Since his passing in late 2021, Sondheim’s popularity has surged, with recent Broadway revivals of Into the Woods and Merrily We Roll Along receiving acclaim. The posthumous premiere of Here We Are was met with mixed reviews. In late June, there was a notable local interest in Sondheim’s work with concerts of Follies at Carnegie Hall and A Little Night Music at Lincoln Center’s Geffen Hall.
Cameron Mackintosh’s production company decided not to offer press tickets for Follies. After numerous emails, I secured a press ticket for the final performance of Night Music. This performance was promoted as the world premiere of a new, expanded orchestration by acclaimed Sondheim veteran Jonathan Tunick, who also conducted the 53-member Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
Although the orchestrations included some minor, sometimes incongruous adjustments to Sondheim’s original compositions, Tunick’s uniform and heavy-handed conducting somewhat dampened the effort. The experience was also affected by questionable casting choices. Despite prior negative comments and reviews from friends who had attended earlier performances, I found it enjoyable to hear Sondheim’s captivating score live again after more than twenty years.
Though I would rank it fifth among his 1970s works, Night Music was both the first Sondheim original-cast recording I bought and the first of his shows I attended. In grade school, my grandmother took me to several Kenley Players musicals each summer. Notable Saturday matinees included Ethel Merman and Russell Nype in Call Me Madam, Ann Blyth and Andy Devine in Showboat, Shirley Jones in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Vikki Carr in The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and Buddy Greco, Anne Jeffreys, and Dagmar in Pal Joey. However, as my interest in opera grew, my enthusiasm for the Kenley shows waned, and we eventually stopped going.
A few years later, I was surprised to find Kenley presenting Night Music just two years after its Broadway run. It was unexpected that Kenley featured two Sondheim shows that summer, though I wasn’t interested in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Sonny Bono. I do regret missing Joanne Worley in Gypsy.
However, with a buy-one-get-one-free coupon from my mother, I returned to Memorial Hall to see Eva Gabor as Desirée. I recall her performance as delightful, elegant, and moving. A recent search revealed her co-stars were Earl Wrightson and Lois Hunt as Fredrik and Charlotte, respectively—whom I had seen before in Blossom Time with Sally Anne Howes—and Ethel Barrymore Colt as Mme Armfeldt, just months before her passing at 65. My only other live experience with Night Music was the New York City Opera’s 2003 production featuring Juliet Stevenson, Jeremy Irons, and Claire Bloom, which felt quite lengthy due to Hugh Wheeler’s verbose book.
At Geffen Hall, Tunick’s version of Night Music featured a text abridgement by John Doyle, who was initially set to direct. Marc Bruni, who stepped in, offered a modest staging with Encores-inspired simplicity, where performers carried binders. The musical, adapted from Ingmar Bergman’s film Smiles of a Summer Night, explores the romantic entanglements of several upper-class Swedes and their servants. Sondheim’s score, filled with captivating waltzes, is often commented on by five “Liebeslieders,” whose frequent interventions felt increasingly intrusive, possibly due to the rather ordinary performances.
The central love triangle of Desirée, Fredrik, and Carl-Magnus suffered from miscasting. Susan Graham, Ron Raines, and Shuler Hensley, significantly older than their characters, struggled with the roles. The portrayal of a husband in his 70s lamenting his lack of intimacy with his young wife felt awkward, while Desirée’s teenage daughter seemed inconsistent with her character’s age and the Count’s youthful portrayal.
Dramatically, none of the three were ideal for their roles, and they were not a perfect vocal match either. Raines, who showed potential in the second act, would have been a suitable Fredrik in his prime. Graham, the cast’s sole opera singer, was uneven in a role designed for a non-singer. She struggled with the low range of “The Glamorous Life” but gave a noteworthy performance of “Send in the Clowns.” Despite handling her dialogue well, she did not fully capture the insouciant yet fragile essence of Desirée. Hensley found the Count’s music challenging, often relying on a cautious head voice for climaxes that should have been bold.
Conversely, the roles of Anne and Charlotte, the two mistreated wives, were excellently portrayed by Kerstin Anderson and Ruthie Ann Miles. Anderson’s crystalline soprano soared beautifully, while Miles delivered a heart-wrenching rendition of “Every Day a Little Death” with intense frustration. Miles also provided most of the evening’s humour with her sharp and effective delivery of the Countess’s numerous biting remarks. In contrast, Jason Gotay’s Henrik, similar to his father, came across as too mature for the role, and he struggled with high notes, often approaching them with noticeable effort.
Marsha Mason’s portrayal of the matriarch was unfortunately miscast, lacking the character’s witty imperiousness. The number “Liaisons,” which can be lengthy even with an ideal Mme Armfeldt, felt interminable due to Tunick’s slow tempo. Mason, seeming unsure of her lines, clung to her script throughout. Jin Haselfrost, who played Frid and later performed the reinstated number “Silly People,” did so competently, though the number’s abruptly harsh tone suggested its removal from the score might have been appropriate.
Advertisements for Night Music on Facebook may have led some to believe Cynthia Erivo was the lead, while Petra actually has a relatively small role. Nevertheless, she performs “The Miller’s Son,” a striking and show-stopping number about romantic dreams. Despite occasional difficulty understanding her dialogue, Erivo delivered the song’s sharp lyrics with impressive flair. I was informed she had to restart the song during a Saturday matinee due to losing her place, but no such mishap occurred during my viewing, although she, like Mason, relied heavily on her script.
The “happy” ending of Night Music felt less impactful this time, with both recently abandoned men—Fredrik and Carl-Magnus—settling for the woman who had been waiting selflessly. I understand that Tunick’s new orchestrations are set to be recorded, but I hope they won’t be captured with this less-than-ideal cast and his uninspired direction, despite the Orchestra of St. Luke’s playing beautifully.
Although I missed the performance of Follies a week earlier, I have a pirate recording of the event. Unlike the four overpriced A Little Night Music shows that initially sold poorly, this event was an immediate sell-out. The presentation was unique, with two narrators introducing each number, and the enthusiastic audience cheered loudly for each Broadway veteran performing just one song, resulting in at least five Sallys.
There were many highlights, along with a few lowlights. Christine Ebersole’s powerful rendition of “In Buddy’s Eyes” moved me to tears, while Jennifer Holliday’s stirring performance of “I’m Still Here” reminded me that, like “The Ladies Who Lunch,” I’ve heard her anthem too many times.
Stephen Sondheim: Follies (excerpts) (New York 2024)
“In Buddy’s Eyes” (New York 2024)
Christine Ebersole
“I’m Still Here” (New York 2024)
Jennifer Holliday
Carnegie Hall, June 20, 2024
Photo credit: Joan Marcus
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