SOUND OFF: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - This NIGHT Smiles

This week, we are taking a listen to the sparkling new cast recording of the hit 2009 Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim & Hugh Wheeler's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. While tickets are hard to come by due to the star-wattage on display each night at the Martin Beck, Tommy Krasker & Co. at PS Classics have given us an embarrassment of riches with this near-note-complete, 2-disc recording of the Sondheim masterpiece.

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - 2009 Broadway Revival Recording

SCORE: 7.5/10

Bring Up The Curtain, La La La

One of the most elegant and enchanting scores ever composed for the theatre, Stephen Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC is one of those rare shows that is almost impossible for an audience to not enjoy, even in the most misguided and miscast of productions. Trevor Nunn's Checkovian, bare-bones take on the tale certainly divided critics and audiences late last year when it arrived on Broadway following critically praised runs at the Menier Chocolate Factory and the West End. For the purposes of this critique we will be focusing solely on PS Classics's new release of the cast album for the 2009 revival and many may find it a more arresting and winning affair than the same production onstage, and it is certainly an all-around solid effort by all involved. The performances of Catherine Zeta-Jones, Alexander Hanson and Angela Lansbury were almost universally praised by critics, even by those who found many faults with the production itself, and the preservation of said production on its cast album is a rich, satisfying affair due in no small part to the strong portrayals of the illustrious characters by these excellent performers, though some of the secondary performances are far less successful. Yes, the perfect original Jonathan Tunick orchestrations have been considerably reduced and a certain savoir faire is certainly missing from much of the affair as a direct result of that, but it not nearly as bad as you may have been lead to believe. Actually, at least on disc, it is quite good, indeed. True, this recording will in no way replace the definitive, masterful Original Broadway Cast Recording and its inimitable lead performances by Glynis Johns, Len Cariou, Hermione Gingold and the rest, but there are newly unearthed riches in many of these performances I had never heard before and for that, and perhaps for that alone, this recording is worth a listen. Or ten. Or twenty.

Beginning with one of the most unique prologues and overtures in musical theatre history, that of a troupe of unnamed Liebeslieder singers taking the stage in a flurry of "Da dums", this revival recording of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC establishes its more serious, dramatic tone from the very first bars. Not to say that there is no comedy to be found here, for certainly Lansbury and Lazar are appropriately uproarious and even intermittently hilariously ribald when necessary, but this is decidedly a more ruminative - dare I say occasionally dour - take on the piece. This imposed directorial concept could very well spell death by implosion for this delicate soufflé of a show, but by the end of the first disc it has won you over and convinced you that this is a considered and appropriate take on the score, if not the best. And it is quite good, but it could have been something far greater and more illusory given this illustrious, enticing cast. Following the brief prologue comes a generous dose of dialogue delivered with relish by Lansbury and her Fredericka, and next is overture, the show proper starting soon thereafter. Taken as a whole, it seems as though it is in the character songs and duets, more so than the group numbers, that Krasker's technical wizardly and the somewhat sterile sound of the recording gives way to something more earthy - and more elegiac. Stylistically, surely this isn't A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC via PASSION or SWEENEY TODD, but there is a definite air of despair and disenchantment that wafts around this iteration of the show and while this somewhat more serious take on the show was certainly a gamble by the powers-that-be - and certainly robs portions of the show of a far amount of joy, levity and fun - it also paints the characters and situations in a new and different light. To curb a phrase from another Sondheim show, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, this production and its recording is more about color of characterization than lightness allotted by levity. In short: color over light.

One of Sondheim's most complex and intricate musical pieces, "Now/Soon/Later" is brought off with aplomb by Hanson and company, with tangible panache and plucky persuasiveness and the separation of the tracks fade into the next ever so seamlessly, another of many myriad minutiae oh-so-carefully attended to on this technically superb, if a tad bit bland, rendering of the revival score. Hunter Ryan Herdlicka is appropriately by turns passionate and pained as Henrik, though his "For God's sake" is pure sonic pain, but perhaps that was intentional. Romana Mallory - daughter of original Anne, Victoria - is very good, indeed, and brings a certain winsomeness and nubile naiveté to her characterization. I can't help but feel Hanson's line reading of "Desiree" at the end of this section is a bit bizarre and over-the-top, but perhaps it works onstage. The appearance of Catherine Zeta-Jones following the cute and cutesy introduction by this production's Fredericka injects a well-needed dose of adrenaline to the somewhat tentative tempos that seem to be a choice on this comprehensive, well over one-hour-long recording. I also could hear a bit of Velma Kelly in Zeta-Jones's delivery of a set of the "la la la"'s which was a bit jarring, but I must admit it works remarkably well for this bitchier take on the character. We are then treated to a delectable dialogue section from Desiree's second-rate production, performed with panache by Desiree - intentionally camp and caustic. The recurring "Remember?" sections, here and hereafter, are enacted with requisite relish and polish by the ensemble members. "You Must Meet My Wife" contains Hanson's best performance of the disc, and Zeta-Jones is positively note-perfect in her delivery of the withering witticisms overflowing from Wheeler's pen here. Legendary star of stage and screen Angela Lansbury gives another perfect performance on a cast album with her delicious and decadently daffy take on Madame Leonora Armfeldt. "Liasons" has never been sung better and Lansbury is every bit Gingold's equal in this exquisite example of an actress at the absolute height of her powers with this brilliantly written and lovable courtesan character and song. From the sublime to the less so, Aaron Lazar is positively breathtaking as Count Carl Magnus but Erin Davie is bland and uninteresting as Charlotte - a slight role that nevertheless managed to garner original cast member Patricia Elliott a well-deserved Best Supporting Actress Tony Award and proving to be a bravura tour-de-force for Diana Rigg in the deadly film version that is recommendable for no other reason than her performance and Tunick's Oscar-winning adaptation of the score - in the rollicking "In Praise of Women". Romona Mallory does well with "Everyday A Little Death" but, on the other hand, Davie seemingly lacks all personality so perhaps that is not as great a feat as it may first seem to be since the song is such a gem. The dialogue scene leading into the Act One Finale is a welcome addition to this already exhaustively complete recording of the show. "A Weekend In The Country" ends the first act on a high, though it starts off very rough due to Leigh Ann Larkin's dramatically questionable shrillness and shriek-filled portrayal of Petra, yet the rest of the cast does well with it, but the reduced orchestrations simply do not work for this number and render the track much less a success than it could have otherwise been with anything other than this annoyingly anemic orchestration. Note: the orchestra has been expanded by a number of pieces for this recording, the revival has an orchestra pit of eight.

