The Grand Theatre, London, Ontario
March 5 to March 30, 1996
A Stage Door review by Jim Lingerfelt

Seldom does a play have that nearly indescribable sensation of being "an event." You recognize it when you see Phantom or Les Miz ... something that, no matter how much you enjoyed He Won't Come In From The Barn, you know it's just not in the same league. It happened for me with Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music now playing in London's The Grand Theatre, co-produced with Canadian Stage Company.
Sondheim is perhaps the most respected contemporary composer of stage musicals, with his name attached to collaborations on West Side Story (with Bernstein's music) and Gypsy (with Styne's music) and solo accomplishments including Sweeney Todd, Into The Woods, Assassins, and Passion. His lyrics are pure genius, reminiscent of the perfect, overlapping intricacy and excitement of Celtic illumination. His melodies are among the most difficult to interpret (explaining why they are so favoured by Barbra Streisand), and seldom leave you humming them as you exit the theatre. The song regarded even by Sondheim as his only hit, Send In The Clowns, is the centrepiece of A Little Night Music.
The book was written by Hugh Wheeler, the first of several collaborations with Sondheim, including Sweeney Todd. The production premiered on Broadway in 1973, scooping six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Music and Lyrics.
The story is a farce, a romantic comedy, or a drama, depending on where you are at the moment. Fredrik Egerman, a middle-aged attorney, has taken as his second wife a giddy 18-year-old Anne, who after eleven months of marriage, remains a virgin. Fredrik has the patience of Job, but eventually turns to an old flame, the stage star Desirée Armfeldt, only to be discovered there by Desirée's current paramour, Count Carl-Magnus, a man with the vanity of a "peacock and the brain of a pea"-and an extremely jealous nature. Recognizing the attorney hastily garbed in the Count's own dressing gown, the Count rushes home to his wife Charlotte, instructing her to tell her girlhood friend, Anne, of her husband's infidelity.
Desirée's daughter, Fredrika (?!), has been living with her grandmother, Madame Armfeldt, the wise and very wealthy beneficiary of several well-placed romantic liaisons, ostensibly to protect her from the bad influence of her mother's lifestyle.
Other characters on John Ferguson's turntable set include Fredrik's son, Henrik, himself no older than his stepmother, and finding his attraction to her a distraction from his religious calling; Petra, Anne Egerman's lusty maid and confidante; and Frid, Madame Armfeldt's manservant. A chorus of actors come and go across the set, lending a classical distinction to the play, and more opportunity to enjoy Sondheim's intricate harmonies and dazzling lyrics.
Patricia Collins is Desirée Armfeldt. Despite a bio that, though illustrious (including eight seasons as Stratford and currently starring in The Rez on CBC), has few singing roles, Collins does an admirably throaty interpretation of the Clowns. Benedict Campbell is back at the Grand, continuing from his role in Desdemona last month, now as the patient though frustrated Fredrik. His wife, Anne, is delightfully portrayed by Kristin Gauthier, fresh, naïve and irresistible in a role that could easily be distorted if not destroyed by a lesser talent.
The Count is Bruce Clayton in his first appearance at The Grand, and Mary Ellen Mahoney (fresh from Crazy For You) is his wife. "Big Mama" Marion Gilsenan is back, now as the articulate, aristocratic Madame Armfeldt, reminiscent of the grand-dame, mentor-aunt in Gigi. Her ingenuous protégée and granddaughter is played by Marÿke Hendrikse, who most recently played Jenny in the Aspects of Love U.S. National Tour, which may explain why I was also frequently reminded of that play.
Trish O'Brien (Petra), John Ullyat (Henrik), Howard Jackson (Frid) and a chorus of Kristine Anderson, Gisèle Fredette, Mark Nykoluk, Steve Ross, Jennifer Simser, Regan Thiel and Jay Turvey complete the large and talented cast. The play is directed by Michael Shamata.
A Little Night Music has been held over until March 30. For ticket information, please visit The Grand Theatre Box Office at 471 Richmond Street or call 519-672-8800. Toll-free at 1-800-265-1593. Toll-free from Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania at 1-800-567-5194.