Hendersonville Performing Arts Company is getting ready to bring audiences along for a journey backward through friendship, ambition, heartbreak, and the price of success as they present Merrily We Roll Along May 28-June 14. Featuring a score by the legendary Stephen Sondheim and a story told in reverse chronological order, the musical has become one of theater’s most emotionally resonant explorations of friendship and the choices that shape our lives.
Just days before HPAC’s May 28 opening, we caught up with director Jacob Waid along with stars Gray Miller, McKenzie Bryan, and Elijah Wallace to talk Sondheim, old friends, artistic ambition, iconic songs, and what audiences can expect from this deeply human production for the latest installment of our recurring interview feature, Rapid Fire 20Q.
RAPID FIRE 20Q WITH CAST AND DIRECTOR OF HPAC’s MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
RAPID FIRE WITH MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG‘s FRANKLIN SHEPHARD, GRAY MILLER
JHPENTERTAINMENT: What initially drew you to Franklin Shephard and Merrily We Roll Along?
GRAY MILLER: I was initially introduced to this show by a friend of mine from back home and I was addicted from the jump (thanks Jon)! We even got to see the final performance of the Tony winning production together in 2024 in what was an incredibly special moment for us old friends from Virginia. What drew me to Frank are the struggles he faces trying to maintain the balance between relationships, success, and choices he makes along the way which all hit very personal notes for me and I believe make him incredibly compelling as a flawed protagonist.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Franklin is charismatic, ambitious, complicated, and at times frustrating. What’s been the trickiest part of finding your way into him emotionally?
GRAY MILLER: For me the trickiest part of this process has been finding Frank’s compromising coldness towards the people who truly care about him as it is such a departure from how I operate in my relationships. Those moments where he shirks his obligations or promises to his loved ones always frustrates me and sometimes I just want to pull him out of the script and shake him.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: One of the joys of community theater is the close-knit atmosphere. What do you enjoy most about performing with smaller theater companies like Hendersonville Performing Arts Company?
GRAY MILLER: It’s right there in the name: community. There is a special energy that runs through these theaters that is nearly impossible to replicate because it takes a community to put the show together. While it ultimately is the director’s executed vision, there is a level of collaboration between actors, crew, and production team that is unmatched. When it is all assembled, the finished product is a shining example of teamwork and true care from all involved.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: “Old Friends” has become one of the defining musical moments of Merrily We Roll Along. What’s it been like performing that number and exploring the history and emotional weight behind those friendships?
GRAY MILLER: The majority of my closest, best friends in all the world are those that I grew up with back in Virginia. Some even go all the way back to the cradle days. Outside of family, these are the relationships that mean the most as they form the structure of who I am as a person. To me, performing “Old Friends” is the truest expression of those relationships that I hold so dear to my heart and that through joys, fights, distance or time, my friends and I are still (and will forever be) “damn few”.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Looking back at younger versions of ourselves is a major theme of this musical. If present-day Gray could give his younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
GRAY MILLER: Don’t let opportunities go by without at least taking a swing. Even if you don’t think you’ll come out on top, it’s better to go for it and miss out than to never trust yourself with the possibility of being great.
RAPID FIRE WITH MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG‘s CHARLEY KRINGAS, ELIJAH WALLACE
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Charley Kringas is fiercely loyal, deeply passionate, and often the emotional truth-teller of the story. What’s been your favorite part of stepping into his shoes?
ELIJAH WALLACE: Charley has been very interesting to characterize for me especially with how passionate he is. He wants to make the art that matters to him and Frank and he is hesitant to compromise his morals to do so. I really feel like his keen eye for knowing where his artistic boundary is resonates with me a great deal. He loves creating, and he wants to do it under his terms with Frank. I respect and admire that tenacity in his core being.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Jacob Waid is directing this production. What’s his rehearsal room been like, and what kind of director is he for actors to collaborate with?
