Zeta-Jones and other stir up ‘A Little Night Music’

A Little Night Music

Music & Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim

Starring:… A Little Night Music

Music & Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim

Starring: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angela Landsbury, Alexander Hanson

Rocks Like: Sweeney Todd in waltz time minus the cannibalism

Grade: A

Nowadays, Broadway and Hollywood make strange bedfellows thanks to the trend of substandard movies-turned-musicals that have been lighting up most marquees.

Luckily for the future of both entertainment locations and their respective media, the new revival of the classic ’70s musical “A Little Night Music” has gotten it right by casting Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones in its leading role and assembling a brilliant cast to back her up.

The musical, set in Sweden at the turn of the century, begins with the wise Madame Armfeldt instructing her granddaughter Fredrika about the way the summer night smiles. She says that it shows its grin to the young, the fools and the old (who she immediately classifies as herself).

Sitting in front of her vanity, Anne Egerman, naive wife of lawyer Fredrik and stepmother to the angsty Henrik, trills on about how she wishes to be glamorous like the famous actress Desiree Armfeldt. By the end of the first act though, she changes her tune after learning that not only is her idol having an affair with the husband of her friend Countess Charlotte Magnum, but also that Desiree and Fredrik were former lovers.

She is only further infuriated after receiving an invitation for a weekend visit to Madame Armfeldt’s manor. Desiree sees this as a chance to explore the lingering feelings she has for Fredrik, but as emotions quickly reach a boiling point on all sides of the love triangle, nothing really goes as planned.

“A Little Night Music” became one of my favorite musicals the second that I finished listening to the original 1973 recording. The music is swoon-worthy and the lyrics melt on the ear drum. This new recording maintains the beauty of both even with its scaled-down orchestrations.

It is also commendable for its inclusion of several never-before-released expository music tracks and dialogue scenes. For those who will never see the marquee at the Walter Kerr Theatre while this show is playing there, this disc is an incredibly satisfying surrogate for the experience.

As for the performances, Catherine Zeta-Jones creates an intricate portrayal of Desiree by curbing her exterior gutsiness with an equally powerful interior sensitivity. Angela Lansbury’s “Liaisons” is enough to earn her at least another Tony Award nomination, if not her record sixth trophy.

The near record-high temperatures aren’t the only things making this year’s April feel like summertime, because this new recording of Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” is worthy of smiles in return.