Mar 9 2020. Camelot's "A Little Night Music" is Overflowing with Talent and Heart
Review by Ella Diaz for TheatreInOregon.com
Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music is a complex show; a unique, waltz-time puzzle box both in plot and music. It takes artists with incredible skill to be able to bring this show to life, and director Todd Neilsen has some of the most exceptional artists in the valley in Camelot Theatre's second show of their 38th season.
The story centers around the affairs of the Armfeldts, the Egermans, and the Malcolms: Desiree Armfeldt is a renowned touring actress, whose daughter Fredrika stays with her mother in the country. Lawyer Fredrik Egerman, former lover of Desiree, is finding himself increasingly frustrated with his young wife of 11 months, Anne, who still refuses to share his marital bed. His son Henrik, who is preparing to enter the ministry, has come home to moodily play his cello and quote Martin Luther. Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm is Desiree's jealous lover, "The Dragoon", who spends a majority of his leave with Desiree, and saves a mere five hours for his acerbically-witted wife, Charlotte. Through chance encounters and plans that are sometimes cunning and sometimes half-cocked, there are reunions, confrontations, and one hell of a weekend in the country.
The lynchpin of the show is the relationship between Desiree and Fredrik, and Rose Passione and Alex Boyles are a match made in Heaven. The chemistry between these two is dynamite: the best of friends and the fiercest of lovers. They can make you belly-laugh in their rendition of "You Must Meet My Wife", and just as easily make you cry with the iconic “Send in the Clowns”, featuring Passione’s gorgeous vocals.
Anne Egerman can surely be a difficult role to play: young and more than a bit frivolous, but with a sweetness to soften the heart. Alysia Beltran delivers a performance that walks that line beautifully, creating a character that is both frustrating, and one that you root for at the same time. Austin Robert Miller's turn as Henrik, the ultimate sad boy, is endearing. He is torn between desperately wanting to rid his immediate world of wickedness, but still being unable to control his feelings of love for his "stepmother" and his lust for their saucy maid Petra (the always to-die for Kristen Calvin). His song “Later” is played with such despair and longing, you truly feel for this poor young man.
Easily the least likeable character in this musical is Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm, a braggart with a "brain the size of a pea" who openly cheats on his wife, and is astoundingly sexist and horrible. Erik Connolly nails the toxic traits of Count Malcolm perfectly, and has fully created a character that one loves to hate. Mia Gaskin as his wife Charlotte is what the kids call "a mood". She comes equipped with dark humor and a limitless supply of smart quips to combat the overwhelming sadness of being third best to her husband's career and mistress. This type of character is one I've never seen from Gaskin, and she is delightfully acidic in the most relatable way. The song between her and Anne, "Every Day a Little Death", is a brilliant look into the mind and heart of a woman who is sick of being scorned.
Meanwhile in the country, Desiree's mother Madame Armfeldt is raising Desiree’s daughter Fredrika in comfort and lady-like wisdom. She provides sage advice to the young girl, like "Don't smash your bosoms against the chair. It'll stunt their growth, then where will you be?". Trisha Dunn's delivery as Madame Armfeldt is well-timed, with just the right amount of sass and inappropriateness of a grandmother who has lived a full life. Aubrey Campbell as Fredrika is the embodiment of youth. "I think it must be worth it, because it's all there is isn't it?" she says with earnestness when Madame Armfeldt asks her her thoughts on life and love. The two make a perfect pair, framing the story and providing commentary on the ridiculousness happening all around.
Adam Kilgore and Kristen Calvin as Frid and Petra, the help of the Armfeltds and Egermans, may be there to serve the other characters, but they make the most of it. Kilgore's expressions as he pushes Madame Armfeldt around, and Calvin's seductiveness towards Henrik, Frid, and even Anne for a moment, bring a comedic and real touch to their dramatic employers. Calvin's song, "Miller's Son", is a break away from the story, but it is powerful and masterfully done.
Rounding out the cast are The Quintet, a Greek chorus-esque group that narrates and foreshadows what is to come, in their own unique way. Kelly Jean Cooney, Aaron Carter, Christa Hamilton, Austin Kelly, and Jessi Shieman add levity, and blend their sounds magnificently. Through them we hear bits of the past, refrains from the show, and can put together pieces of these fractured relationships.
Supporting the fantastic performances and beautiful music are the technical elements, namely the costumes and set. Madison Queen and Adam Kilgore's costume designs are always top-tier and gorgeous, and the attention to detail from both of them is astounding and commendable. Every detail, from Anne’s frilly ruffles to Count Malcolm’s rigid lines, reinforces the world of the story in just the right ways. The lighting by Ronan Kilkelly is soft and lovely, and balances the brightness of the city with the calm of the country. Scenes framed in the light of a window, or the shadows of sunlight through the trees, are beautifully accentuated by the light. The set design by Shawn Ramagos, executed by the unstoppable team of Elliot Anderson and Nicholas Hewitt, is very pleasing to look at. The set features carpeted flooring and sliding wings that seamlessly help transition from each setting, with the orchestra placed in what look like opera house boxes on stage. With fantastic music direction by Jen Marie, these actors and musicians elevate the story to a truly polished level. The entire musical ensemble is fantastic, and all deserve equal praise for creating the waltzing heart of this show: Steve Fain on bass, Lorin Groshong and Pam Hammond on woodwinds, Lillian Koppelman on cello, Beth Martin on violin, Maxim Worthylake on viola, Marie on keyboard, and Scott Soltermann on second keyboard don't miss a beat.
