A Little Less Night Music Come January
Sure, the sophisticated
Stephen Sondheim tuner had only been selling tickets through January 9, 2011, anyway. But with the
celebrated replacements
Bernadette Peters and
Elaine Stritch originally scheduled only through November 7, coupled with the revival's
previous plans to close last June 20, I couldn't help but hope the producers could pull a fifth and sixth rabbit out of their stylish hat in terms of its headlining cast.
Instead, the producers
announced today a hat trick of another kind. While confirming the show's closure for the second time (and presumably final) time, they simultaneously announced that Peters and Stritch have extended their contracts through the closing date of January 9.
A Little Night Music will have enjoyed a remarkable Rialto run of 425 regular performances, after first wowing the critics across the pond.
Trevor Nunn's production
captured my heart when I first saw it nearly two years ago in London where his vision worked exceedingly well in the
Menier Chocolate Factory's thimble-sized theatre.
Having seen that incarnation and knowing what to expect with Nunn's spare staging,
I wasn't at all let down in quite the way many of my colleagues were by the time the show turned up on Broadway. However, I was every bit as genuinely disappointed by
Catherine Zeta-Jones's brassy performance as I was genuinely moved by
Angela Lansbury. Yet when Peters and Stritch took over as replacements, I couldn't help but believe
I had just witnessed the definitive portrayal of Desiree as manifested in "Send In The Clowns."
Was this a perfect revival? Certainly not. But it surely has provided audiences with a wonderfully rare opportunity to hear some of Sondheim's very best music back on the Broadway stage. And you know what? It sure
was rich.
This is
Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. Labels: A Little Night Music, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Closing Notices, Elaine Stritch, Stephen Sondheim, The House Of Blue Leaves, Trevor Nunn
A Little Night Music (The SOB Review) – Walter Kerr Theatre, New York City, New York
*** (out of ****)A funny thing happened on
A Little Night Music's way to Broadway.
As regular readers will recall, in November 2008,
I found myself absolutely swept away by
Trevor Nunn's revival of
Stephen Sondheim's glorious
A Little Night Music at London's tiny
Menier Chocolate Factory. I was swooning. I even wistfully wrote how I wished this production would find its way to the Great White Way.
Well, not
quite like this. Be careful what you wish for.
This nearly replicated staging, which worked extraordinarily well in that tiny black box in London, hardly fills the stage of the
Walter Kerr. While the show is still good and very much worth seeing, the quaintness across the pond could have --
should have -- been scaled appropriately upward from enhanced orchestrations (
Jason Carr) to set design (
David Farley) in order to fit its new venue with the luster it deserves.
What I had really wished was that the Broadway transfer would bring with it
Hannah Waddingham as Desiree and
Maureen Lipman as her mother Madame Armfeldt. Instead, the only actor who has made the journey across the pond is
Alexander Hanson, whose exceptional rendering of Desiree's one-time love is as tender and heartfelt as ever.
As truly enchanting as the initial Menier incarnation was, what made it all the lovelier was its superb cast headlined by Waddingham. While the incandescent
Catherine Zeta-Jones doesn't hold a candle to Waddingham's nuanced portrayal, her megawatt star power does light up the stage, albeit with a similarly forced "I'll prove to them I'm up to the challenge" moxie she demonstrated in "
Chicago." You can't help but admire her for trying, but subtlety is not one of her strongest suits.
Fortunately, the replacement of Lipman with
Angela Lansbury works infinitely better. While
Hugh Wheeler's book relegates Madame Armfeldt to a wheelchair, Lansbury commands the stage every time she's on it, whether in song or in her humor-filled chiding. It's pure bliss to see her return to Broadway in a musical role.
Then there's the splendid music. While not fully orchestrated for ultimate impact, Sondheim's score must be among his most beautiful. Coupled with Wheeler's ingenious storyline, it is what really makes this Broadway revival sing, even if not nearly as rhapsodically as it did in London.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: A Little Night Music, Alexander Hanson, Angela Lansbury, Broadway, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Musical, Revival, Stephen Sondheim, The SOB Review, Transfer, Trevor Nunn
Just One More Little Night Before Music
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Just One More Little Night Before MusicLast Thanksgiving weekend, I treated myself to one of the best theatrical experiences I had all year.
It came after the
West End Whingers advised me to do myself a favor and take in the
Menier Chocolate Factory's stunning revival of
Stephen Sondheim and
Hugh Wheeler's
A Little Night Music in London.
In some pre-trip prep work, SarahB at
Adventures In The Endless Pursuit Of Entertainment helped push me over the edge. I've yet to come back, and that's a good thing.
In my subsequent
SOB Review, I waxed rhapsodic in my praise:
Isn't it rich?!
Who would have thought that a show staged in a style so deceptively simple could be so sublime, not to mention utterly romantic. Rich, indeed.
