Review: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at Greenway Court Theatre

I balled at the end! Call me a sentimental fool, I guess. But the night definitely smiled - for me, at least.

After two years on hold because of COVID and another last-minute postponement also because of COVID, Knot Free Productions in association with Greenway Arts Alliance, and Theatre Planners finally opened their production of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC on Friday, February 4th.

Directed by Ryan O'Connor (He/They) with musical direction by Anthony Zediker (He/Him) and choreography by Ty Deran (They/She), the 12-time Tony Award-nominated, Sondheim/Wheeler musical comedy of manners made a decided splash at the Greenway Court Theatre with the highlight of being a non-traditionally gender cast production.

It was mostly delightful. Plenty of heart and easy to see how much dedication and love the directors, cast, and crew put into this work. Notwithstanding that they had a good two years to do it. An audience pleaser to be sure as musicals go, especially that it is endowed with a Stephen Sondheim score. But not every decision made sense.

Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT, it is a romantic farce about the lives of several upper-middle-class couples in early twentieth-century Sweden who play an evening of sexual musical chairs on the longest night of the year. The musical replete with three-quarter time melodies features Sondheim's best-known song "Send In The Clowns". The plot assembled by book writer Hugh Wheeler is complicated but clever, and the couples - mostly mismatched at the start - end up with more desirable partners by the end of the evening. *

In his director's note, Ryan O'Connor explains that after breaking down the show and score, he was profoundly confused by a singular aspect. Why do the women of this story, who are so very strong, complicated, and broad-minded, let the men decide their fates? I would argue that they don't. They are, after all, women of their time - living more than 100 years ago to be exact - and the way they go about achieving any sort of result is different by necessity. They are tied to acceptable societal norms. But respectively, the women in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC are not without invention.

Women in the 1900s were culturally oppressed, economically downtrodden, and politically dominated by their husbands. Many societies did not allow them to participate in decisions concerning the issues that affected them. Males were in charge of everything, including women's money. They weren't even allowed to eat the same food as men. And even criticizing one's husband could lead to brutal reaction in which they could be physically harmed or even killed.*

Fredricka Armfeldt (Emma Rose, She/Her) herself is a bastard, which is rather an outcast position. But somehow, partly of course through the grace of her wealthier grandmother (Zoe Bright, She/Her), an aged and retired courtesan, is being raised as an educated young lady. Her mother, Desiree (Catherine Wadkins, She/Her), a celebrated performer, is also technically on the fringes of society yet manages to be in the dead center of it, and independently so. Even with a waning career. Anne Egerman (Ty Deran, They/She) is young and married and obligated to obey her husband. She is only lucky to have one who is kinder, more understanding and more patient than most. A husband who doesn't sexually force himself on her, as is his legal right to do. And yet, she manages to keep her purity and wardrobe intact while running away with another man practically without any repercussions (at least that we know about). And finally, the most miserable Countess Charlotte Malcolm (Sarah Wolter, She/Her) who is forced to not just withstand her husband's open infidelity, but is required to participate in it, manages to flip her circumstances entirely, winning him back and gaining a bit of respect as well as loving attention from him in the effort. True, the means are deplorable. But even as the wealthiest and most elevated female in the room, she has zero options. Only the almost invisible maids seem to be able to skirt everyone's watchful eyes and do what they want when they want.

O'Connor further asserts several other ideas in the development of this particular iteration. 30-year-old Fredricka's trip down memory lane in her grandmother's abandoned chateau begins at the apex of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic. A parallel to our early COVID-19 quarantine in North America. He poses the question, "What if she spent her days in quarantine with her family writing this piece to pass the time (which Hal Prince said was the point of the musical)?" Then also, "What if Fredricka was a queer woman? What if like her mother, she became a traveling theatrical performer - but in a company of all women?"

...And just like that, traditional gender casting was put aside for a multiple pronoun cast who delightfully, on opening night, brought to life an enchanting little musical that, had we not been informed at all, would have hardly noticed.