The qualms I have with this show vary. From slight (some words are hard to understand, but hey, that's Sondheim) to serious (the sound mixing of mics needs attention, and the projections are distracting at points), but overall, Camelot's production of A Little Night Music is worth the watch. Admittedly, the story is too much and too little at times. It is not for everyone, with certain lines and characters being a time warp to a time where political correctness was not a thing. Even so, these artists have worked hard to put on a worthwhile show, and they have succeeded. Kudos to them for persevering through this particular night filled with mishaps: multiple audience members leaving and returning throughout the show (one even stepping into an actor's light while he was singing!), three separate cell phone incidents, general audience loudness throughout, and a broken glass on the stage (blessings to the cast and crew for taking care of it quickly and in character). It’s the mark of true professionals to deliver great performances even when the unexpected happens.
A Little Night Music is a treat for the eyes, ears, and heart for the young who know nothing, the fools who know too little, and the elders who know too much. It’s a celebration of love, both in how wonderful it can be and how absurd it can make us. The run is limited, so don’t miss your chance to see some of the best in the area working with this fantastic material.
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Mar 5,2020. A classic comedy of manners
by Maureen Flanagan Battistella for the Mail Tribune
Camelot’s “A Little Night Music” is a lushly costumed comedy of manners and a romantic farce that will tickle your fancy and delight your visual and aural senses. The play, directed by Todd Nielsen, opened last week at the Camelot Theatre in Talent.
The class-conscious play of morals and manners was first produced on Broadway in 1973 but is set in a much earlier time. The plot is complicated: an older man marries a beautiful young woman who declines to consummate their marriage, while the man’s son, a chaste seminary student, is tormented by the girl’s teasing ways. Temptation rears its calamitous, catastrophic head, and all parties are eventually satisfied — though not as you might expect.
Anne is the young woman, dressed in virginal white with flounces and petticoats. Alysia Beltran has the role in her Camelot debut, though we’ve seen her before in other Rogue Valley venues. Beltran as Anne is in turn hot-eyed and sultry, a teasing temptress but alternately, she’s childish and anxious, focused on her own beauteous form. Her husband is much older, “aged,” Anne might say, and Alex Boyles is excellently cast in the role of Fredrik Egerman.
Frederik is a lawyer, somewhat stiff and formal. As Frederik, Boyles is comically confused and totally frustrated after 11 months of no you-know-what.
Henrik, Frederik’s son, is naive and, like his father, frustrated and confused at the world’s temptations.
Austin Robert Miller has the role and plays that churchy collar to the hilt until he’s ready to tear it off and let down his drawers.
The three are hilarious in “Now” (Boyles as Frederik wants sex now!), “Later” (Beltran as Anne puts off her husband), and Miller as Henrik joins the other two in “Soon,” as they each promise themselves that fulfillment is near.
“A Little Night Music” is about class, those working women so ready to play and so unlike Countess Charlotte Malcom played by fabulous Mia Gaskin. Gaskin is tight-lipped, gossipy, oh so proper and oh so funny in the role as she tries to seduce Frederik and bring her husband’s favors home again. Gaskin renders “My Husband the Pig” with a strength and disdain that is electrifying countering Carl-Magnus’ “In Praise of Women,” empty of love or regard for his wife.
Perhaps the standout of the evening is Rose Passione as Desiree Armfelt, an actress and singer, the mistress of many men it seems, and an independent woman confident of her seductive beauty. Passione’s vocal talents shine as her character banters back a very different reality than Frederik imagines in “You Must Meet My Wife.” Passione and Boyles join literally and figuratively in what may be Sondheim’s best known score of “A Little Night Music,” “Send in the Clowns.”
Class also comes into the play as Petra, played by Kristen Calvin, bares her legs and opens her heart at will. Petra is down to earth, not vulgar exactly, but ready for action and likes it very much, thank you kindly.
Calvin’s brash style plays well in this role, and in contrast to the upper-class women who restrain their favors and sell their souls. Calvin’s generous performance is marvelously warm hearted and entertaining.
Mozart’s 1787 composition, “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” is a classically beautiful work and the music of its four movements are familiar and well loved. The formal yet lively strings are the overture that opens “A Little Night Music” with an early 19th century formal waltz, the paired couples coming together and separating smoothly in one of the most romantic and seductive dances of the day. Their every step and slide is precise; their posture immaculate, and their eyes are intent on each other as gloved hands touch lightly, teasing a closer liaison.
Camelot’s six-piece chamber music ensemble is seated on stage for this performance, and it’s wonderful to see the musicians so close at hand, participating in the production. Directed by Jen Marie, the ensemble has four strings: Steve Fain, Lillian Koppelman, Beth Martin and Maxim Worthylake; two woodwinds: Lorin Groshong and Pam Hammond Morris; and Scott Soltermann on keys.
The set and costumes of “A Little Night Music” are outstanding. The stage is readily transformed with sliding panels that quickly change scenes, hide lovers and conceal the entrances and exits of the cast. The panels also serve as projection screens which are brilliantly done.
Lighting was dim at times, perhaps intentional because much of the play was set outdoors under the moon, where the sky smiled over the young, the foolish and the old.
Costumes, especially those of the women, are extravagant, and frequent changes of dress bring home the panoply of panniers, corsets and petticoats so characteristic of the Edwardian era. Props to Madison Queen and Adam Kilgore.
“A Little Night Music” continues at Camelot Theatre through March 22. Tickets are available from the box office, 1010 Talent Ave., by calling 541-535-5250, or online at www.camelottheatre.org.
Reach Ashland freelance writer Maureen Flanagan Battistella at mbattistellaor@gmail.com.
A Little Night Music runs from February 26th-March 22nd at Camelot Theatre, 101 Talent Ave, Talent, OR 97540. Tickets range from $20-$38. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit https://camelottheatre.org/
