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Pasadena Playhouse continues its Sondheim Celebration season with a deliciously sumptuous and bold new production of “A Little Night Music”. This Tony-award winning musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler was a huge Broadway success for Sondheim yet remains one of his least produced shows. It’s a rare opportunity for local audiences to see this hysterical romp of a show and hear the breathtaking score played by an extraordinary orchestra under the direction of Alby Potts.
At the turn of the last century Sweden, famous stage actress Desirée Armfeldt encounters an old, but never forgotten flame, steady lawyer Frederik Egerman. He has married a much younger (18!) woman, Anne, who succeeds in making him feel young although seeing Desirée rekindles a passion. Meanwhile Frederik’s son Henrik is miserably smitten with Anne who seems somewhat oblivious to her mutual feelings. As Desirée rekindles her romance with Frederik she must contend with her lover, Count Carl-Magnus, who blatantly flaunts his affair with her in front of his long-suffering wife, Charlotte. Jealousies and plot twists abound culminating in an intriguing invitation for all parties to convene for a weekend at the country estate of Desirée’s mother, Madame Armfeldt, where tensions mount, passions flare and feelings are revealed.
Vocally, the production is everything you want it to be, starting right out of the gate with the impeccable quintet of Arnold Geis, Oriana Falla, Kimberly Dawson, Georgia Belmont, and Jared Bybee who serve as a kind of Greek chorus throughout the madcap misadventures of overlapping liaisons. The leads are all fantastic from the bubbly Kaley Ann Voorhees playing Anne with a lighthearted effervescence that is delightful to the spitfire that is Ruby Lewis as the Egerman’s libidinous and playful maid, Petra. Lewis’ vivid rendition of “The Miller’s Son” practically stops the show.
Chase del Rey is terrific as the tortured Henrik and Sarah Uriarte Berry is a standout as Countess Charlotte. She deadpans some of the most hilarious lines in the show and sings a staggering “Every Day a Little Death” revealing a life of quiet desperation. Ryan Silverman plays her husband, the narcissistic and somewhat simple dragoon, Count Carl-Magnus, with a perfect combination of bravado and buffoonery.
The exquisite Jodi Long plays Madame Armfeldt with a perfect balance of acerbic wit and wistful longing. As Frederic, Michael Haydn cuts a somewhat sad figure bumbling his way through a mid-life crisis and Makara Gamble is sweet as the clever, perplexed daughter of Desirée. Which brings us to the luminescent Merle Dandridge as Desirée – bringing all the gravitas and sensuality you expect from a theatre star combined with a striking vulnerability. Her tender, soulful rendition of “Send in the Clowns” is full of self-realization, regret and acceptance – truly one of the best interpretations I’ve seen.
The Wilson Chin set is stunning, with a dramatic crystal chandelier that ascends into place with a dramatic flourish that sets the tone that we have entered rarified air. The stately rooms of the city are transformed for the second act’s “Weekend in the Country” to estate grounds replete with tall trees and cheeky suggestions of arriving cars and the grand maison in the distance.
David Lee’s direction is lively, keeping the action moving at a pitter patter pace that gives the audience a definite sensation of “what’s going to happen next?”. It’s a fantastic production, top to bottom, and is delightfully accessible to those uninitiated with Sondheim’s work and everything a die-hard fan could dream of. “A Little Night Music” simply enchants as it pulls on the heartstrings of anyone who’s ever wondered what became of the one that got away.
Tickets and information for A Little Night Music are available at pasadenaplayhouse.org, by phone at 626-356-7529, and at the box office at 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101.
