A 3-D rock 'n' roll Cleopatra

Ever since seeing her on Broadway in A Little Night Music I cannot get enough of the lovely Catherine Zeta-Jones. So I was catching up with her appearance on The View Friday and she mentioned three interesting things:

Someday she'd love to play Madame Armfeldt in A Little Night Music, the mother of her character, Desiree, portrayed in the current revival by Angela Lansbury.

She's acquired the rights to Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book and plans to produce and star in a television movie based on the novel.

Then she mentioned an upcoming project that sounded so bizarre I thought she must be joking. But a little Googling revealed that she was serious!

Stephen Soderbergh, who directed Zeta-Jones in Traffic, wants her to star in a 3-D live-action rock 'n' roll musical about Cleopatra. (Will I have to wear my 3-D glasses for the entire movie or just in certain scenes?)

According to this 2008 article in Variety, the music has been written by the 1990s indie rock band Guided by Voices, with a script by James Greer, an author and former bass player for the band.

The imdb page has a release date of 2011 for Cleo, and describes it as a "1920s-set, song-and-dance retelling of the story of Cleopatra, Antony and Caesar. The cast lists Zeta-Jones as Cleo and Ray Winstone as Julius Caesar. (At one point, Hugh Jackman was going to play Marc Antony, but he's dropped out.)

I'm really not that big on ancient Egypt but the 1920s setting makes this sound kind of interesting. Although I don't know why it would have a rock 'n' roll score in the 1920s, or require 3-D for that matter.

Of course Zeta-Jones' last movie musical, Chicago, was also set in that decade and won her an Oscar. (Maybe they could use the same poster!)

In a January 2009 interview with Esquire, Soderbergh explained his attraction to the project:

"I want it to be like an Elvis musical. Fun, not serious. I've always wanted to make a musical, and I've been frustrated by all the recent musicals. I miss the technical proficiency of the long takes of the camera, where you're not disguising the inability of the performers to sing and dance. I miss that. And if there were ever a genre to be ready-made for 3-D, it's the musical."

Sondheim, Broderick speak out

Two interesting theatre-related stories:

First, there's an interview in The New York Times with Stephen Sondheim in which he discusses the trend of producing his work with small orchestras, notably the current Broadway revival of A Little Night Music.

Sondheim admits that a part of him misses “the big swells from larger orchestras.” Still, he sounds philosophical. “I’m just pleased that somebody wants to do it, and that it gets a chance to be seen again, especially since some of these shows had very limited runs the very first time out."

I love the sound of a big orchestra as much as the next person but as someone who'd never seen a production of A Little Night Music before, I was captivated. Maybe I don't know what I'm missing but I'd rather see it with a small orchestra than never see it at all.

(Sondheim also did an hourlong interview with the American Theatre Wing's Downstage Center program, which I'm eager to hear.)

Two of my favorite plays of the fall, Tracy Letts' Superior Donuts and the revival of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs, didn't get the runs I think they deserved. So this New York Post interview with Matthew Broderick struck a nerve.

"That Brighton Beach Memoirs didn’t run longer frightened a lot of people. It got good reviews, and that’s what was even scarier. Our play [The Starry Messenger] got really good reviews, and we’re having trouble moving to Broadway. I don’t think we will. I guess people want a really sure bet when they spend money on a ticket. With limited funds to go around, I guess they say, “I’ll see Phantom.''

What Broderick says isn't new but that doesn't make it any less sad.

It's interesting that two of the most highly anticipated Broadway plays this spring are contemporary American dramas penned by non-Americans: A Behanding in Spokane by Irishman Martin McDonagh; and Enron by Lucy Prebble, who's British.

On the other hand, I am looking forward to Next Fall by American playwright Geoffrey Nauffts, which received good reviews off-Broadway and begins previews next month at the Helen Hayes Theatre.

In defense of applause

I've watched New York Times film critic A.O. "Tony" Scott on At the Movies and he seems like a pleasant fellow. But part of his essay comparing theatre and movies hit a nerve. (Thanks to Jonathan Mandell, who writes about New York theatre at The Faster Times, for the link.)

Here's what Scott had to say about the current Broadway revival of A Little Night Music and the Ingmar Bergman film on which it's based, Smiles of A Summer Night:

"You watch Bergman, whether at home or in a revival house, in a state of solitude, but you go see “A Little Night Music” in a crowd and partake of its rituals. Many of these strike me, after 10 years of moviegoing with little time for theater, as bizarre, from the apparently obligatory ovations — is there nothing New York audiences won’t stand for? — to the practice of applauding after every number."

