Nominated for 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, the first Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Tony Award-winning masterpiece A Little Night Music, directed by Tony Award®-winner Trevor Nunn, based on Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night, is set in a weekend country house in turn of the century Sweden, bringing together surprising liaisons, long simmering passions and a taste of love's endless possibilities. Now starring Tony®, Grammy® & Golden Globe® Award winner Bernadette Peters and Tony® & Emmy ®Award winner Elaine Stritch. Casting after November 7 is TBD.
Zeta-Jones is less effective, though, at suggesting Desiree's weary, rueful edges. Her throaty laughter seems almost too emphatic at times, as does her singing, whether she's showing her claws in You Must Meet My Wife or acknowledging defeat in Send in the Clowns. This might owe something to Nunn's direction, as other performances here flirt with overzealousness. Ramona Mallory is particularly shrill as Anne, Fredrik's post-pubescent second wife. To be fair, Music demands a capacity for both broad comedy and pathos, and the director and cast mine and juggle these qualities rigorously and, for the most part, skillfully. None of them, of course, blend wit and poignancy better than Lansbury — or Sondheim's score, for that matter. They are, without question, the two best reasons to see this revival.
If you want to mount a new Broadway production of A Little Night Music, you're best to heed advice based on the biggest hit from Stephen Sondheim's 1973 musical: Send in the movie stars. And so they have, tapping Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones to play the haughty and brazenly adulterous actress Desiree Armfeldt. It's an inspired choice, since Zeta-Jones' Hollywood glam buttresses the role's necessary off-puttingness. And the actress pulls off the challenge, comfortably commanding the stage as if it were just another red carpet to be conquered. While she may not outshine some of Broadway's best-known divas in the strength or quality of her singing voice (it's solid, but a little nasal), she sells her numbers as only a great actress can. And her second-act rendition of 'Send in the Clowns' is an emotional tour de force not to be missed. Likewise, Angela Lansbury offers a master class in character acting as Desiree's ancient mother, Madame Armfeldt, wringing out every poignant beat and punchline.
1973 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
1974 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
1975 | West End |
London Production West End |
1977 | College/University (US) |
Northwestern University Production College/University (US) |
1981 | Off-Off-Broadway |
Off-Off-Broadway Revival Off-Off-Broadway |
1985 | Off-Broadway |
Equity Library Theatre Revival Off-Broadway |
1989 | West End |
London Revival West End |
1990 | Off-Broadway |
New York City Opera Revival Off-Broadway |
1991 | Off-Broadway |
Return Engagement [NYCO Revival] Off-Broadway |
1995 | West End |
Royal National Theatre Production West End |
2002 | Regional (US) |
Sondheim Festival Production Regional (US) |
2003 | Off-Broadway |
New York City Opera Production Off-Broadway |
2009 | West End |
West End Transfer West End |
2009 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2020 | Los Angeles |
Knot Free Productions Production Los Angeles |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Angela Lansbury |
2009 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical (tie) | Catherine Zeta-Jones |
2009 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Angela Lansbury |
2009 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | A Little Night Music |
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