Merrily We Roll Along - 1934 Play

It concerns Richard Niles a pretentious 40 year old playwright who writes successful but forgettable frothy comedies

By means of a series of scenes shown in reverse chronological order, we see the steps by which this young and ambitious playwright became merely a materialistic symbol of success ...

The play opens with Niles hosting a party for his wealthy friends at his Long Island home on the opening night of his newest play

The story moves backwards in nine scenes from 1934 to 1916, as Niles achieves success by, bit-by-bit, compromising his integrity and principles

He drives his novelist friend Julia Glenn to drink, loses his best friend, painter Jonathan Crale and betrays his wife, the glamorous actress Althea Royce

All simply to gain material comforts and satisfy his ambitions