He describes seeing A Little Music as "an encounter with celebrity" and the applause as "an act of communal congratulation for having done so."

Okay, maybe audiences are a little too quick to jump to their feet at the end of the show. In a perfect world, we'd only stand for the most incredible, memorable, take-your-breath-away performances and applaud for the most emotionally gripping songs.

But do the applause and the standing ovations really hurt anyone? Do they detract from anyone's theatergoing experience compared with, say, talking during the show or being seated late or unwrapping a piece of candy? I don't think so.

Scott has some good points - seeing a movie and going to the theatre are different experiences. But his allusion to theatre and its bizarre rituals strikes me as needlessly snooty and dismissive of an art form he admits he's barely made time for in the past decade.

Unlike movies, the people up on stage are right there in front of you. They're human beings, not larger-than-life images on celluloid. When they come out at the curtain call after having made you laugh or cry for the past 2 1/2 hours, it's natural to want to give them an ovation. It's kind of a catharsis.

Besides, I don't think people are applauding to congratulate themselves. They're doing it to acknowledge performances that they've enjoyed. (And since most of the tickets are bought by tourists for whom a Broadway show is a treat, I think part of it is the excitement of simply being in the audience.)

If people want to stand and applaud Catherine Zeta-Jones or Angela Lansbury as they take their bows at the conclusion of A Little Night Music, I don't think it's bizarre. Seeing an actor onstage whom you've loved from movies or TV is thrilling. (And is it so difficult to imagine that the audience may simply have enjoyed their performances?)

While I enjoy a good movie, it's too easy to do in solitude. Going to the theatre forces me to be part of a crowd. The fact that it's a communal experience is a good thing. Too much solitude is not a good thing.

A Little Night Music

Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****

Except for "Send in the Clowns," I went into the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music with pretty much a blank slate.

How blank?

I panicked when I saw an unfamiliar name listed for the role of Fredrika Armfeldt on the understudy board at the Walter Kerr Theatre. I was afraid that meant either Angela Lansbury or Catherine Zeta-Jones was out.

Not to worry. The entire cast was in and the role of Fredrika, granddaughter to Lansbury's Madame Armfeldt and daughter to Zeta-Jones' Desiree Armfeldt, is alternated by two young actresses.

My ignorance meant that I didn't have any preconceived ideas about how A Little Night Music should look or sound or how the characters should behave. I only wanted what I hope for every time I go to the theatre - to be entertained, to be moved. And I was captivated.

First of all, it's an absorbing, romantic story of how we all yearn for love - from youth to old age, from a nobleman to a maid.

The characters are involved in various romantic entanglements in turn of the 20th century Sweden, which culminate in a weekend at a country house. The waltzes, the singers who shadow the main characters and the subdued lighting by Hartley T.A. Kemp give the musical a dreamlike, fairy tale quality.

The book, by Hugh Wheeler and based on the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, offers a look at love in its different stages - from the clumsy inexperience of youth to the reminiscences and regrets as we get older. The characters are so interesting and very funny - there's much more humor than I thought there would be in a musical based on a Bergman film.

Oscar winner Zeta-Jones, making her Broadway debut as actress Desiree, is beautiful - actually beyond beautiful, she's radiant. You can't take your eyes off her, yet she doesn't overpower any of her fellow actors. And she looks like she's having a great time.

Desiree is still a star, still able to attract men, but you get the sense something's missing from her life. She's warm and vibrant and so loving with her daughter, played at the performance I saw by the very sweet Keaton Whittaker.

This production has a seven-piece orchestra, and I can't say how A Little Night Music would sound with more musicians. But it was was exciting to hear the first strains of "Send in the Clowns." Zeta-Jones sings it in a way that's a lament: poignant and fits perfectly with the story.

Lansbury is wonderful as Madame Armfeldt, stern, wise and regal, who doesn't quite approve of her daughter or how things are done today. She takes charge of Fredrika while Desiree is touring. I could almost envision the musical as a grandmother's story to her granddaughter. (Ok, admittedly some things you probably wouldn't tell a a preteen girl.)

And what an absolute thrill to hear Lansbury sing, practically in front of me from my third-row orchestra seat. I was literally holding my breath during "Liaisons," in which she recounts some of her past relationships. This is my third time seeing her on Broadway but the first time I've heard her sing and it was an unforgettable experience.

