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.

Broadway audience, 2008-2009

The Broadway League released its annual demographic report this week for the 2008-2009 theatre season. There weren't too many surprises and I don't think the numbers are all that different from previous years.

Here are some statistics:

• The average age of the Broadway theatergoer was 42.2.
• Forty-seven percent of theatergoers at musicals said a personal recommendation was the strongest factor in deciding which show to see.
  
• Women comprise 66.2 percent of the audience.
• International visitors accounted for 21 percent of the 12.5 million ticket-buyers, the highest ever.
• Overall, tourists bought 63 percent of all tickets for Broadway shows.
• Broadway theatergoers reported an annual household income of $195,700.
• Of theatergoers over age 25, 73 percent had completed college.
• The typical playgoer saw eight shows in the past year, compared with four for musical attendees.
• Those who saw 15 or more shows comprised 5 percent of the audience but represented 31 percent of all tickets sold.
  

What interested me most was the racial breakdown: 73.7 percent white; 8.6 percent Hispanic; 3.9 percent Asian; 2.4 percent black; and 11.4 percent other.

In a news release accompanying the report, Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the league, exclaimed:

"Broadway is a national pastime! As there is more of a choice for the theatergoer than ever before, it is exciting to report that we are seeing a wider audience for Broadway. Our shows, and our audience, are more diverse than ever."

Well perhaps the Broadway audience is getting more diverse but if it's three-quarters Caucasian, largely college-educated, with a household income of nearly $200,000, I don't see how you can lay claim to being a national pastime.

Still, I'm a little hopeful that next year's figures will show some improvement.

The percentage of Hispanic theatergoers jumped from 5.7 percent to 8.6 percent in one year. Part of that could be more visitors from Spanish-speaking countries, or the success of musicals like In the Heights, which takes place in a Latino neighborhood in New York City.

Attendance by black theatergoers reached a 10-year high of 6.7 percent in the 2006-2007 season, only to drop to 2.4 percent two years later.

Now, this is my anecdotal evidence from one weekend in New York City but I noticed at Memphis, Race and waiting in the lobby at Fela! that the audiences for these shows with strong black characters seemed a lot more racially diverse than usual.

(And next spring's Broadway revival of Fences, with the box-office cachet of Oscar winner Denzel Washington, will hopefully draw theatergoers of all backgrounds.)

If Broadway truly wants to call itself a national pastime, let's hope that what I saw was part of a growing trend.

Memphis

Gratuitous Violins rating: *** out of ****

Really, Memphis has everything I love in a Broadway musical: choreography that's exciting to watch, songs that move me, memorable characters who truly command the stage and an absorbing story.

Like several other shows opening this fall, Memphis explores race in America. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the musical tells a story from the dawn of rock 'n' roll: a white disc jockey falls in love with a black singer whom he's determined to make into a star.

The show opens in a smoky basement nightclub whose black patrons are shocked when a white man named Huey Calhoun comes down the stairs and into the club.

Chad Kimball is superb as Huey, a likable, irrepressible high school dropout who's passionate about rhythm and blues and has some crazy ideas about bringing the music to white audiences. His signature phrase is "Hockadoo!" - which is never quite explained. No matter!

And Montego Glover is equally terrific as Felicia Farrell, a beautiful and talented black singer who wins his heart. At first I wondered if they were too different personality-wise to fall in love but Glover's Felicia is a strong, patient woman, the clear-headed counterpart to the sometimes stubborn Huey.

The costume design by Paul Tazewell brilliantly illustrates the difference between these two people - Huey's mismatched shirts and pants are quite a contrast to Felicia's gorgeous pastel dresses, with shoes that match perfectly.

I also liked J. Bernard Calloway as Felicia's protective brother Delray, who owns the nightclub, Cass Morgan as Huey's Mama, a timid woman who doesn't approve of her son's relationship with Felicia and the sweet, funny James Monroe Iglehart as Bobby, the janitor at the radio station where Huey gets a job.

The songs from composers David Bryan (of Bon Jovi) and Joe DiPetro give both Glover and Kimball moments in the spotlight. Glover is a small person but wow does she have a big, powerful voice in her solo "Colored Woman." Kimball's "Memphis Lives in Me" is a stunning Act II song that should have ended the show.

The ensemble numbers, especially the opener "Underground" and "Everybody Wants to Be Black on a Saturday Night," provide a great showcase for Sergio Trujillo's exhilarating choreography. And director Christopher Ashley keeps things moving along nicely.

As much as it horrified their parents, you can understand the appeal of the music to white teenagers - it definitely makes you want to get up and move.

DePetro, who wrote the book, doesn't shy away from depicting the obstacles that Huey and Felicia face as an interracial couple in 1950s Memphis.

I saw the musical a night after the New York Senate defeated a bill to legalize same-sex marriage and I couldn't help but note the parallels - two people forced to hide their love, who face violence from bigots opposed to their relationship, who can't get married in their home state.

