'Night Music' at Centerstage to Star Bergen, Walsh, Caulfield

Centerstage has announced the casting for its upcoming production of A Little Night Music, Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's bittersweet masterpiece of musical romance. Directed by Mark Lamos, whose revival of Shakespeare's Cymbeline recently completed a limited Broadway run, A Little Night Music features an award-winning cast led by stage and screen veterans Polly Bergen, Stephen Bogardus, Barbara Walsh, and Maxwell Caulfield. 

Inspired by Ingmar Bergman's classic film, Smiles of a Summer Night, A Little Night Music won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical (Wheeler), and Best Original Score (Sondheim) when it premiered on Broadway in 1973; members of the cast and design team took home another nine Tonys. Set during a Swedish Midsummer around 1900, A Little Night Music tells the story of Fredrik Egerman, his young wife, and a series of wandering hearts—all set to matchlessly witty waltzes.

Polly Bergen leads the cast as grande dame Madame Armfeldt.  Bergen is a veteran stage and screen actress, most recently seen as Felicity Huffman's mother on Desperate Housewives and as Fran Felstein on The Sopranos. Her Broadway credits include a Tony-nominated turn in Follies, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks opposite Mark Hamill, and Cabaret. Her performances in The Helen Morgan Story and The Caretakers have earned her an Emmy Award and Golden Globe nomination, respectively.

Barbara Walsh, whose performances in Company and Falsettos have been recognized with Drama Desk and Tony nominations as well as an Ovation Award, causes all the trouble as Desirée, Madame Armfeldt's actress daughter—and Egerman's former mistress.

Well-known in Broadway circles for his Tony-nominated turn in Love! Valour! Compassion! and roles in Man of La Mancha, Falsettos, Old Acquaintance, and Les Misérables, among others, Stephen Bogardus plays Desirée's former paramour, the staid lawyer Fredrik Egerman.

Maxwell Caulfield plays Desirée's latest suitor, the bombastic Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm. Recognizable from his roles in the films Grease 2 and Empire Records, he has also appeared on Broadway in Chicago and An Inspector Calls.

Additional cast members include Julia Osborne (Anne), Kate Baldwin (Charlotte), Josh Young (Henrik), Sarah Uriarte Berry (Petra), Jonathan C. Kaplan (Frid), Mattie Hawkinson (Fredrika), Whit Baldwin (Mr. Lindquist), Jacque Carnahan (Mrs. Anderssen),Amy Justman (Mrs. Nordstrom), Alison Mahoney (Mrs. Segstrom),and Joe Paparella (Mr. Erlanson).
 
Sondheim's sophisticated comic operetta will be performed in The Pearlstone Theater from March 13th through April 13th; Opening Night is Wednesday, March 19th. Ticket prices are $10-$65. For tickets and show times, call 410.332.0033 or visit centerstage.org. Constellation Energy and SunTrust Bank are the production's official sponsors.
 
Founded in 1963, CENTERSTAGE is Baltimore's leading professional theater, producing and developing an eclectic repertory of challenging, bold, and thought-provoking work in collaboration with leading artists. Each year, more than 100,000 people attend CENTERSTAGE productions that feature actors, directors, and designers from around the world in its two state-of-the-art spaces—The Head Theater and The Pearlstone Theater. Additionally, CENTERSTAGE offers special community and educational programs to enhance the theatergoing experience.

Polly Bergen (photo by Walter McBride / Retna Ltd)

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