more Night Music

Tuesday, August 17
8:00pm performance

This is the season of the replacement. After checking out the new dysfunctional family over at Next to Normal, I headed back to the Walter Kerr to catch the new Amrfeldts.

Roma Torre practically jizzed on my TV screen over the replacement cast of the current Broadway revival of A Little Night Music, so how could I not pay the show a second visit? Granted, the replacements happen to be Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch, considered by New Yorkers and theatre queens alike to be Broadway royalty. I had my misgivings going in. I mean, I loves me some Bernie, but she was practically unwatchable when I saw her last in the Broadway revival of Annie Get your Gun, mugging and winking at the audience as an annoying caricature of herself. And Stritch? Well, she’s a comedic genius, but she’s salt of the earth and all brass and growl, the exact opposite of the aristocratic Madame Armfeldt. Happily, my worry was all for naught.

Since Chris hadn’t seen the show yet, Trish and I invited him to join us (and be our bitch to stand on the TKTS line). Luckily, he woke up just in time from his first act nap to catch Bernadette’s first entrance. (Note to self: do not allow Chris wine before a show). Anyway, playing against (my) expectation, BP gave a subtle, nuanced performance. Her Desiree is a still gorgeous actress past her professional prime. Weary of her fast and frivolous lifestyle, she seeks emotional stability with a good man (who doesn’t?). Her “Send in the Clowns” is heartbreaking. When Fredrik walks out on Desiree, we see this proud woman desperately try to hold it together. Her laughter through tears reminded me why the song is a classic, despite its millions (I love hyperbole) of cheesy remakes.

Stritch, on the other hand, is well, Stritch. Not that that’s a bad thing exactly. She manages to milk laughs from even the most mundane of lines through sheer force of personality. Sure, her Madame Armfeldt lacks the grace and carriage you’d expect from an aristocrat who’s seduced Kings and Emperors, but Stritch knows how to enthrall an audience. Who else could go up on their lines so frequently, yet manage to elicit even greater respect and love from an audience?

The rest of the cast seems to have mellowed and adjusted their performances (for the better) to jibe with BP’s more subtle approach. Chris had some musical gripes with all the back-phrasing going on in the duets “Every Day a Little Death” and “It Would Have Been Wonderful”. I’d have to agree, given that some lines were back-phrased so much that lines composed to be sung in the clear now overlap to render lyrics unintelligible. I also think cutting the last key change in “A Weekend in the Country” is a mistake. You miss the excitement that last “lift” adds to the finale.

I also have to give a shout out to Bradley Dean (Frid) who, though not really a friend, grew up near me in Pennsylvania and we sung together through high school in District, Regional and All-State Choirs. And to Kevin Vortmann, a fellow caroler for the past several seasons with DB Productions.