Unfortunately, Memphis loses something in Act II as Huey climbs from radio dj to host of an all-black TV dance show and Felicia's career shows signs of taking off. (Although the projections by David Gallo and Shawn Sagady that illustrate Huey's rise are very effective.)

The musical spends a bit too much time on the TV show and Huey does some things that seem unbelievable. (Although he has a drinking problem so that may explain it.) Plus, DePetro has tacked on a Hollywood-style ending that while fun, robs Memphis of some of its power.

It's interesting that for all of the racial barriers that he's crossed, Huey seems naive about race. He moves between black and white worlds in a way that Felicia can't. Yet, he doesn't seem to realize how limited her opportunities are in Memphis, how limited their opportunities are.

I know some reviewers have compared Memphis to Hairspray for its story about music crossing the color line and Dreamgirls for charting the rise of a black singer. But I thought of another musical it resembles - Gypsy.

Huey has some of Mama Rose's self-destructive tendencies. And Felicia, as much as she loves Huey, has to be her own woman, just as Louise had break free of her mother.

In the end, this is such an entertaining musical with amazing performances from Kimball and Glover. They make Huey and Felicia unforgettable and make Memphis a musical that's definitely worth seeing.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore

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

I wasn't sure how much I'd relate to Love, Loss, and What I Wore, at off-Broadway's Westside Theatre. After all, it examines women's lives through what's in our closets. While I am a girl, fashion and accessories aren't exactly my thing.

Well guess what, they had me from the very first dress.

The play begins with Rhea Perlman talking about a New Yorker named "Gingy" and the Brownie uniform she wore as a child. I had one just like it when I was a little girl and that memory was enough to make me teary-eyed.

Far from wondering whether I could relate, I found so much that resonated, moved me and made me laugh in this work, based on a memoir by Ilene Beckerman, (Gingy is her story) with additional material collected by Nora and Delia Ephron.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore is a staged reading, with a rotating cast of five actresses who take turns with brief sketches like "The Prom Dress" and "I Hate My Purse." Occasionally they'll glance at their scripts but mostly they're acting rather than simply reading the stories. And there's a little interaction, too.

Through Sunday, the cast includes Perlman, Kristin Chenoweth, Capathia Jenkins, Rita Wilson and Lucy DeVito - Perlman's daughter.

They're all wonderful, moving seamlessly between hilarious stories about searching for the right purse, bra, prom dress and wedding gown, and stories of great poignancy, about coping with serious illness and the death of loved ones.

I liked how so many types of relationships were alluded to in the stories - husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, mothers and daughters, sisters, two lesbians planning their wedding ceremony.

Perlman, a great comedic actress, tells Gingy's story from her girlhood in Manhattan in the 1930s thorough adulthood with so much humor and warmth. It's accompanied by illustrations of the clothes that played a role at different points in her life.

I was so excited about seeing Chenoweth and it was hysterical to hear her talk about searching for the right purse, and all of the things that we keep in our purses. (I've certainly shopped for my share!)

I have to give special props to DeVito, who's on stage with four much more experienced actresses, including her four-time Emmy-winning mother three seats away. Talk about pressure! But she was terrific, so funny and spot-on as a teenager disappointed by a birthday present.

We chart our lives by the clothes we wear - by the clothes our parents wore. What Beckerman and the Ephrons have done is show how much we define ourselves by our relationship to our clothes, to the stuff we own, and the powerful memories they evoke.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore is about women, and the audience I saw it with was overwhelmingly female. But it's also for anyone who's ever had a woman in their life - yes, that includes men. It's for anyone who appreciates good storytelling. Hopefully, that includes everyone.

And if you don't get everything, don't worry. Honestly, I'd never heard of Eileen Fisher either.

When the show doesn't go on

Apparently the phrase "the show must go on" doesn't mean anything to the Broadway musical Fela!

I was supposed to attend Sunday night's performance, which was canceled, producer Stephen Hendel told The New York Times, due to a "perfect storm" of injuries.

Well, here's my take on it:

I got to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre about 6:30 and was lucky enough to get a spot in the lobby on a freezing cold night in New York City.

About 10 minutes later, we were told there would be a short delay in letting us enter the theatre. One of the actors - not a major one - had injured his wrist and his understudy needed a little extra time on stage to rehearse.

For the next half-hour, we stood there, with the crowd outside getting larger and colder and more agitated. One elderly couple - I heard the man say he was in his 80s, - had to practically beg a theatre staff member to allow them to stand inside the lobby, where it was warm.

Finally at about 7:15, 15 minutes after curtain time, the same woman who told us the show would be delayed came out again to tell us that she was very sorry, but due to "multiple" injuries, the performance was canceled. (Hendel told the Times it was 7:10 but my watch said 7:15.)

Now, I don't understand how in the space of 30 minutes, one actor needing a little extra time to rehearse became "multiple" injuries that forced the cancellation of the show.