Now, if you're not a romantic at heart, you need not bother. But for the
rest of us, Trevor Nunn's gorgeous revival of A Little Night Music is pure heaven.
So smitten was I that I closed my review rather wistfully:
There's little doubt that the bewitching allure of this excellent revival will follow other Menier productions to the West End, but how about to Broadway?
Well, maybe next year ... or so we can hope!
A little more than two months later,
it was announced that the revival would indeed transfer to a West End berth. Then, just two months ago,
came confirmation that the musical would be produced on Broadway with
Catherine Zeta-Jones making her Great White Way debut in the coveted role of Desiree Armfeldt alongside
Angela Lansbury as her mother, Madame Armfeldt.
Now, finally, we're but 24 hours away from the first preview and I know I'm not alone in anxiously awaiting my turn to see it fresh on the Main Stem after a long absence of more than 35 years.
Welcome back,
A Little Night Music! This Thanksgiving, we're giving thanks that you're back on Broadway.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Little Night Music, Angela Lansbury, Broadway, Catherine Zeta-Jones, London, Menier Chocolate Factory, Musical, Revival, Stephen Sondheim, Transfer, Trevor Nunn
Send In The CrowdsToday, at long last and after what seems like months of endless speculation came confirmation that what is arguably
Stephen Sondheim's greatest lifetime triumph --
A Little Night Music -- is finally coming back to Broadway after a long overdue 35 year absence.
I'm truly not sure what is more remarkable about this
Trevor Nunn-helmed import from London.
On the one hand, you have Academy Award-winning actress
Catherine Zeta-Jones making her Broadway debut in the coveted role of Desiree Armfeldt. While a Rialto novice, a very young Zeta-Jones
made her West End debut in
Annie. She also appeared in the London production of
42nd Street -- incredibly, she was cast in the leading role of Peggy Sawyer after both the regular actress and understudy already filling the part fell ill! The rest, as they say, is history. After wowing us as Velma Kelly in the film production of "
Chicago," Zeta-Jones indicated shortly thereafter that she would someday love to tackle a musical on Broadway. That day is soon to come.
On the other hand -- and this is a mighty huge hand -- you have the legendary
Angela Lansbury. The beloved five-time Tony-winning veteran of 11 Great White Way shows over the last 52 years is defying all odds by agreeing
once more to one last crack at a Main Stem stage. This time, she'll be portraying Madame Armfeldt. Could it be that she'll earn her sixth Tony?
Also particularly noteworthy is that this production marks only the very first time
A Little Night Music will have been revived on Broadway. Hard to believe for a musical that inspires swoons from virtually all comers who have ever seen it performed.
Regular readers will note that even I was swept away. After seeing Nunn's earliest incarnation of
A Little Night Music in London last November, I summed up
my rapturous SOB Review by pining:
There's little doubt that the bewitching allure of this excellent revival will follow other Menier productions to the West End, but how about to Broadway?
Well, maybe next year ... or so we can hope!
According to the announcement made today, my complete wish is coming true.
A Little Night Music will begin previews at the
Walter Kerr Theatre on November 24. Opening night is currently scheduled for December 13.
While complete casting has not been announced, we do know that
Alexander Hanson will reprise his London role as Fredrik Egerman. Lansbury, Zeta-Jones and Hanson will be joined by
Erin Davie (Countess Charlotte Malcolm),
Hunter Ryan Herdlicka (Henry Egerman),
Leigh Ann Larkin (Petra),
Aaron Lazar (Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm) and
Ramona Mallory (Anne Egerman).
The first Broadway production of
A Little Night Music was directed by the great
Harold Prince. The musical opened February 25, 1973, at the
Shubert Theatre. Not only would the show earn a whopping 12 Tony Award nominations, but it would reap of six of the top honors including Best Musical, Best Original Score (Sondheim), Best Book of a Musical (
Hugh Wheeler), Best Actress in a Musical (
Glynis Johns), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (
Patricia Elliott) and Best Costume Design (
Florence Klotz - a Tony that I have had the thrill of holding myself).
Just seven months after first opening, the tuner transferred to Broadway's
Majestic Theatre, where it played until August 3, 1974. All totaled,
A Little Night Music enjoyed 601 regular performances on the Great White Way.
While I for one would have loved to have seen both
Hannah Waddingham and
Maureen Lipman recreate their roles from the London stage, you can bet that as the casting of Zeta-Jones and Lansbury will make this one of Broadway's most sought-after tickets of the year, I will be cueing up enthusiastically. To put it simply -- I can't wait.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Little Night Music, Alexander Hanson, Angela Lansbury, Broadway, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Hugh Wheeler, London, Musical, Stephen Sondheim, Transfer, Trevor Nunn
