{"id":460,"date":"2021-11-09T20:24:32","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T20:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/?p=460"},"modified":"2021-11-09T20:32:37","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T20:32:37","slug":"a-little-night-music-a-delightful-weekend-in-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/?p=460","title":{"rendered":"‘A Little Night Music’ at 42nd Street Moon – A Delightful Weekend in the Country"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Jacqueline De Muro, Mark Robinson, Stephanie Rhoads, Joshua Gonzales, Jennifer Mitchell as the Liebesleiders. Photo by Ben Krantz Studio.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t miss this delightful musical\nwith more than a little romantic intrigue. \nMix a jealous dragoon and a mild-mannered attorney into romances with\nthe same woman and you get a weekend to remember with the families (wives and\nchildren included).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beginning ensemble is charming,\nblending clear voices and live music with dance choreography that lifts the\nheart and prepares for the intrigue to follow. \nThis is a great way to introduce most characters to the audience on a\nbeautiful stage rimmed in Swedish Birch imagery.  Who could ask for more as we move into our\nown new Fall?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trixie Aballa as Petra and Samantha Rose Cardenas as Anne. Photo by Ben Krantz Studio.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Anne Egerman (played by Samantha\nRose Cardenas) primps and poses with all the hope of a 19 year old teen.  Her husband, attorney Fredrik Egerman (played\nby Martin Bell), joins her in the afternoon after a busy day.  Bell muses what he should do with the evening\nawaiting them; should he nap or ravish his new wife Anne? Eventually, he\ndecides to take Anne out to a play in town featuring the lovely Desiree (played\nby Alison Ewing).  This was the dangerous\ndecision that sets the stage for our intrigue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desiree\u2019s mother, Madam Armfeldt\n(played by Cindy Goldfield), provides some juicy history and etiquette for the\nfamily, to her granddaughter. Desiree\u2019s daughter, Fredrika (played by Chloe\nFong), is very interested in the tales. \nWe get a sense that sexuality is easily discussed and accepted in\nSwedish culture of the 1900\u2019s.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alison Ewing as Desiree, Chloe Fong as Fredrika, Cindy Goldfield as Madam Armfeldt, Jack O’Reilly as Frid. Photo by Ben Krantz Studio.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fredrik renews a relationship with\nDesiree only to discover that she has a very jealous suitor in Count\nCarl-Magnus Malcolm (player by William Giammona).  In spite of the romantic entanglements,\nDesiree plans a weekend together with her mother and daughter, and Fredrik with\nhis son and new wife.  Sounds like\nfun.  The mood changes dramatically,\nhowever, when Count Malcolm and his wife, the Countess Charlotte Malcolm\n(played by Katrina Lauren McGraw), arrive unannounced to join in the festivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anne\u2019s maidservant, Petra (played\nby Trixie Aballa), provides some enticing encounters with the Egerman family\nand Fredrik\u2019s manservant, Frid (played by Jack O\u2019Reilly).  Their antics provide a refreshing sidebar to\nthe main drama.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Katrina Lauren McGraw as Charlotte and Samantha Rose Cardenas as Anne. Photo by Ben Krantz Studio.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Cardenas plays the ups and downs of\nyoung Anne using song and movement and attitude.  Her singing is clear and wistful, with a\ntouch of pomegranate. The casting of Cardenas as a nineteen year old teen is a\nbit of a stretch, but her performance is worth the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bell presents a hesitant husband, Fredrik.  His singing is nuanced and careful to make\nhis emotions known to all.  After Bell\nreunites with Desiree, his rendition of \u201cYou Must Meet My Wife\u201d, while upbeat,\nshows an ignorance of Desiree\u2019s trauma.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giammona plays a rather polished\ndragoon Count, boiling with anger at his adversary in love. He sings his song:\n\u201cIn Praise of Women\u201d as a true military man. McGraw does a very gracious job as\nthe Countess Malcolm, plotting the way out of the love knot for all to enjoy.\nHer song: \u201cEvery Day a Little Death\u201d reveals her pain with living in the shadow\nof her husband\u2019s affairs.