ELIJAH WALLACE: From before I even had the part he had expectations set to a high bar, and that continued in the room with each new challenge. He is very kind and open minded with any choice you might want to try, and yet he has a clear vision that he shared with us as the show took on more shape. I felt supported to try things, but also confident that if something we tried needed to be adjusted that it would be seen and shifted. He likes to paint a picture with his shows and I love that!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: “Franklin Shepard, Inc.” is one of the most intense and exhilarating numbers in the show. How demanding has that sequence been vocally and emotionally?
ELIJAH WALLACE: Oh my gosh it has been incredibly challenging from the first rehearsal we had. I approached it with an open mind knowing that trying it while just singing as opposed to on its feet would be a dynamic difference. The first time I did it it was pretty rough as expected, but I have found as I keep at it I find a new thing that gets better each time. That being said, it is tough to start the show on and I have really had to pace myself to make sure I don’t overextend. I hope it comes out as a rewarding and truly heartbreaking moment for the audience.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Charley and Franklin share years of friendship, conflict, and creative partnership. Have you and Gray built any offstage chemistry or rituals that help strengthen that connection onstage?
ELIJAH WALLACE: No real rituals other than we have gotten along really fast. We found we like a lot of the same things outside of theater, and we bonded quickly both in and outside of the rehearsal space. He and I joke a lot offstage and it has given a lovely camaraderie that I feel lives in the performance we give. With the unique nature of the chronology of the show we start at our worst and get to our best by the end. I bring the joy he and I have shared as well as the blossoming friendship to how I act and react with him. He is a great guy and I’m lucky to have him as a scene partner.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Merrily We Roll Along asks some big questions about success, fulfillment, and the roads we choose. What’s one personal goal — artistic or otherwise — that you hope never loses its spark for you?
ELIJAH WALLACE: I have always been a part of the theater since I was very small. It gave me some of the best and sometimes painful experiences that I have ever had. I would bot trade it for anything because it has shaped me into the man I am today. I always want to bring the light of storytelling to anyone who wants to hear, any person who might need to watch something to take their cares away for a while. I never want to stop telling the stories that mean something not just to me, but to the people who might need that story to get through the day, or who need to hear one specific line that helps them so deeply. That is so important to me and at one point in my life I almost walked away from it for good. Merrily reaffirms that importance to me of holding tight to what drives you, and I really appreciate that.
RAPID FIRE WITH MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG‘s MARY FLYNN, McKENZIE BRYAN
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Mary Flynn has some of the sharpest wit and deepest emotional insight in the entire show. What’s your favorite thing about getting to play her?
MCKENZIE BRYAN: Mary has been a dream role of mine for a while now so everything about getting to play her is my favorite thing! But if I had to narrow it down, it would be getting to tackle the challenge of telling a story that spans 20 years in 2 hours. Everything about my characters speech patterns, to the way she holds herself, to her mannerisms, all adjusts in different ways over the course of the show as we travel backwards in time and that has been such a treat to dive into as an actor.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: The show travels through several distinct eras and styles. How much fun has it been working with the production’s costumer to bring those iconic fashions and changing time periods to life?
MCKENZIE BRYAN: So much fun!! My style in real life is greatly influenced by the decades that this show lives in so I have been lucky to incorporate a lot of my own personal articles of clothing from my closet into Mary’s wardrobe. That makes playing her feel even more special and makes me feel that much more connected to her.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Sondheim lyrics are legendary for a reason. Do you have a favorite lyric or line in the show that hits differently for you now that you’re performing it?
MCKENZIE BRYAN: The entirety of “Our Time”, the closing number, is a favorite of mine. The first time we blocked the number I just cried & cried. It was so sweet & sad and that number still impacts me deeply every single time we perform it. Even though we’ve seen these people’s stories play out in front of us it almost feels like for a second they just might have a chance at something better, a different ending and I try to cling to that hope as an anchor emotionally during this number every night.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Mary spends much of the musical watching old friendships shift and evolve. What’s something you’ve learned in your own life about holding onto meaningful friendships?
MCKENZIE BRYAN: I am a really lucky lady who has a lot of meaningful friendships in her life that I take great pride & joy in maintaining, so I have to say, Mary has actually taught me more about what not to do than what to do. Bless her sweet heart, she obviously has great intentions but I do think a little more honesty and a lot less self abandonment would have taken her a long way. Because at the end of the day, real friendship thrives on openness, vulnerability, & communication. And in the wise words of Taylor Swift “my advice is always ruin the friendship, better that than regret it for all time.” Take that and run with it Mary, speak your truth girl!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: In a show that wrestles so heavily with ambition and happiness, what does happiness currently look like for you outside the theater?
