Like all musicals with Stephen Sondheim scores, A Little Night Music, which won six 1973 Tonys including Best Musical, asks a lot of its actors. They must sing superbly, negotiating intricate rhythms in songs that are either waltzes or variations on 3/4 time. Their characters must make believable transitions from self-deception to self-discovery. And they must convey the nuances of their characters' complex emotional states, such as the combination of fear, longing, and denial. It's delicate, tricky stuff, but under the sensitive direction of Valerie Rachelle, the cast of PCPA Theaterfest's production beautifully captures the work's bittersweet brilliance. Her well-paced production, which feels shorter than its nearly three-hour running time, is marked by vivid characterizations and an appropriately wistful tone.
The leads are both veterans of PCPA's resident acting company. Audiences have seen David Studwell, as middle aged attorney Fredrik Egerman, and Heidi Ewart, as star actress Desiree Armfeldt, many times before -- including as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett three summers ago. When their characters reunite at the end of Night Music, we immediately feel that these characters belong together even if Desiree has a lover and Fredrik a new, young wife -- the deep connection between them has been conveyed all along, and quite strikingly, by the actors' body language. Indeed, in public Fredrik and Desiree have images to uphold, which means their posture tends to be formal and rigid. But alone together, they lounge around casually, their relaxed body language suggesting a level of comfort and intimacy.
Both actors also do an excellent job conveying the emotional subtext of the songs they sing. Biting off syllables, Studwell crisply expresses Fredrick's frustration in the clever numbers "Now" and "It Would Have Been Wonderful." Ewart's raw rendition of the famous "Send in the Clowns" is deeply moving.
The supporting cast does fine work as well. As Anne, Fredrik's wife, Dana Musgrove is all bubbly shallowness, but she projects enough charm so that we understand Fredrik's attraction. Jonathan Hoover brings appropriate intensity to the role of Henrik, Fredrik's angst-filled son. Edward Hightower is a bit one-note as Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm, the military officer Desiree takes for a lover, making us wonder what she ever saw in this preening fool. Yet as the count's long-suffering wife, Melinda Parrett conveys many of the various shades of self-loathing and despair. Bryn Elizan Harris is a brassy, self-confident Petra, the maid who gets to sing the flashy song "The Miller's Son." Daniella Blanchard is a bit too low-key as Desiree's regal mother, Madame Armfeldt; Blanchard's rendition of "Liaisons" could have used more of the bite that Hermione Gingold conveys on the original cast album. Michael J. Dempey's simple set is functional but not terribly attractive: the program notes cite "waterfall imagery," but any suggestions of cascading liquid are unseen. Mitsi Bradford's costumes, however, are appropriately elegant.
A Little Night Music ran July 21-Aug. 5 at the Marian Theatre in Santa Maria, Calif., and runs Aug. 11-27 at the Solvang Festival Theater, 420 2nd St., Solvang, Calif. Tickets: (805) 922-8313. Website: www.pcpa.org.