Kevin Webb and Colette Todd in “A Little Night Music.” (Elizabeth Stenholt Photography)
As I watched the superb, immensely entertaining production of “A Little Night Music” now on stage at the Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, I thought about how lucky I was to have seen the original 1973 Tony Award-winning Broadway production of this musical with its brilliant score by Stephen Sondheim, and its book by Hugh Wheeler that is based on the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film “Smiles of a Summer Night.”
At the same time, I could not help but wish that Sondheim was now perched somewhere in the clouds watching his show all these years later as it is so cleverly staged in a notably different sort of theater, one that brings all its actors — with their notably exceptional, operetta-like voices and ideal characterizations — within inches of the audience.
Theo’s intimate stage is framed by a gathering of small tables and chairs and a few rows of seats, with several outstanding musicians perched on one side of the room, and a bar on the other. And I kept thinking: Yes, of course Sondheim must have been delighted with the Broadway original. But there is something about sitting in a space like Theo, with an audience of about 60 seats, an outstanding band of four that could easily be mistaken for a full orchestra, and performances by an exceptional cast of 12 gifted actors. And not incidentally, those actors have semi-operatic voices that ideally capture Sondheim’s challenging, wonderfully witty score as they deftly interact at various moments with the members of the audience who are barely inches away.
Credit also goes to L. Walter Stearns, the production’s excellent director; Brenda Didier, the ever-deft choreographer and musical stager; and music director/conductor Eugene Dizon — who is at the keyboard and joined by Raquel Navarro on violin, Sophie Creutz on reeds and Rachel Schuldt on cello. And by the end of the show, I was hoping this production (Theo Ubique’s third tribute of the season to Sondheim) might be remounted in New York at one or another first-rate off-Broadway theater that has a similar type of layout.
And now to the notably outstanding, vocally superb cast. The musical offers clever interplay of several generations of men and women whose wonderfully varied ages, personalities, professions, experience and romantic and sexual desires intersect and cause a good deal of trouble.
Chamaya Moody and J Alan in “A Little Night Music.” (Elizabeth Stenholt Photography)
To begin, there is Desiree Armfeldt (Colette Todd), the glamorous actress and courtesan who is now just past her prime but still performs (on stage, and in bed). Her all-knowing mother, Madame Armfeldt (Honey West), who is confined to a wheelchair, oversees her somewhat innocent teenage granddaughter, Fredrika (Tessa Newman).
Then there is Fredrick Egerman (Patrick Byrnes), a successful middle-aged lawyer who at one time had an affair with Armfeldt, but who is now married to the beautiful 18-year-old Anne (Chamaya Moody). As it happens, Anne is still a virgin — a fact that draws Fredrick back to Desiree.
Meanwhile, there is Henrik (J Alan), Fredrick’s impossibly shy and awkward son who is studying to be a priest, but aches with love for his father’s new wife, Anne. And triggering more sexual complications is the arrival of the arrogant Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (Kevin Webb), whose faithful wife, Charlotte (Maya Rowe), must deal with her husband’s blatant sexual attachment to Desiree while the Count must compete with Fredrick.
Observing all this chaos is Petra (Madison Kauffman), Anne’s savvy, self-confident maid, along with ensemble members Peter Ruger, Mizha Lee Overn, Michael Penik and Brian Healy.
Sondheim’s score for this show is irresistible as well as immensely challenging. Yet every member of the cast (expertly costumed by Cindy Moon) carries off their role to perfection. My advice: Catch this production if you can.
“A Little Night Music” runs through July 14 at Theo Ubique’s home at 721 Howard St. in Evanston. For tickets, visit theo-u.com or call 773-939-4101.
Note: Coming up at Theo during its 2024-25 season will be four musicals including: “Never Better” (Sept. 7-Oct. 13), a folk-punk work by Preston Max Allen about a college sophomore; “The Secret Garden” (Nov. 8-Dec. 22), by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon, about an English girl sent from the British Raj in India to England’s Yorkshire moors; “Tell Me On a Sunday” (March 7-April 20, 2025), a one-woman show with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Dan Black; and “Diana” (May 23-July 6, 2025), about Lady Diana Spencer, with music and lyrics by David Bryon and Joe de Pietro.
Mizha Lee Overn, Tessa Newman and Maya Rowe in “A Little Night Music.” (Elizabeth Stenholt Photography)
Follow Hedy Weiss on Twitter: @HedyWeissCritic
