Summary of the musical Merrily We Roll Along :
The show follows the story of 3 friends over 20 years regressing from 1976 to 1957. First is Franklin Shepard, a rich and famous songwriter and film producer. Charley, his faithful lyricist-librettist and finally Mary, writer and theater critic.
First stop in 1976 when the party was in full swing at Frank's. Mary is disappointed that Frank has given up on music. Drunk, she ends up insulting everyone. The evening ends with the separation between Frank and his wife Gussie, whom he cheats on with a young actress. 1973: Frank and Charley are interviewed for TV. But in an act of nervous madness, Charley criticizes that his writing partner has become a corporation, which is only out to make money.
We rewind to 1968 when Charley and Frank disagree on the film adaptation of their musical Musical Husbands. Frank has an affair with Gussie, the producer's wife, which is hard to accept Mary who is madly in love with him. Then in 1966, Frank divorced Beth and fought over custody of their son. Although she still loves, she can no longer bear his adulteries.
After a presentation at the producers in 1962, the musical Ideal Husbands finally opens on Broadway in 64… and it's a hit! At the dawn of the 60s, Frank and Charlie play in a small club in Greenwich Village and catch the eye of the producer. As Beth announces she is pregnant, she and Frank get married, much to Mary's chagrin.
In 1959, the 3 artists work hard on the writing of their shows while accumulating lots of odd jobs. As they audition actors for their show, they hire young Beth.
Where it all begins in 1957, in the middle of the night, on the roof of their apartment. Frank, Charley and Mary spot the Sputnik satellite. They then decide to take their destiny into their own hands and become the musical comedy writers of tomorrow. Of course, they don't know that life will throw many surprises at them and that they won't remain as united as that evening.