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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William Giammona as Count Carl-Magnus, Alison Ewing as Desiree, Martin Bell as Fredrik. Photo by Ben Krantz Studio.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ewing does a powerful role as\nDesiree.  Her singing \u201cSend in the\nClowns\u201d hauntingly tells of the heartache of unrequited love.  She is the center of the play and manages to\nsteer the direction to sanity or bust, acting out the middle ground safely as\nour guide to the emotions.  It is a\npleasure to see her work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some surprises in this\nproduction.  Shai Wolf, as Henrick\nEgerman, plays a wonderful Cello on stage with the band.  His character is a bit young to match up with\nCardenas, but we see the arc of his growth along the way.  Trixie Aballa sings one of the best Sondheim\nsongs of the show: \u201cThe Miller\u2019s Son\u201d. \nThe rapid staccato of her descriptions accentuate the slow, moody focus\nof her desires.  With her hair down and\nher peasant dress, she wows the audience into excited silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alison Ewing as Desiree. Photo by Ben Krantz Studio.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Costumes are spactacular. The women have colorful period dresses through many changes, while the men are changing into tails at the drop of a top hat.  Ashley Garlick has done a marvelous job with the costumes to match the amazing dances from Choreographer Allison Paraiso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The set is simple but elegantly\nSwedish.  There are some minor problems\nwith the sight-lines for the side audiences, but the large space for the\ndancing is used effectively.  Set changes\nare clean and coordinated with the music, for the most part.  The 5-piece band does a great job matching the\nmusic to the actors\u2019 needs.  However, because\nthe band is on the right side of the stage, behind the set, the audience on\nthat side of the house did complain a little about hearing the dialog and\nsongs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This musical sparkles with life and hope, color and bright music and song.  It is the perfect way to enjoy a Fall evening or Sunday afternoon.  This first full musical in the 42nd Street Moon season is a winner, inspiring us to move out of COVID once and for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

42nd Street Moon cast and crew and house are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Masks and proof of vaccination are required for all audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A Little Night Music”\ncontinues at 42nd Street Moon at 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA. through\nNovember 21, 2021.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For further information and reservations:\nhttps:\/\/42ndstmoon.org\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rating: ****<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A Little Night Music,” music\nand lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler is produced by 42nd Street\nMoon .  Director: Brandon Jackson, Music Direction: Daniel Thomas, Choreography:\nAllison Paraiso, Lighting Design: Michael Palumbo^, Scenic Designer: Mark\nMendelson, Construction: Patrik Hendrikson, Costume Design: Ashley Garlick,\nStage Manager: Toni Lynn Guidry*, Assistant Stage Manager: Alexa Burn*. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cast: Cindy Goldfield*: Madam Armfeldt<\/em>, Chloe Fong: Fredrika Armfeldt<\/em>, Jack O\u2019Reilly: Frid<\/em>, Shai Wolf: Henrik Egerman<\/em>, Samantha Rose Cardenas*: Anne Egerman<\/em>, Martin Bell: Fredrik\nEgerman<\/em>, Trixie Aballa: Petra<\/em>, Alison\nEwing*: Desiree Armfeldt<\/em>, William\nGiammona: Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm<\/em>, Katrina\nLauren McGraw*: Countess Charlotte\nMalcolm<\/em>.  Ensemble (The\nLiebeslieders): Joshua Gonzales, Stephanie Rhoads*, Jennifer Mitchell*, Mark\nRobinson, Jacqueline De Muro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Member Actors\u2019 Equity Association<\/p>\n\n\n\n

^ Member United Scenic Artists<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t miss this delightful musical with more than a little romantic intrigue.  Mix a jealous dragoon and a mild-mannered attorney…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-4","wpcat-4-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=460"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":481,"href":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions\/481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theatrehound.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}