Review: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at Tri-M Productions At New Mexico Actors Lab

Sondheim is everywhere. Since the start of 2024, I have seen two on Broadway (Merrily We Roll Along; Sweeney Todd), one Off-Broadway (Here We Are, the play he was working on when he passed away in 2021) one just last week in Albuquerque (Into the Woods) and last night in Santa Fe, A Little Night Music.

Why so much Sondheim? If you are a musical theater aficionado, you can’t deny his genius. The man did more to make musical theater an edgy, contemporary and innovative art form than anyone else in the second half of the 20th century.

That’s not to say his shows were always hits  - the original Merrily played only 68 performances on Broadway before shuttering, ending Sondheim’s long and prosperous relationship with producer/director Hal Prince.

While in their heyday, Sondheim and Prince teamed up to produce A Little Night Music.  The musical was inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night. The action takes place in the Swedish countryside and involves several romantic entanglements, including an older lawyer (Fredrik, played by Brent Black) and his child bride (Anne, played by Divara Harper), his former lover (Desiree, played by Jessica Cunico), the former lover’s current lover (played by Miles Blitch) and his wife (Countess Charlotte, Melissa Reidel). There are also dalliances happening with servants, Desiree’s wise and judgemental mother (Madame Armfeldt, played by Sally Ritch) and Desiree’s young daughter (Fredrika, played by Ansley King).

Some of Sondheim’s most recognizable songs, including Send in the Clowns, The Miller’s Son and You Must Meet My Wife are here, so it’s no wonder the show won the 1973 Tony for Best Musical.

Director Marilyn Barnes admitted that A Little Night Music is one of the most challenging shows in Sondheim’s repertoire. She’s not wrong. Tri-M gives the show a valiant effort, with several wonderful standout moments and some excellent vocals. Despite these, there are also some lulls and moments threatening to go completely off the rails vocally, which hopefully will start to even out over the course of the run (not an unusual thing to occur with Sondheim productions).

Standouts here include Cunico as Desiree, who brings a sadness and yearning to her performance, especially of the iconic Send in the Clowns. Marina Heaney’s poignant rendition of The Miller’s Son is also a highlight.

The biggest surprise and standout performance of the evening came from the wonderful and thoroughly engaging Sally Ritch as the matriarch Madame Armfeldt. Ritch fully embodies this character and was delightful throughout. Nice supporting work from Riley Samuel Merrit as Henrik, Fredrik’s son, and Anne, Fredrik’s young bride.

The costumes, many here courtesy of Santa Fe Opera, were lovely and sumptuous, as were the orchestrations, led by the ever-capable Music Director Kathleen Ritch. There are a couple of dead moments during scene changes that could have done with some orchestral cover, but otherwise the staging moved along rather smoothly.

Tri-M is a company that is continuing to grow and evolve. It began as a company using solely actors between the ages of 18 and 35, which is perfect for a show such as Spring Awakening or Kinky Boots, two former Tri-M productions. However, for other shows that have older characters, employing a strictly Millennial/Gen Z cast falls flat and can seem amateurish. Luckily, the company has received that message and are casting from a wider range of ages – a wonderful thing for this production, in particular.

A Little Night Music is playing at New Mexico Actor’s Lab March 7 – 23rd. Tickets are available at Tri-M’s website.

***One housekeeping note for the company – and one I would not usually bring up in a review, but it definitely colored my ability to enjoy and focus on the show. It’s wonderful that the actors and technicians in Tri-M productions are all paid, making this a professional company. However, in order to be a truly professional company, people cannot be allowed to take photos and videos during performances - it’s not only rude and disrespectful to the actors and audience members, it jeopardizes the licensing rights to the show. People who are not respectful of this should be asked to leave immediately, regardless of who they are. It takes a village, people - put your phones away and if you can't, stay home.

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