When I came into the lobby at 6:30, there was already an understudy listed for ensemble member Nicole Chantal De Weever. So the creative team knew that the problem was larger than one person needing to rehearse a role.

I suspect that the powers-that-be with Fela! were not being honest with us. I think they must have known when the first announcement was made that there was a real chance the performance would be canceled. Yet, they led us to believe otherwise.

I'm not trying to disparage the work of Broadway chorus members but this wasn't a case where an actor who played a main character couldn't go on and there was no replacement.

None of the three injured actors mentioned in the Times story even has a name in Fela! They're part of the ensemble. I know the show has very few speaking parts - it's mostly singing and dancing. Couldn't they have gone on with three fewer dancers? Would anyone have noticed?

Also, three injuries is a "perfect storm" in a cast of more than 20? Why wasn't Fela! better prepared for something like this? It's simply unprofessional. Either hire enough people - there are zillions of unemployed dancers in New York, right? Or change the choreography to make it less injury-prone. But don't sell tickets to performances and then cancel them.

I know there was some discussion earlier this year at the number of understudies in West Side Story but at least they had them - they never had to cancel a performance because there weren't enough Jets or Sharks.

What makes me angry is that if they had canceled at 6:55, I would have had time to see another show. I could have walked across the street to Chicago. But at 7:15, on a bitterly cold night, there was nothing else to do except go back to my hotel room. (If I'd known I wasn't going to see a show, I could have gone home early and saved the expense of a hotel room for Sunday night.)

Broadway is a brand and a very important one to the New York City economy. When something like this happens, it hurts the entire brand. Like 65 percent of Broadway ticket buyers, I'm a tourist. I can't come back for another performance of Fela! And I'm disappointed.

I know canceling a performance of a Broadway show - or any other show - is a rare occurrence. This is the first time it's happened to me in three years of theatergoing and I've seen probably a hundred shows in that time.

Still, tourists who are planning to see a Broadway show on a trip to New York need to feel confident that the show will go on. Today, I'm a little less confident of that.

A disappointing vote in New York

Another vote on gay marriage, another disappointment.

This time, from the New York State Senate, which defeated a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage by a vote of 38 to 24.

I am so angry at the "arguments" (in reality, the scare tactics) that opponents of gay marriage use: it'll harm children and families and "traditional" marriage.

Yes, the "traditional" concept of marriage that once banned unions between black and white Americans, that once regarded women as the possessions of their husbands and families.

Do you know what harms families and children in the United States?

Try unemployment, poverty, hunger, crime-ridden neighborhoods, substandard schools, domestic violence and a skyrocketing divorce rate that ends up leaving many women and children impoverished.

Do you see gays and lesbians on that list anywhere? I didn't think so.

The language used by the opponents of gay marriage reminds me of the Southern demagogues who used to whip people into a frenzy over what would happen if schools were integrated. I mean, if little black boys were allowed to sit next to little white girls in the classroom well, who knows where that might lead!

This is not a religious issue. You are entitled to your beliefs, as long as they don't impinge on the rights of anyone else. But I'm sorry, you are not entitled to enact your beliefs into law. I know people of deep faith and the ones I admire most live by the Golden Rule.

When my elected representatives vote, the only document I want them to consider is the Constitution of the United States. And I hope they believe that all Americans are entitled to equal protection under the law. I hope they understand that our laws are designed to protect the rights of minorities, not to impose the will of the majority.

Gay and lesbian Americans - families - deserve the same protections afforded by marriage as straight Americans.

I don't understand why same-sex couples who have been in a relationship for 5, 10 years or longer can't get married when any straight couple can show up at a drive-through wedding chapel in Las Vegas and tie the knot.

Allowing gay and lesbian couples the right to marry does not affect the marriage of any heterosexual couple. It's ludicrous and insulting to imply that it does.

What this vote does is tell gay and lesbian citizens that their rights aren't important, that it's acceptable to discriminate against them. Well, it's not acceptable.

This is bigotry - pure and simple.

World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day and Broadway theatres will dim their lights for one minute at 8 p.m. to remember those lost to the disease. They'll be turned back on "to emphasize human rights for those living with HIV/AIDS around the world."

There are 33.4 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS, including approximately 1.2 million in the United States. The vast majority, about 22 million people, are in sub-Saharan Africa.

If you're a theatre fan, here's something you can do to help.

Whenever I go to a show at this time of year I always make sure I have a little extra cash to drop in the bucket if the cast is collecting for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. (And of course, a credit card just in case someone auctions off an article of clothing I'd like to have.)

In 2009, Broadway Cares will distribute $7.9 million to groups in nearly every state and around the world. The money you donate helps pay for free health clinics, for food service and meal delivery programs, for housing and emergency assistance and a host of other vital services. Most likely an organization in your community is helped.

Sure, I've already paid quite a bit for my ticket but this just my way of saying thank-you to the people whose work I've enjoyed all year long. That includes everyone who works onstage and backstage and without whom, the show would not go on.