Program Notes
Variations on a Theme Creating A Little Night Music
The story of A Little Night Music began with director-producer Harold Prince and lyricist-composer Stephen Sondheim deciding in 1964 to produce a romantic, operetta-like musical, enlisting British author Hugh Wheeler as book writer. Initially, they sought to adapt Jean Anouilh’s L’invitation au Château as translated by Christopher Fry as Ring Round the Moon. After they were denied the rights, the trio scrambled to find another piece with a similar feel, settling on Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night. Sondheim was originally interested in using the concept of theme and variations as a driving force for the plot as well as the music of the piece. In this original version, the plot would center on Desirée’s attempts to regain Frederik and depict three different endings, produced by Desirée’s mother reshuffling the cards of her solitaire game and restarting the weekend. Wheeler, however, wanted a story that was both lighter and more linear than Sondheim's conceit. He produced a romp of a book inspired by William Shakespeare’s comedies of errors, particularly drawing from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Puck’s line, "Lord, what fools these mortals be!”" Meanwhile, Prince saw the story "as a kind of Chekhovian musical." Sondheim writes: "Hal had once described the show as being ‘whipped cream with knives,’ but he was more interested in the whipped cream and I was more interested in the knives." Although initially hesitant to accept a lighter story, Sondheim was convinced. He now considers Wheeler’s book "one of the half dozen best books ever written for a musical." Prince believes the musical succeeded precisely because of the "variety of visions" which led to a rich and layered work. A Little Night Music opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on February 25, 1973, starring Glynis Johns as Desirée Armfeldt,
Len Cariou as Fredrik Egerman, and Hermione Gingold as Madame Armfeldt. The musical was well-received by critics and the public; Clive Barnes of the New York Times called the musical "heady, civilized, sophisticated and enchanting." The production won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score before closing at the Majestic Theatre in 1974 after a total of 601 performances.
A Play in Threes
The Patterns in Little Night's Structure and Music Inspired by the concept of theme and variation, Sondheim composed the music of A Little Night Music as a score of waltzes. The music is written almost entirely in triple time. Sondheim believed a score of waltz variations "would supply a structural thread that could help cohere a disparate group of songs." The number three appears not only in the music but also in the structure of the plot. Wheeler, who had penned mysteries before plays, created a precise structure based on the number three:
Jonathan Tunick, the musical’s orchestrator, calls this structure "a chain of triangles: in each of these connected relationships, the unstable number three is drawn to the stable two." The musical pull of three in the waltz score — what Tunick calls "songs of alienation and yearning for cohesion and balance" — is reflected in the situational plot of the lovers, "the triangle yearning to be reconciled to the proper couple."
The Sun Won't Set
The Importance of a Swedish Summer Setting A Little Night Music takes place during the long days of sunlight of the Swedish summer when the sun shines for a full 24 hours in some parts of the country. Sondheim was intrigued by “the notion of the summer night, in which it is light all the time, so that there is always the promise of sex, but it never quite gets there because the sun never sets.” Feelings of anticipation and unfulfilled desire are woven into A Little Night Music. Swedish summer is short, creating an urge to make the most of the time. Film historian Peter Cowie noted "how intense everything is in that period": "Everything has to be lived. People come out of their shell at the end of the spring, and they live these two months of summer very, very passionately." Passionate living involves celebrations, especially Midsummer’s Eve. Midsummer is the most important holiday in the Swedish calendar — even more important than Christmas for some. Originally, the holiday was celebrated on June 24, the longest day of the year. In 1952, the Swedish parliament extended the celebration to occur over the weekend between June 19 and June 25 (fitting for the A Little Night Music's weekend in the country). A typical celebration occurs in the country and involves wearing flower crowns, singing songs, eating herring, drinking schnapps, dancing around the maypole (a symbol of fertility), and placing flowers beneath one’s pillow to dream of future lovers. Midsummer is a time of increased romance, sexuality, fertility, and supernatural occurrences. Sensuousness, disguise, deception, infidelity, and human folly are somewhat more acceptable during this unrestrained period as people are encouraged to throw off the pretenses of society and respond to more primal urges. These themes of unearthed desires and sexual promiscuity are reflected in A Little Night Music.
Why A Little Night Music? The proposers explain what drew them to this show. Billie Anna Runions (Desirée Armfeldt) I wanted to do ALNM for my thesis because it is a hilarious, ridiculous, sensitive, heartbreaking, yet inspiring take on what it means to be a person in love. The characters are raw and real, and all of them have to come to terms with what they truly want — some of them after years of pretending to want something else even to themselves. Its themes are timeless; the show deals with love, infidelity, dreams, family, and growing up. It’s a farce of a show that doesn’t shy away from heavy emotional moments. It’s just like life.
Kateryn McReynolds (Anne Egerman)
My intrigue with A Little Night Music is that in the comedy of its form, it tells a lot of the tragedy of its characters' inner lives. The external tension in its plot is largely, if not completely, a result of the internal tension within its players — the seminal song, "Send in the Clowns" conveys this essential conflict: a sad misalignment of one's values, desires, and actions. So fun to act. My excitement for it is also in the relative rarity of its production, even as a Sondheim musical.
Hannah Chomiczewski (Madame Armfeldt)
My theater experiences at Princeton have been mostly marked by original student works, and while I love working on these pieces more than anything, I wanted to make sure that one of my theater theses would allow me to be an active part of recreating an established work — and what better way to go than putting up an acclaimed musical by a writer and composer as revolutionary as Sondheim?
Calvin Rusley (Henrik Egerman)
I chose to join Billie's A Little Night Music proposal for three reasons — it's funny, it sounds fantastic, and it's an acting and vocal challenge.
Richard Peng (Director)
I chose to direct this show as my thesis because it was both an opportunity and a challenge. On the one hand, to be able to work with Sondheim's music is a gift that I can't pass up. The unity of his composition through motifs — their development and radical simplification aligning perfectly with themes and characters — is particularly poignant in A Little Night Music. The comedy of the show is controversial and radical, and I wanted to play with how we can use humor to add commentary to the choices the characters make. On the challenge side, I have never directed a period piece following protagonists of vastly different ages. It excites me to do physical work in making the distinction between time frames and times in people's lives, but also to forge a bridge of human subjectiveness, imperfection, and emotional volatility between the characters and bring them closer to the audience. Simply put, it's a good show, and one that at the end of the day, believes in love, something we could all use a little of in this moment.
Sources “A Little Night Music.” IBDB, The Broadway League, 2001, www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/a-little-night-music3176. American Conservatory Theater. Words on Plays: Insight into the Play, the Playwright, and the Production: A Little Night Music, American Conservatory Theater, 2015, www.actsf.org/content/dam/act/education_department/words_on_play s/A%20Little%20Night%20Music%20Words%20on%20Plays% 20(2015).pdf. Barnes, Clive. “The Theater: 'A Little Night Music'.” New York Times, 26 Feb. 1973, movies2.nytimes.com/books/98/07/19/ specials/sondheim-night.html. Hjerdin, Anna. “Celebrate Midsummer in Sweden: Visit Sweden.” Celebrate Midsummer in Sweden | Visit Sweden, Visit Sweden, 25 Nov. 2019, visitsweden.com/midsummer/. Sondheim, Stephen, et al. A Little Night Music, Applause Books, 1991. Sondheim, Stephen. “A Little Night Music.” Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011, pp. 251–283.