Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music,” now being staged by U-M’s musical theater department, is all about threes: the songs are waltzes, and the lovers are in triangles.
Fredrik (Conor McGiffin) is an attorney torn between his young, sexually skittish wife, Anne (Darcy Link), and his old flame, a touring professional actress named Desiree (Eleanor Todd); Desiree wants Fredrik, but she can’t shake the an oafish dragoon named Carl-Magus (Elias Wygodny); Carl-Magus is focused on Desiree, but his wife, Charlotte (Jordana Grolnick), wants her husband back for herself. And Fredrik’s son, Henrik (Alex Prakken), is secretly in love with Anne, though she’s been married to his father for 11 months.
Got all that?
Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film, “Smiles of a Summer Night,” “A Little Night Music” is set in Sweden at the turn of the 20th century. (The book is by Hugh Wheeler.) Fredrik and Anne go to the theater, where Desiree is starring in a show, and Fredrik and Desiree’s romance is rekindled. Desiree goes to her mother (Kaity Paschetto) and asks her to invite Fredrik and his family out for a weekend in the country; but when jealous, uninvited Carl-Magus drags his wife along, too, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”-like romantic swaps ensue over the course of a single, “midnight sun” evening.
The show opens with a powerhouse quintet called the Liebeslieder Singers – Ellie Fishman, Ross Yoder, Zachary Thompson, Chelsea Groen, and Reilly Richardson –offering a vocal knockout performance of the show’s overture, concluding with the 6 main characters performing “Night Waltz” around the stage while furtively stealing glances at others and switching partners. With this sequence, the vocal and thematic stage for the production is set.
Scenic designer Arthur Ridley offers a painterly backdrop of towering trees, and well-placed and -chosen props – like those found in Desiree’s rooms – add tremendous texture and depth. Costume designer Christianne Myers, meanwhile, signals the characters’ age and temperament from their first appearance on stage; Anne, for instance, wears a white frock with a pink sash that ties in the back, suggesting she’s more a girl than a woman. And various bathrobes and dresses and accessories have a plush, touchable texture that indicate class and sensuality.
Whitney Brandt elegantly choreographs the production’s dances; and lighting designer Aaron Tacy manages to create the feel of a night without darkness while also tending to key details (like the soft focus on Madame Armfeldt’s face in her final scene).
Music director Ben Whiteley does a fine job – the vocals are generally impeccable, the enunciation clear (crucial in a Sondheim show, in which lyrics reveal so much) – and director Mark Madama's production runs like a well-oiled machine, clocking in at just over two and a half hours.
But despite all that’s right with the show – the astonishing vocals, the beautiful design elements – it ultimately lacks spark. The talented actors hit their notes and their marks, but it’s almost too polished. For a show that explores how capricious and silly people can be in matters of love, whether they’re young or old, U-M’s “Night Music” feels a bit too buttoned up for its own good.
Perhaps this is a consequence of young actors navigating a world of mostly middle-aged (or old, in one case) characters, or the setting’s distant remove in time and place. Maybe it’s all these things combined; I’m not sure. But despite the production’s highlights – and they were impressive – the emotional thrust came up a bit short.
That having been said, Todd nearly changed my mind on this point by way of her moving performance of “Send in the Clowns,” which tears at the heart of Desiree’s heartbreak; and by her ability to honor Desiree’s shortcomings while also making her sympathetic. Paschetto and Grolnick earn laughs with their dry, world-weary delivery; and Keaton Micucci as Petra, the maid, makes the show’s 11 o’clock number, “The Miller’s Son,” powerfully soar to the rafters.
There were minor microphone issues on opening night – we got an earful of deep breathing as two characters kissed, for example – and the vocal balance was sometimes tenuous. Overall, however, if you go to “Night Music,” you’ll hear some pretty fantastic singing; you just might also feel, like the characters in the opening waltz, a longing for something more.
Jenn McKee is an entertainment reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at jennmckee@mlive.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.
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