the Unive ...

and

William Link William Theodore Link (December 15, 1933 – December 27, 2020) was an American film and television screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson. Biography Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...

, with music (and incidental music) written by Elmer Bernstein and lyrics by Don Black.

Production history

''Merlin'' opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the

Mark Hellinger Theatre The Mark Hellinger Theatre (formerly the 51st Street Theatre and the Hollywood Theatre) is a church (building), church building at 237 West 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, which forme ...

on February 13, 1983 and closed on August 7, 1983 after 199 performances and 69 previews. It was directed by

Ivan Reitman Ivan Reitman (; October 27, 1946February 12, 2022) was a Czechoslovak-born Canadian filmmaker. He was best known for his comedy work, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 1998. Film ...

and choreographed by Christopher Chadman and Billy Wilson. The cast included Henning as Merlin,

Chita Rivera Chita Rivera (born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson; January 23, 1933), is an American actress, singer and dancer best known for originating roles in Broadway musicals including Anita in ''West Side Story'', Velma Kelly in ''Chic ...

as an evil sorceress and, in supporting roles, newcomer

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, ...

and a young

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...

." ''Merlin'' on Broadway"
playbillvault.com, accessed March 20, 2015 The show was not a critical or financial success, failing to recoup its estimated production budget of $4–6 million. It is remembered today chiefly because of the number of "preview" performances it played: while most shows play a month or so prior to inviting critics and having an official opening, Merlin had 69, never inviting the critics and postponing the opening three times, despite charging full ticket prices. During the musical's troubled previews, the original director (Frank Dunlop) was replaced by co-producer Reitman, while choreographer Billy Wilson was added to augment Chadman's work. At least four songs were cut during previews, including "These Are Not the Merriest of Days" which was replaced by "Put a Little Magic in Your Life".

Synopsis

The story focuses on the legendary wizard Merlin, not as an elderly man as he is usually depicted, but as a young apprentice still learning the rules of magic. Merlin must overcome the evil Queen and her attempts to install her son Fergus as the King of England over the rightful future King Arthur. During the production number "Put a Little Magic in Your Life", Henning mounted a white horse and rode it into a gigantic box, which was then closed and hoisted into the air above the stage. In midair, the box suddenly broke open, turning out to be empty. A moment later, Henning appeared at the opposite edge of the stage, still mounted on a horse. In another scene, Henning levitated and flew above the stage with no visible support. Anticipating the audience's suspicion that Henning was hanging on invisible wires, the set design for this scene included several large Stonehenge-like trilithons: Henning levitated beneath the lintels of these structures, which would have caught any wires hanging above him. In a battle sequence, Rivera's villainess character and her minions, in full view of the audience, assembled several large pieces of armor into a giant warrior, which immediately began walking and wielding a sword even though the armor had no discernible human occupant.

Song list

;Act I * "It's About Magic" – Old Merlin, Young Merlin, Merlin, Philomena and Ensemble * "I Can Make It Happen" – The Queen * "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" – Ariadne * "Something More" – Merlin and Ariadne * "The Elements" – Merlin, Wizard and Ensemble * "Fergus' Dilemma" – Prince Fergus and Ladies of the Court * "Nobody Will Remember him" – The Queen and Wizard ;Act II * "Put A Little Magic In Your Life" – Old Merlin, Merlin, Philomena and Ensemble * "He Who Knows The Way" – Wizard * "I Can Make It Happen" (Reprise) – The Queen * "He Who Knows The Way" (Reprise) – Wizard * "We Haven't Fought a Battle in Years" – Prince Fergus and Soldiers * "Satan Rules" – The Queen * "Nobody Will Remember Him" (Reprise) – The Queen * "He Who Knows the Way" (Reprise) – Merlin, Wizard and Arthur

Cast and characters

The original Broadway cast and their respective roles: *

as Merlin *

as The Queen *

George Lee Andrews George Lee Andrews (born October 13, 1942, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American actor and singer. He holds the Guinness World Record for the most performances in the same Broadway show, having appeared in the musical ''The Phantom of the Opera'' on ...

as Old Merlin and Old Soldier *

as Prince Fergus * Edmund Lyndeck as The Wizard * Michelle Nicastro as Ariadne *

as Young Merlin and

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

* Rebecca Wright as Philomena

Critical reception

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 ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote that the main draw of ''Merlin'' was Henning's "spectacular" illusions. Rich also found

Theoni V. Aldredge Theoni V. Aldredge (August 22, 1922 – January 21, 2011) was a Greek-American stage and screen costume designer. Biography Born Theoni Athanasiou Vachliotis in Thessaloniki in 1922, Aldredge received her training at the American School in Athe ...

's costumes to be "imaginative," albeit trying too hard to be like those in '' Cats'' and '' Star Wars'' at times. He panned the other aspects of the musical, particularly Henning's acting, singing and dancing. Overall, he felt that ''Merlin'' would have worked better as a magic show than as a musical.

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

References

External links

Internet Broadway Database
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080205055320/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923326,00.html ''Time Magazine'' review, Feb. 07, 1983 {{Don Black 1983 musicals Arthurian musical theatre Broadway musicals Works based on Merlin Original musicals