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| Micheal O'Hara and Jennifer Littlefield in "A Little Night Music" (photo by Tim Poitevin) |
A Little Night Music
Through March 9
SecondStory Repertory is continuing to expand its repertoire
of musical theater productions in a big way. For some years, the company has
included at least one major musical production in its season, and currently
they are presenting an enchanting production of the intricate musical, A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim
(music and lyrics) and Hugh Wheeler (book).
Not only are they tackling this difficult little ditty, but
right afterward, they will present Kiss
of the Spider Woman and hard on its heels La Cage aux Folles. This is a heady season full of musicals!
Directed and choreographed by Chris Nardine, ALNM is
wonderfully cast with exquisite singers. Nardine does a terrific job using a
quintet of singers to distract from discreet scene changes and augment the
basic plot as a kind of Greek Chorus. The Quintet (Shelly Traverse, Beaven
Walters, Britt Boyd, Elias Traverse and Doug Fahl) begin the musical with what
sounds like a warm-up routine that blends into the overture – snippets of songs
to come.
Some of Sondheim’s loveliest songs are part of this musical.
The first set: Now, Later, Soon is a complex suite of songs that explain the
characters of Fredrik (Micheal O’Hara), married to an 18 year old still-virgin
wife, Anne (Becca Orts), and Fredrik’s son Henrik (Tristan Carruthers) who is
secretly also in love with Anne. As Fredrik sings Now, about wondering whether
to go to bed with his wife, Anne sings Soon, as a plaintive plea for not being
ready yet, and Henrik chafes at always being told “Later, Henrik, Henrik,
Later.” The three pieces blend gorgeously together after being presented
individually.
Fredrik takes Anne to a play starring an old flame of his,
Desiree Armfeldt (Jennifer Littlefield), who cooks up a plan with her mother
(Sharry O’Hare) to invite him and his new wife for a weekend in the country.
Desiree thinks there might be a way to win Fredrik away from his wife and gain
a more stable life with him. She must first get rid of her current lover,
Carl-Magnus (Josh Krupke), a boorish officer who drags his wife (Jenny Vaughn
Hall) to the country to compete for Desiree’s attention with Fredrik.
You may remember the most famous song, Send in the Clowns, came from ALNM. Desiree sings it to Fredrik as
she realizes that he may well be lost to her, just as she is ready to embrace
what they could have together. In the context of the production, it is a
profound expression of realization and mature growth. The “clowns” reference
the idea that someone should be laughing at the irony of their situation.
It is a comedy, however, so ultimately things work out. Anne
figures out that Henrik loves her and she, therefore, loves Henrik. Carl-Magnus
is made jealous when his wife throws herself at Fredrik, and decides he loves
his wife after all. Fredrik feels relieved when Anne runs off with Henrik and
he is therefore free to accept that he still loves Desiree.
All the leads are solid performers very well suited to their
respective roles. O’Hara is commanding but a bit tired as Fredrik. Orts is
twittery and unaware as Anne. Carruthers is woeful and bitter as Henrik, the
desperately unhappy young lover. Hall is droll and amusing, and easy to
identify with as the woman not sure why she is in love with a man who uses her
badly. Krupke blusters amusingly as the boorish officer. Littlefield is arch
and dramatic as the artist who wants to settle down, and has an easy way of
being sexy without apology.
Also, Kristin Burch adroitly plays a maid who wants to have
fun before she settles down. She finds a kindred soul in Frid (Chip Wood), the
manservant to Mdm. Armfeldt. Young Catherine McCool plays Desiree’s young
daughter with some innocence and a touch of surprising sophistication.
O’Hare as Mdm. Armfeldt is fantastic. Mdm. is a subversive
older woman who laments liaisons and the disappearance of elegant mistresses
who become gifted, as she was, with jewels and villas. O’Hare was a pleasure to
watch in that select small role, and it was easy to imagine her playing
Desiree, as her bio states she did some years back.
With musical direction by Paul Linnes, the musicians sound
lush. Support from the technical side is also solid. The set has some lovely
cut-out wooden lacework with a starry wall behind. (Sets, lights and sound are
credited to The Squolf.) Handsome period costumes are designed by John
Allbritton.
ALNM is a challenge to get right. The singers must be
capable of light opera. The humor is a cool, arch and teasing type – the kind
you smile at rather than guffaw loudly to. SecondStory Rep has managed to
really get it right, even with much less of a budget than other musical houses
around town. Kudos to the little theater that can.
For more information, go to www.secondstoryrep.org or call 425-881-6777.