MCKENZIE BRYAN: Theatre is definitely a huge source of happiness for me that seeps into every other part of my life so it is difficult to actually separate the two. Performing is such an integral piece of who I am that my happiness & theatre are just kind of naturally woven together. I am happiest in a show! That being said I of course find joy in so many things, including but not limited to, spending time with my sweet family, cutie friends, & perfect angel pets, my day job that is such a gift (shoutout to my students!), any time i get to be at Walt Disney World, talking about Stars Wars (specifically the prequels), laughing with my sister, eating cheese of any and all kinds, sitting outside with the sun on my face, listening to Mamma Mia on a loop, and just the fact that it’s gemini season which means we are on the brink of my birthday.
RAPID FIRE WITH MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG DIRECTOR JACOB WAID
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Merrily We Roll Along famously tells its story in reverse chronological order. What’s been the most exciting part of unpacking that unique narrative structure in rehearsal?
JACOB WAID: Honestly, the most exciting part has been watching the cast slowly discover that the “villains” of the story are not really villains at all. When you experience someone at the worst point in their life first, it is very easy to judge them. Then the show keeps peeling back layers and suddenly you understand the heartbreak, the compromises, the ambition, the fear, and the moments that shaped them into who they became.
That has been fascinating in rehearsal because every scene changes meaning once you know what comes later…or technically earlier. We have spent a lot of time discussing subtext and history. A line that feels cold or selfish in the opening scenes suddenly feels devastating once you understand the friendship and hope these people once had.
I also think the structure mirrors life in a strange way. So often we meet people at a single moment and assume that moment defines them. Merrily forces us to ask how they got there -“how did you get to be here? What was the moment?.” It asks us to reconsider people over and over again and to look at what or who made them the person they are today.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: This production spans roughly two decades of these characters’ lives. What are some of the biggest challenges — and rewards — of directing a story that evolves so dramatically over 20 years?
JACOB WAID: The biggest challenge is making sure the evolution feels truthful and not “performed.” I did not want actors simply putting on an older voice or changing posture and calling it a day. We have really focused on emotional evolution instead. How does disappointment reshape someone? How does success inflate or isolate them? How does grief harden them or soften them?
One thing that was very important to me from the beginning is that we are not really “aging up” or “aging down” the actors in a theatrical or exaggerated way. The story speaks for itself. The audience is intelligent, and the writing does so much of the work already. There are subtle physical shifts and changes in energy as the characters move backward and become younger, but for the most part, the emphasis is on the emotional storytelling and the relationships. I did not want distraction from the humanity of the piece.
What makes Merrily so special is that you are watching dreams form and then watching what life does to those dreams over time. That requires an incredible amount of detail work from the actors because every scene has to carry the weight of what the audience already knows is coming.
The reward has been watching the cast build entire lifetimes for these characters. By the end of rehearsal, they are not just playing scenes anymore. They know the history between every glance, every joke, every uncomfortable silence. It starts to feel less like actors performing and more like real people with decades of shared experiences.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Sondheim shows often demand emotional precision and razor-sharp pacing. What has this cast brought to the table that’s surprised you the most?
JACOB WAID: Their honesty. This cast has been willing to live in the uncomfortable spaces of the show. Merrily is funny, sharp, and entertaining, but underneath it there is loneliness, regret, insecurity, longing, heartbreak, and love woven throughout every relationship. The actors have not shied away from that.
What has surprised and impressed me most is their willingness to examine themselves as human beings, not just actors. Watching them lean into these complicated emotional moments with such clarity and connection has been stunning.
Some of my favorite moments in this production are not the loud emotional explosions. They are the fleeting glances, the pauses, the moments where someone almost says something but chooses not to. Someone once told me that great acting is not just crying on stage when you are sad, it is doing everything possible not to cry while the audience watches the battle happening across your face. I think there is tremendous truth in that.