Following a twinkling and truly glittering glissando, Act Two begins with a romantic and delicate rendering of "The Sun Won't Set" and - also later in "Perpetual Anticipation" - the four ensemble members imbue all of their material with equal parts angst, pathos, eros and conviviality. By the way, the Liebeslieder ensemble - members of which often understudy the lead roles, as is the case in this particular production - include Broadway veterans Betsy Morgan, Jayne Paterson and Stephen R. Buntruck. Speaking of veterans, Lansbury proves here, as well as in every single one of her other moments, why she is the most acclaimed actress of the musical theatre. To call Miss Lansbury merely a "star" would be akin to calling her any other four-letter word: this lady is a Legend, with a capital L. "Night Waltz II", just as its first version, is sleek and stylish and the reduced orchestration does not pose a threat to the power of the music, as it occasionally does elsewhere in this act, particularly the orchestral swell of "Send In The Clowns (Reprise)". "It Would Have Been Wonderful" is one of my favorite selections on this disc, and Hanson and Lazar prove, yet again, they are ideally suited for these roles. Truly, between his work in THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA and here, Aaron Lazar is making a strong case for him being among the very best performers we have on Broadway. He is stupendous, and every bit as good as Laurence Guittard, which is enormously huge praise from this ALNM-OBC addict. Lansbury is so shrewdly effective with her performance of "A Wooden Ring" that, at first, we may feel to see the sad irony of the story she is telling, but soon the bathos and pathos of the moment take her - and us - as if by surprise as she succumbs to the truth, and, soon, to death itself. Following a stirring and heartbreaking dialogical section that proves to be the very climax of the drama, Catherine Zeta-Jones has mighty big high-heels to fill with "Send In the Clowns". Considering all the luminaries of stage, screen, and popular music that have recorded this sad song over the years - among them Frank Sinatra, Judy Collins, Barbara Cook and Barbra Streisand - I am happy to say that Zeta-Jones acts it brilliantly and sings it very well. This is an actor's take on the song more than a singer's take, but the results are exceedingly exceptional and Zeta-Jones more than fulfills her promise as a consummate performer more than able to take on this difficult role, with always attractive results, and sometimes - such as here - much, much more than that. Leigh Ann Larkin's "The Miller's Son" is a misappropriated take on the character and the tricky song that just does not work for me at all, as eluded to earlier, so I shall be kind to her since I quite enjoyed her Baby June in Patti LuPone's GYPSY as we discussed last week, and I will leave it at that. The rest of the album and the various reprises therein are all attractive reminders of the full versions of the songs that have come before them, and Hanson and Zeta-Jones prove to be every bit the star-crossed lovers they inevitably discover that they are, and have been all along. The end of the show is without question a tad melancholy and philosophical - and a great deal metaphorical - yet, is that not true of many Sondheim shows? Whatever the case, it is entirely appropriate that this disc ends the way it does, with a sigh and a wink and, perhaps, a tear or two. Given the fact of this production's penchant for melancholy and melodrama, perhaps the ending is more sour than sweet than it may have seemed to be before, but the glimmer of hope for our lead lovers still shines just as bright as it ever did: like a tiny star in the night sky of the show's poster and the gorgeously designed cast album's cover. PS Classics, as evident everywhere else on this sumptuous album, goes above and beyond the call to provide us with a solo version of the show's most famous song, "Send In The Clowns", and Zeta-Jones gives a slightly different and more full-throated performance of the song and it is every bit as good as her other sterling work in the show, and the show version of the song itself. Perhaps, even a tiny bit better.

Before I heard this recording, I was as skeptical as any Sondheim fan as to what I was getting myself into with this revisionist take on the classic musical that I love more than most others. I was quite prepared to have to title this review "Nunn's Got None" or "Everyday A Little Death", but I must admit that I was almost completely won over by this wonderful disc, the many quibbles aside. This is the most complete recording of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC on record, and while I will always prefer the Original Broadway Cast and the 1995 National Theatre Recording from the West End starring the spectacular Desiree of Judi Dench, this recording may very well be the best first introduction to this masterpiece musical for NIGHT MUSIC virgins of the twenty-first century. For this reviewer, the Spring night of early April smiled many more than three times over the course of this delightful cast album, and the sun does not seem to be setting anytime soon on this smash-hit production of NIGHT MUSIC. We can only hope that the replacement cast, if there is one when Zeta-Jones and Lansbury's contracts are up in a month or so, will shine as brightly as this excellent cast does on this expertly produced and painstakingly painterly cast album. Would all revival cast records be this complete, considerate and carefully crafted. Applause for the clowns, though they may be a tad sadder than usual here, and certainly a few smiles too, for cast album collectors and Sondheim fans alike.