A Little Night Music

Tickets and Information

Never give the audience a chance to look at their watches!
I finally saw A little night music last night. It was okay but not great. The acting and singing were good overall with one exception in Elaine Stritch who could not remember her lines all night. Even worse, she seems to have a hearing problem because someone in the pit who told her the line, "Passion and the Arts", said it so loudly that I could hear it all the way in the last row of the Mezzanine! The show was supposed to end at 10:50. I left at 11 pm while Stritch was trying a second time to remember a stanza and was trying to get the 12 year old actor to help her. It was painful to watch. Besides Stritch, the direction was weak in the pacing department. They could have cut ten minutes of pauses that would have made the 3 hours feel shorter. never give the audience a chance to look at their watches! by the time Bernadette Peters sang the big song, "Send in the clowns", I was looking at my watch for the tenth time. The ideal casting would have been Peters and Landsbury!

Reviewed by bbraat on Thursday, Jan 6th, 2011

Bernadette Peters is a shining star
Im going to give away my age--I saw this on the road when it was new and fresh, starring I think Jean Simmons as Desiree. I skipped the Zeta-Jones version because I couldnt imagine her singing "Send in the Clowns." When Bernadette Peters took over the role of Desiree, I couldnt resist seeing her in the part. She adds another gem to her Sondheim crown, and her "Send in the Clowns" is a show-stopper, a heart-rending, heartfelt rendition both totally true and totally wonderful. I should say a word about Elaine Strich, whose voice in long gone, miles from her role in "Company." Shes an icon best viewed in fond remembrance, but well suited to the part she played. I doubt Lansbury was any better. A great night of musical theatre.

Reviewed by cwpnewpaltz on Thursday, Nov 11th, 2010