A Little Night Music (Hayes Theatre) ★★★★

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Hugh Wheeler. Hayes Theatre Company. 13 Oct – 11 Nov, 2023.

There’s something thrilling about a chamber production of a Sondheim musical. Restricting the space and staging focuses everything on the music and performances. And with a score that can be as tricky as this, the performances need to be sharp. Filled with counterpoint melodies, varying time signatures and vocal gymnastics, not to mention oodles of comedy, A Little Night Music manages to be one of Sondheim’s most linear and accessible shows without sacrificing any of his trademark complexity. 

Renowned actress Desiree Armfeldt (Blazey Best) is touring while her daughter Frederika (Pamela Papacosta) lives with her grand-mother, the imperious Madame Armfeldt (played by the imperious Nancye Hayes). She misses her daughter, and when an old flame, Fredrik Egerman (Leon Ford), attends the theatre with his young wife, Anne (Melanie Bird), Desiree hatches a plan to finally settle down in domestic bliss with Fredrik and Frederika. Desiree’s lover, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (Joshua Robson) however has no intention of giving up his mistress, and Anne has no intention of giving up her husband.

A Little Night Music is Sondheim at his peak, capping off his trilogy of early 70s hits. Preceded by Company and Follies, Night Music eschews the psychological intricacies of those dramas in favour of a rollicking romantic farce with a delicious twist. The matriarch, Madame Armfeldt, isn’t a disapproving moral pillar, but instead is disappointed that her daughter is merely using her sexual prowess for fun, rather than following in her footsteps and using it to rise in the world. As she sings, “it’s but a pleasurable means to a measurable end.”

Behind the seemingly light, comedic plot, we get one of Sondheim’s most romantic scores  and scathing lyrics littered with observations of romance, sex and relationships. ‘Everyday a Little Death’, ‘You Must Meet My Wife’, ‘Liaisons’ and ‘Send in the Clowns’ all skewer the foibles of human interaction. ‘A Weekend in the Country’ is maybe one of his wittiest numbers. The sexual politics may be dubious, but in a world where none of the characters are held in high esteem, you can let it slide by you.

This new production at the Hayes, timed for the show’s 50th anniversary, has stacked the cast with terrific players filling out all the supporting roles. The result is a powerhouse show where smaller roles like Robson’s hilariously magnetic Count Carl-Magnus and his wife, Countess Charlotte (Erin Clare) almost outshine the leads. Melanie Bird is perfect as Fredrick’s much younger wife Anne – a terrific voice with a real gift for comedy. Nancye Hayes’s witheringly droll Madame Armfeldt is as perfect as you expect.

Jeremy Allen’s set design makes the stage feel larger than it is, with a real sense of depth. By reducing the onstage furniture to a bare minimum, the scene changes happen quickly and without fuss. It’s a smart staging for the space. 

Things are slightly dampened by a few flies in the ointment. Muddy sound makes the counter-melodies hard to follow, and the quintet are often muffled and/or over amplified, sounding artificial. Some accents waiver, a few of the performers don’t quite have the verbal dexterity to nail Sondheim’s trickier moments and there is an incongruous flash of nudity that does nothing for the story.

A Little Night Music is as sumptuous and romantic as the title suggests, but always tinged with a wry observation. Caustic lyrics are juxtaposed with soaring melodies. This cast and this production bring out the best of the score, well worth seeing especially now that the season has been extended.