Love is in the air among the rich and glamorous…elusive and oftentimes fleeting.

Elegantly directed and choreographed by Daniel Sullivan with excellent music direction by Jenny Tsai, Sullivan Rep is in the middle of unveiling its first ambitious season and recently presented Stephen Sondheim’s classic, Tony award-winning musical farce, A Little Night Music live and in person at Newton Town Hall in Newton, Massachusetts through Saturday, June 8.  This production was not for children and ran approximately two hours with an intermission.  Click here for more information and to take a closer look at Sullivan Rep’s upcoming productions. 

Having never seen A Little Night Music before, it was with great anticipation to witness another classic Sondheim production.  A Little Night Music was first staged on Broadway in 1973 and was revived on Broadway in 2009 starring Angela Lansbury as Madame and Catherine Zeta-Jones in her Tony award-winning performance as Desiree.  Send in the Clowns is one of my favorite Broadway songs and it was exciting to finally see it performed in the context in which Sondheim intended.

Set in 1900s Sweden, Sondheim’s A Little Night Music has bit of a soap opera vibe focusing on the jaded love lives and lifestyles of the upper class emphasized in the number, The Glamourous Life which is sung by some questionably moral aristocratic characters who lead anything but a mundane daily routine and where absolutely nothing is out of reach.  In a black dress and burgundy sash, accomplished matriarch Madame, cleverly and amusingly portrayed by Veronica Anastasio Wiseman, decides to advise her granddaughter, an adorably precocious Libby Sweder, in the ways of the world.  Surrounded by several love triangles, Sweder soon learns that the world is far more complicated, especially among the privileged.

The Newton Town Hall, though the acoustics had a bit of an echo that muffled some lyrics, was an ideal setting for this sophisticated production with its sterling piano, marble floors, a candelabra and the full orchestra refreshingly set above the stage and cleverly utilized in a brief play-within-a-play scene.  An opulent table setting and a countryside picnic arranged by cast members are part of Rick Grenier’s ornate properties design.  DW emphasized this regal atmosphere with upscale Edwardian attire featuring lace, stately coat tails, and long silk gloves embellished by ritzy and sparkling jewelry and adornments. 

A Little Night Music’s refined cast have a sense they are a cut above the rest and prove it mastering complex harmonies, powerful vocals and droll comic timing.  Led by Veronica Anastasio Wiseman as Armfeldt matriarch Madame, Wiseman huffs and admonishes with the best of them musing about today’s Liasons with rapier wit, ‘Where is the style? Where is skill?  Where is forethought?  Where is the discretion of the heart?’ knowing full well she leads this glamorous life for good reason.  Wiseman and Sweder share an intimate and knowing camaraderie and it is fascinating to see how Sweder responds to her surroundings.

With a shriek and bubbly childishness, Rebekah Rae Robles impressively embodies lively and youthful teenager Anne who happens to be married to much older, wealthy and experienced attorney Fredrik, enigmatically depicted by Brian Higgins.  It is not immediately evident Fredrik’s motives for marrying her and it is strangely comical to see them together in her innocence.  Fredrik’s eyes shine fondly with former love, Desiree for a reflective rendition of You Must Meet My Wife.

In glasses and a sweater vest, Jacob Thomas Less depicts smart, ambitious and neurotic Henrik, son of Fredrik.  Awkward and sweet, Less meaningfully conveys Henrik’s sincere and frustrating invisibility in this world of excess and longs to be understood demonstrated in an earnest rendition of Later, part of a vocal trio for Now/Later/Soon.

Andrea Giangreco is a standout as Charlotte with wonderful dark humor and enchanting vocals as Anthony Rinaldi as Carl-Magnus’s long suffering and conflicted wife.  Everyday a Little Death with Rebekah Rae Robles as Anne is a solemn and tender duet and Giangreco’s witty and sympathetic portrayal and solid vocals makes it easy to root for her.  Giangreco shares some very funny moments with scene stealing Rinaldi as plotting and conceited military dragoon Carl-Magnus as he storms and struts around the stage with an entitled air and an over the top sneer emphasized in a soaring rendition of In Praise of Women. 

As a big fan of Into the Woods, there is a gleam of similarity to where Sondheim might have been inspired for his later works in A Little Night Music. For example, the contemplative duet It would have been Wonderful featuring Brian Higgins as Fredrik and Anthony Rinaldi as Carl-Magnus share lighthearted and humorous reflections similar in comic tone to the Into the Woods’s duet in Agony featuring two rivals that may share more in common than they think.  Higgins and Rinaldi’s absurd reasoning keeps their ridiculous rivalry interesting.

Nora Sullivan masters the quick paced vocals prevalent in Sondheim’s works in a commanding rendition of The Miller’s Son as flirtatious and spontaneous Petra who savors each passing day.  In tight red curls, Carly Evans portrays renowned actress Desiree who falls for an old love which quickly becomes much more complicated than she ever anticipated.

As for Send in the Clowns, Evans as Desiree delivers a moving rendition that is winsome and rueful, reminding me why I love that song in the first place.

Elegantly directed and choreographed by Daniel Sullivan with excellent music direction by Jenny Tsai, Sullivan Rep is in the middle of unveiling its first ambitious season and recently presented Stephen Sondheim’s classic, Tony award-winning musical farce, A Little Night Music live and in person at Newton Town Hall in Newton, Massachusetts through Saturday, June 8.  This production was approximately two hours with an intermission.  Click here for more information and to take a closer look at Sullivan Rep’s upcoming productions.