Bright and invigorating each beautifully-played melody filled the Greenway Court Theatre with much-needed positive energy that audiences have been longing for throughout the forced 2020-21 theater closures. Michael Mullen's costuming and Chadd McMillan's wigs insert colorful spectacle into the quiet visual tableau of EK Dagenfield's set design, further enhanced by Donny Jackson's lighting. The ensemble singing cast is vocally magnificent and main actors mostly hit their marks throughout the show with a stand out vocal performance by Alexa Rosengaus (She/Her) as Petra the maid as well as a genuinely fun Christopher Robert Smith (He/Him) as Count Carl Magnus and Catherine Wadkins who sings a subtle almost spoken, "Send In The Clowns". Further kudos go to Zoe Bright as a snappy Madame Armfeldt who delivers some quippy dialog with effect.

Only Henrik Egerman's costuming and direction seemed to be living in a different century. With clothes that didn't quite fit and direction that allowed they/them to step outside of the period construct. Actor Amanda Kruger, who is genuinely otherwise very appealing in the role, oddly bounces around on stage with a physical ease that is more typical of modern people than early 1900 physicality which is stereotypically bound due to social forms and tight clothes. Kruger's behaviors don't lend much credibility to Henrik being a Seminary student nor even old enough to be considered a lover to his stepmother, Anne Egerman (Ty Deran, They/She) who is genuinely so lovely and well-placed in their own character work. You can't help but notice the mismatch of the relationship. It takes you out.

The other glaring issue is the stage direction. In an effort to fully use the space, on more than one occasion characters stand at the four corners upstage and downstage which, if you are sitting in a front-row (downstage) corner, as I myself happened to be, it is impossible to see anything happening upstage center. There were significant sections where I was not only unable to see the action, I practically couldn't hear characters speak because of their respective placements. Their plain-speaking voices also occasionally sounded too quiet as well, making dialogs sometimes difficult to hear.

Overall, the show in its current form doesn't exactly answer all the questions posed by its director. It is, however, thoroughly entertaining made so by a cast who brings this almost never-mounted production to Los Angeles. And it is delightful.

Recommended

Featuring (in alphabetical order) Lux Amaya-She/Her (Alternate), Zoe Bright-She/Her (Madame Armfeldt), Peyton Crim-He/Him (Fredrik Egerman), Ty Deran-They/She (Anne Egerman), Tal Fox-She/Her (Nordstrom), Amanda Kruger-They/Them(Henrik Egerman), Andrea Lara-She/Her (Anderssen), Roni Paige-She/They(Segstrom/Frid), Meredith Pyle-She/Her (Linquist), Emma Rose-She/Her (FredrikaArmfeldt), Alexa Rosengaus-She/Her (Petra), Christopher Robert Smith-He/Him(Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm), Dekontee Tucrkile-She/Her (Erlansen), CatherineWadkins-She/Her (Desiree Armfeldt), and Sarah Wolter-She/Her (Charlotte Malcolm). Set design is by EK Dagenfield(He/Him), lighting design is by Donny Jackson(He/Him), sound design is by Mia Glenn-Schuster(They/Them), and costume design is by Michael Mullen(He/Him). Assistant director is Elana Luo(She/Her), assistant music directorisMatthew Tong(He/Him), properties designer is Jenine MacDonald(She/Her), and stage manager is Natalie Jackson(She/They). The casting director isTal Fox(She/Her)

Admission prices range from $45-$60.

Tickets are available online atbit.ly/NightMusic2022 or by phone at (323) 673-0544.

The regular performance schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7pm.

Proof of vaccination and boosters will be required for admittance.

Masks must be worn indoors at all times.

The Greenway CourtTheatre is located at 544 N. Fairfax Avenue, in Los Angeles, 90036. Free parking is available in the lot adjacent to the theater.

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