I also enjoyed Englishman Alexander Hanson as lawyer Frederick Egerman, a gentle widower who may have made a mistake in taking a very young bride; Aaron Lazar as the self-important, womanizing officer Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm and Erin Davie as Charlotte, his long-suffering and conniving wife.

Newcomers Ramona Mallory and Hunter Ryan Herdlicka are Anne and Henrik, Frederick's wife and his son from his first marriage. Their performances are a bit over the top but accentuate their youthfulness, and I thought they were fun to watch. Herdlicka is hilarious as a lovesick seminary student. And Mallory is so bubbly as Anne, still a child despite her marriage.

And the score - gorgeous and witty and complex. It was fun thinking about connections to other Sondheim musicals. The group of singers and some of the songs reminded me of Sweeney Todd - not the lyrics themselves but the way they were styled, their rhythm.

A Little Night Music opened on Broadway in 1973, won the Tony for Best Musical and ran for 18 months. From what others have written, I gather that was a more lavish production in terms of the set and costumes and orchestration.

The revival, directed by Trevor Nunn, has a bare-bones set by David Farley to go along with its bare-bones orchestra. It originated at London's Menier Chocolate Factory, although the only holdover in the cast is Hanson. The Menier also has fewer than 200 seats and my guess is it played very differently in that setting.

Personally, I thought the set design and costumes, also by Farley, were fine. Neither seemed out of place for the time. My biggest concern was that I'd heard it had a nearly three-hour running time. But the time just flew by.

I don't know how this production of A Little Night Music compares to any other. All I can say is, it was daylight when I entered the theatre, dark when I got out. I felt like I'd been transported someplace for the afternoon. And I'd go back again anytime.

My next New York theatre trip

I have tickets for my next New York City theatre trip!

I'm going to see two new musicals on Broadway next month: Fela! and Memphis. Plus, I'll be taking in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, the premiere of David Mamet's Race and the long-running Wicked. Finally, I'll be seeing off-Broadway's Love, Loss and What I Wore, with Kristin Chenoweth in the cast!

It's tough, because I always want to see everything. Okay, there are exceptions: I could not bring myself to sit through 3+ hours of Hamlet. And I have zero interest in Burn the Floor. But I'm happy for people who love them because Broadway shouldn't be all about me and my tastes.

Sometimes events are beyond my control, in the case of highly praised off-Broadway shows that close before I get there, like Circle Mirror Transformation. Others, like A Streetcar Named Desire, are sold out the weekend I'll be in New York.

There are some shows I knew I wanted to see, including Race and A Little Night Music. But I was on the fence about a few until they started getting good buzz from my friends and fellow bloggers: Fela!, Memphis and Love, Loss and What I Wore.

Sure, I pay attention to the professional critics, too. A pan can deflate my interest and praise can pique my curiosity. But a positive word from a friend really puts it on my radar.

It also helps that Fela! has a Sunday evening performance. I've had great luck catching musicals on Sunday nights. I always keep Chicago, which I've never seen onstage, as my fallback but so far, I haven't had to use it. Someday.

I sure hope there are clowns!

I'm excited about the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury, because, well, everybody else is excited about it!

No, seriously, while the enthusiasm of my fellow theatergoers plays a big part in my desire to see this revival, directed by Trevor Nunn, that's not the only reason.

I've seen several Sondheim musicals on stage. Two were in Boston - Sweeney Todd on tour at the Colonial Theater and Follies at the Lyric Stage. I saw Road Show at New York's Public Theater. (Not to mention West Side Story and Gypsy on Broadway.) Three others I've only seen on dvd - Company, Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George.

I like how Sondheim deals with weighty themes in a way that's entertaining but also makes you think: the injustice of the legal system in Sweeney Todd, the creative process in Sunday in the Park with George, what happens as we age in Follies, our ability to remake ourselves and our desire for riches in Road Show.

I know that A Little Night Music is based on the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, which I haven't seen. And it has Sondheim's most well-known song, "Send in the Clowns," which for most of my life I didn't know was from a musical.

Other than that, I don't know too much about the plot and I've tried to stay a little in the dark. Usually, I know way too much about a show before I even set foot in the theatre. I think A Little Night Music takes place in the 19th century and there might be a love story involved, and Swedes, or at least Scandinavians.

When I think about Sondheim and relationships, what comes to mind are the bickering couples in Company. Could this a more romantic side? Plus, I'll finally hear "Send in the Clowns" in context, and I'm excited about that. Are there actual clowns? I'm not sure, but there ought to be.

Previews for A Little Night Music begin at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Nov. 24 and it opens on Dec. 13.