When the curtain rises on a new
theater season, you can expect fanfare, spangles, glitz and
music, music, music.
Theatre Memphis has grand entries down to a science. And
for the last few years, the expected fare has been the
over-the-top, no-business-like-show- business variety of
canonical musicals a la "Hello, Dolly!" "42nd Street" or
"Mame" -- productions that seem impossibly large for a
community theater to produce.
Things are a little different this year. A little
less boisterous. A little more subdued.
Though "A Little Night Music" has the big Stephen Sondheim
name attached to it, the show is a wistful and dreamy musical
that doesn't seem confined by the space, nor fawningly
exuberant.
With the intimacy of a chamber opera and a lite-comedy
acting style, the piece is a stunning collaboration of local
talent, both on stage and off.
Scenic designer Michael Williams creates a spectacular
playing field for the lovelorn characters in this musical
based on Ingmar Bergman's bittersweet film "Smiles of a Summer
Night."
Framed by birch trees, the terraced stage and sliding
panels reveal and conceal the frisky antics. Lighting designer
Carla Wollard creates a fairy-tale illusion as silhouettes
waltzing against a lighted backdrop emerge into reality.
Choreographed by Louisa Koeppel, the dancers wear the the
colorful, beautifully tailored gowns and formal wear of
resident costume designer Andre Bruce Ward.
A magical love story demands good clothes, grace, rhythm, a
sense of fantasy and delightful music.
And when that love story begins with a Gordian knot --
kinks of lust piled upon tangles of regret -- it takes a
shrewd and creative director to cut through it.
Guest artist Mark Robinson does so with the right
balance of elegance and craft.
When we first see Fredrik Egerman (Brad Kroeker), he is an
unfulfilled man. His new wife, a damsel the same age as his
son, won't part with her virginity. The son, disturbed by
inner demons beyond his control (namely a lust for his
father's wife), has forced religion upon himself.
The frustrated Fredrik seeks out a former mistress, Desiree
Armfeldt (Ann Sharp) for some old-time fun. But a love affair
is hampered by her boorish boyfriend, a married military man.
The second act follows one of the most exciting waltz
numbers in an all waltz-time musical, "A Weekend in the
Country." All the lovers, plus servants, wives and children
visit the estate of Desiree's mother, a worldly woman raising
her granddaughter to be slightly more cynical than the group
of moonstruck lovers converging on the premises.
A five-person Greek chorus called "Liebeslieders" bring an
operatic accent to the more earthy tones of the lead actors.
Gary Beard's music direction and eight-person orchestra sound
clear and energized.
Cast standouts include Sharp, Kroeker, Anastasia Herin as
Madame Armfeldt, Lydia Tilson as the young wife, Jonathan M.
Russom as the lawyer's son, George Dudley as Count Carl-Magnus
Malcolm and Anita Jo Lenhart as his wife.
"A Little Night Music" kicks off a season heavy on dramas
and light on musicals. But it sets the perfect tone for what folks will expect from shows
such as "Rumors," "Enchanted April" and "Master Class": clever direction, fine
acting, and, maybe even a little night music.