The real beauty of Merrily lives in the things left unsaid. Sometimes an entire relationship shifts because of a single glance across the stage. This cast has understood that in a really profound way, and I think audiences are going to feel those quiet moments just as deeply as the big ones.
Vocally, they are phenomenal. The score may not be Sondheim’s most harmonically dense work, but I actually think that simplicity is intentional. It keeps your focus on the relationships and storytelling. The cast has understood that beautifully. They are not just singing the music. They are using it to expose the emotional fractures underneath these friendships.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Theater is full of stories about ambition, friendship, and the cost of success. How personally relatable does this show feel to you at this stage in your life and career?
JACOB WAID: I think anyone who has spent a long time in the arts eventually wrestles with some version of the questions this show asks. What are you willing to sacrifice for success? At what point does ambition become destructive? How do you hold onto friendships and authenticity in industries/life styles that constantly encourage reinvention and competition?
What hits me the hardest now is not necessarily the fame or success aspect of the show, but rather the loss of simplicity. The older I get, the more emotional those final scenes become because you see these characters before the damage, before the ego, before disappointment complicated everything. There is something deeply moving about watching people at the beginning of their dreams when everything still feels possible.
I also think the show is incredibly relatable because all of us have experienced loss in relationships and friendships in some way. That is just part of life. Sometimes friendships drift apart because of ambition, timing, pride, distance, or simply becoming different versions of ourselves over time. Sometimes those relationships find their way back, and sometimes they are lost for good. I think part of the beauty and heartbreak of life is learning how to process that loss, understand it, grow from it, and carry those memories with you anyway. Merrily captures that feeling in an incredibly honest and human way.
This show also holds a mirror up to the performance industry in a very truthful way. Sometimes people are celebrated only as long as they are useful, profitable, successful, or helping move someone else forward. The moment they stop being viewed as valuable in that way, they can suddenly find themselves pushed aside for the next rising star or new opportunity. That sounds harsh, but I think there is a real honesty to it, and Merrily is brave enough to explore that reality without losing compassion for the people inside of it.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: After audiences leave Hendersonville Performing Arts Company’s production of Merrily We Roll Along, what do you hope they carry with them?
JACOB WAID: I hope they leave thinking about the people in their own lives. I hope they think about old friendships, old dreams, the moments where life took unexpected turns, and the ways success and failure shape us over time. I hope the show encourages people to have a little more empathy for one another because none of us are just one moment in time.
More than anything, I hope audiences feel connected to these characters. Even when they make frustrating or painful choices, I want people to recognize themselves somewhere in them. We all have moments we regret. We all have moments where we have lost sight of who we wanted to be. I want the focus to stay on the people, the relationships, and the story itself.
To me, that honors what Sondheim does so brilliantly in this piece. Even musically, Merrily is surprisingly simple compared to some of his other scores. I think that simplicity is intentional. It creates space for the emotional complexity underneath it all. I wanted to create a world where the humanity of these characters could breathe without anything getting in the way of it.
From favorite lyrics and emotionally demanding musical numbers to reflections on friendship, happiness, and chasing creative dreams, the cast and creative team behind Merrily We Roll Along offered an honest and heartfelt glimpse into the work happening behind the scenes at Hendersonville Performing Arts Company (260 W Main Street, Hendersonville, TN 37075).
Whether you’re a longtime Sondheim fan or experiencing Merrily for the very first time, this production promises an evening full of humor, heartache, nostalgia, and plenty to think about long after the final curtain falls. HPAC‘s Merrily We Roll Along opens Thursday, May 28 and runs weekends through Sunday, June 14. Performances are at 7:30pm Thursdays-Saturdays with 2pm matinees on Sundays. Tickets are $25/Adults and $22/Students and Seniors. All tickets are reserved seating. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets. For ADA accommodations, please call the box office at 615.826.6037.
Merrily We Roll Along may signify the end of HPAC‘s 2025/2026 show season, but they’re just getting started with their summer classes. CLICK HERE to learn more about their acting classes, theatre day camps, tap dance classes and more for kids of all ages.
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