Review - A Little Night Music: Look What Happened To Mabel

Bernadette Peters just had to go and ruin it for everybody, didn't she. Well, maybe not for everybody, but certainly for the unfortunate soul who will be honored in June with this season's Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Because in all probability the honor will be forever cursed by the unavoidable sidebar, "Yeah, but was she better than Bernadette Peters in A Little Night Music?"

What's happening on stage at the Walter Kerr is that a beloved Broadway star, one whose 40+ years both on and off Broadway have seen their share of triumphs, disappointments and mediocrities, has been placed in a role that perfectly suits her talents, stage savvy and experience, allowing for a performance that could truly solidify Ms. Peters' place as one of the great artists of the musical theatre stage.

As the early 20th Century barnstorming Swedish actress, "the one and only Desirée Armfeldt," who is reunited with a lover of fifteen years past at a time when both are involved in precarious relationships, she is still wholly recognizable as Bernadette Peters; she of the Gibson Girl figure, kewpie-doll face (nary a crease to be seen from my second row seat) and baby-doll voice. But in Hugh Wheeler (book) and Stephen Sondheim's (score) ravishingly witty and heart-wounding adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's "Smiles of a Summer Night," her tools of theatrical femininity are cleverly utilized to create a character whose acting talents amount to little more than the ability to seduce provincial audiences and stupid men; enough to provide her with immediate pleasures, but not long-term satisfaction. Her guard elegantly softens as she begins to see the passionate flame of her past as the safe and endearing companion with whom she can spend a future being herself.

In answer to the expected question, "What about her 'Send In The Clowns?,'" it is impossible to set those few minutes of the second act apart from everything that comes before and after. When her Desirée comes to realize that the only man she desires is not just legally, but emotionally tied to his young virgin bride, the self-effacing humor with which she earlier regarded her own celebrity is then summoned to combat her heartbreak. The star of frivolous comedy tries to laugh through her pain, and even forces a carefree smile as though her heartache was the twisted curtain line to some clever author's comedy of manners. It's a moment of musical theatre acting so ensconced in character and situation that the interpretation would barely make sense outside of this performance. And it is quite perfect.

Of course, Ms. Peters is not the only exciting new addition to what was previously a rather lukewarm revival. Elaine Stritch is also making a triumphant return to Broadway as Desirée's wheelchair-bound, former courtesan mother, Madame Armfeldt. Surveying the stage with a regal presence that contrasts with a gruff acerbic candor, she tantalizes the audience with languid pauses and stern looks that enhance the humor of her wry observations. Her only solo, "Liaisons," where the character mourns the delicacy that once accompanied dalliances, is a masterful example of thoughtful phrasing; the simple, exactingly-timed utterance of the word "raisins" (as well as its very obvious rhyme) inspiring roars of laughter. But she is achingly pitiable when the character recalls her rejection of a long-ago suitor who might have been the love of her life, fearful that her daughter will make the same mistake.

As lawyer Fredrik Egerman, who starts pining for Desirée after eleven months of chaste marriage to his very young and very hesitant bride, Anne, Alexander Hanson remains my favorite British import since Gordon's Gin. Mature, elegant and self-effacingly humorous, Hanson is an engaging match for his new leading lady, delivering verbal comedy with ease and intelligence and singing with delightfully spontaneity.

Remarkably, the less-than-satisfactory supporting cast has greatly improved in the months since the production first opened. While actors are sometimes known to broaden up their performances during long runs, Ramona Mallory's Anne, previously played with the overdone animation of a young adolescent, has been toned down to a believable level. Likewise, Erin Davie, as Charlotte, the long-suffering wife of the philandering Carl-Magnus, no longer pummels her many sardonic observations and winds up being very funny with her lighter, dryer touch. Aaron Lazar seems to be having a bit more fun as Carl-Magnus, his menacingly dashing swagger and rich voice still in fine form, and Hunter Ryan Herdlicka's performance as Fredrik's sexually repressed son, Henrik, has grown into a more interesting, rebellious teen.

As the lusty maid, Petra, Leigh Ann Larkin has the unenviable task of following Peters' "Send In The Clowns" with her solo, "The Miller's Son." Though still stuck with some ridiculously slutty staging (arching her back while aggressively mounting a bench) her performance has grown with poise and confident sexuality and is a highlight of the evening.

Unfortunately, director Trevor Nunn's production, transferring to Broadway from London's tiny Menier Chocolate Factory, cannot replicate the style and elegance provided by Sondheim and Wheeler; from Jason Carr's orchestrations for a less than adequate eight pieces to David Farley's too simple set (framed mirrored panels that adapt to different settings; trees added for act two) to Nunn's uninspired staging, the packaging seems rather dull, and worse, cheap.

But with two gleaming new stars and a cast that seems thoroughly revitalized, A Little Night Music is in far better shape now than when it first opened. Just think of it as a concert staging and you'll be fine.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Alexander Hanson and Bernadette Peters; Bottom: Elaine Stritch

Click here to follow Michael Dale on Twitter.

"I prefer neurotic people. I like to hear rumblings beneath the surface."
-- Stephen Sondheim

The grosses are out for the week ending 8/1/2010 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (8.3%), A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (7.0%), ROCK OF AGES (5.2%), LEND ME A TENOR (4.3%), AMERICAN IDIOT (3.7%), NEXT TO NORMAL (1.0%), MARY POPPINS (0.7%), IN THE HEIGHTS (0.4%), MAMMA MIA! (0.1%),

Down for the week was: Harry Connick, Jr. (-14.4%), MEMPHIS (-10.0%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-6.1%), SOUTH PACIFIC (-4.2%), THE ADDAMS FAMILY (-3.5%), PROMISES, PROMISES (-2.4%), FELA! (-2.3%), RACE (-2.0%), WEST SIDE STORY (-1.2%), JERSEY BOYS (-1.1%), COME FLY AWAY (-1.1%), CHICAGO (-0.8%), MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET (-0.7%), BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL (-0.6%),