[NEohioPAL] Berko review: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC @ FAIRMOUNT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

[Roy Berko]

*Silver, Patterson, Wright and Sondheim—A LITTLE LIGHT MUSIC at FPAC*



Roy Berko



(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)



--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--



*Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times*



--Cool Cleveland.com—



Some theatre goers have a love-hate relationship with Stephen Sondheim.  His
music is often beautiful, but complicated to play and sing.  His lyrics
often have hidden meanings.  His plots usually are not the escapist surface
level tales from which musical comedy is made.  With few exceptions, his
style is sophisticated and most appealing to theatre-wise audiences.  A
LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, a production of which is now on stage at Fairmount
Performing Arts Conservatory (FPAC) is no exception, but in the hands of
director Fred Sternfeld, it gets an audience-friendly approach.



Inspired by an Ingmar Bergman film, Smiles of a Summer Night, LITTLE NIGHT
MUSIC opened on Broadway in 1973, and ran for  601 performances.  It was
directed by Harold Prince <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Prince> and
had a cast which included Glynis
Johns<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glynis_Johns>and Hermione
Gingold <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermione_Gingold>.  The script has
experienced several revivals and was made into a film staring Elizabeth
Taylor.



The beautiful score includes *Night Waltz*, *Now/Later/Soon*, *Remember*, *A
Weekend in the Country*, *The Sun Won’t Set* and *It Would Have Been
Wonderful*.



A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC is set in 1900 Sweden.  It is a romp focusing on the
sexual dalliances of some obviously badly matched couples.  The result is a
series of  love triangles.   It is these triangles that gave Sondheim the
idea of writing the entire score in ¾ time, thus creating a series of waltz
movements that carry over not only in the sound of the music but in the
dialogue and lyrics.



The poorly matched couples include an 18-year-old self-absorbed virgin
(Anne)  who is married to a  50-something lawyer (Frederick), who is still
in love with an actress (Desiree) with whom he unknowingly has a daughter
(Fredericka). Complicating matters is that his uptight teenage son (Henrik)
is in love with Fredrik’s wife.  Then there is the affair between Desiree
and Count Magnus-Malcolm, who has a wife (Charlotte), who decides to make
her husband jealous by pursing Frederick.  A maid, who is Henrik’s lover,
and a butler are also having a romp in the hay.  Sound complicated?  Actually,
on stage it isn’t.  First, the characters are clearly identified, the
alliances easy to follow, and the Liebesslider Singers act as our Greek
chorus to guide us through the experience and help bring order to
mismatched lovers while helping them find the right mate.



The FPAC production, under the direction of Fred Sternfeld, has charm and
humor.  The cast mainly has fine voices and the character development is
generally clear.  Even the technical elements are finely tuned.



Doing Sondheim is not an easy task. As a performer said, “Just to
understand Sondheim  has been a good challenge, just figuring out what it
means.  There’s a lot of hidden depth in his work. There’s a little
laughter, a little tears, a whole gamut of emotions.”  Sternfeld and his
cast get the meaning and open up the audience to those ideas.



The lead performers are sound, performance and picture perfect.  Dorothy
Silver, the grand dame of Cleveland theatre, is endearing as Madame
Armfeldt, Desiree’s mother, and the spinner of wondrous tales.  Silver
sing-talks her songs with fidelity and attention to creating meanings from
the words with a musical undertow.



It’s worth going to the see the production if for no other reason than to
hear Tracee Patterson’s rendition of *Bring in the Clowns*.  Patterson
gives just the right serious yet playful interpretation to Desiree.



Matthew Wright is well cast as Frederick, the lawyer going through middle
age crisis.  He is properly conflicted as a man in a sunrise-sunset
relationship who is still in love with a woman from his past.  Wright has a
fine singing voice.



William Clarence Marshall, Claire Connelly, Bernadette Hisey, Justin
Williamson and Lydia Hall, the Liebeslieder (love song) Singers, not only
have well-trained voices but carry their acting roles with ease.



Natalie Green is delightful as Petra, a free-spirited young lady who dreams
of love in the well sung, *The Miller’s Son*.  Katherine DeBoer is
excellent as Charlotte Malcolm.



Though some of the supporting performers have difficulty in creating
realistic characters, the strength of the leads and the quality of the
singing make those weaknesses fade.



The play’s title is an English translation of the German name for
Mozart<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart>'s
Serenade No. 13 for strings in G
major<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eine_kleine_Nachtmusik>,
*Eine kleine Nachtmusik*.  Scenic designer Trad Burns has taken this theme
and created the set by constructing walls covered with musical notes of
Mozart’s score.  It is a perfect backdrop for the goings on.  Craig
Tucker’s costume designs and execution are era right and beautiful in
detail.  Benjamin Gantoe’s warm lighting helps create the perfect love
moods.



David Williams’ orchestra plays well, especially considering that shortly
before opening night curtain, the violin player broke her wrist and had to
be replaced.  Yes, the old adage, the show must go on, was in force.



*CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   The FAPC production, under the creative direction of
Fred Sternfeld, makes for a wonderful theatrical experience.  Go see!*

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC runs through November 13 at the Mayfield Village Civic
Center, at the corner of Wilson Mills and SOM Center Roads in Mayfield
Village.  For tickets call 440-338-3171.  For more information about the
play go to www.fairmountcener.org/facpresents.html.
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