Everyone seemingly forgot that Paul Mescal IS going to be in a musical!
After Paul Mescal hosted Saturday Night Live, one of the common requests online was that he get cast in a musical. This was because of the Gladitor II musical sketch. Well, lucky for you guys, it already happened!
Imagine me logging on to X to see everyone screaming about musicals. I thought “Finally, some respect around here.” But then it was a frustrating realization. What do you mean you all are SO obsessed with Paul Mescal and forgot he is already going to be in a musical? To be fair, the musical won’t come out until 2043 but it IS happening.
I am referring to Mescal’s role as Franklin Shepard in the Richard Linklater film Merrily We Roll Along. Linklater is filming the musical in real time. The original Stephen Sondheim production spans 20 years of friendship between Franklin Shepard, Mary Flynn, and Charley Kringas. Starting as aspiring artists, the musical shows the destruction of their friendship starting with the three all at odds with each other. Going back in time, we get to track these three friends through their lives together.
Franklin Shepard is the lead. Most recently played by Jonathan Groff in the Broadway revival, the musical is an emotional one for fans of Sondheim’s work. Not only because of its subject matter but because the show, itself, was not received well when it first was released in 1981. Now, after the successful revival, many are revisiting the musical fondly.
Which brings us to the Linklater adaptation. Beanie Feldstein is playing Mary and Ben Platt is taking on Charley, meaning he will have the iconic song “Franklin Shepard Inc.” to perform. But the show, while about these three friends, is about Franklin’s own determination and desire to succeed. No matter the cost.
And Paul Mescal is going to do a great job!
Prior to his work in Merrily We Roll Along, Mescal was in the movie adaptation of the musical Carmen. He sang there. When speaking with British Vogue earlier this year, Mescal talked about the process of playing Franklin Shepard and his love of musicals.
“The thing that’s different about this is that it’s obviously a pre-existing Sondheim musical. I love musicals. I’m singing — the whole shebang,” Mescal said. “We’ll be sporadically shooting that over the next 20 years, which is like… it sounds so bizarre even coming out of my own mouth. We’re still in the infancy of it to be totally honest.”
Linklater spoke with The Times UK about Mescal earlier this year and said “He’s just a transcendent talent and he can really sing…I’m just so happy we connected right before he went supernova.”
My point with all of this is that those online who are now calling for Mescal to be in a musical: He’s going to be. And there already is one you can watch! Not to be THIS person but maybe do a minimal google search before making a grand statement online and you’d know that Mescal is working on that thing you desire right this very moment!
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