Sex is alternately intriguing, amusing and exciting. Sex is the center of many of the greatest stories ever told (all of them, if you look hard enough). In short, sex sells.
Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, playing in the Balch Arena Theater this weekend, exploits sex to its fullest and most entertaining potential. Director Barbara Grossman presents this lively comic take on sexuality and society.
The play follows the life of Frederick Egerman (Josh Bauml), a well-to-do middle-aged lawyer. He lives with his teenage wife Anne (Merrin Lazyan), with whom -- to his great frustration -- he has yet to have sex with in the 11 months they've been married. The house is also inhabited by Fredrick's son Henrik (Adam Stahl), a melancholy seminary student, and their housemaid Petra (Julia Arazi).
Fredrick's roving eye is drawn to a former lover/actress Desiree Armfeldt (Lisa Birnbaum), who has come to town to perform. He visits her in her room one night and renews their affair. Afterwards, Desiree's current lover, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (Mike Flynn), arrives and is very displeased to find another man half dressed in his mistress's apartment.
Carl-Magnus returns home and tells the tale to his wife Charlotte (Suzanne Corbett), who slips off to tell Anne (a childhood friend of Charlotte's younger sister) of Frederick's infidelity. Meanwhile, Desiree has invited Fredrick and his household out to her mother's country estate for the weekend. Carl-Magnus learns of the gathering and packs Charlotte into the car to join uninvited. The cast then descends on one another, all desperately seeking to stake their own thirst for sex in whatever form they think is best.
Normally, I would talk about the actors here, but I feel the design staff deserves a nod before you skip to reading Dilbert and doing the crossword. The elaborate set looked marvelous and often conveys the light-hearted nature of the production. Large set pieces roll on and off the stage, changing the scene without disrupting the show's flow or mood (except in Thursday's production, when several things broke). The costumes are showy where they need to be, ridiculous at appropriate times, and, in general, convey the personas of the characters that inhabit them quickly and effectively.
Bauml and Birnbaum lead a capable cast through the show. Bauml's Frederick is likeable and understandable. The clear and hilarious juxtaposition of Frederick's worldly, grounded experience and Anne's bubbly naivety carries the early part of the show. Birnbaum's delightful voice provides the high point of the show, the touching number "Send in the Clowns." Strong character work from Arazi, Stahl, Corbett and Flynn provide color, life and comic relief.
The one downfall of the show is the music itself. Perhaps the story should be at the mercy of the songs. But although the music is pretty, the songs seem to hinder the story instead of building it. A play with a storyline like this one should be a comic assault with brief pauses for sentimentality and a satisfying conclusion. The classical (if upbeat) soundtrack slows the story and often distracts the viewer. Maybe if the pit were a bit tighter, maybe if the songs were less about showing off and more about the characters. But for me, with the exception of Clowns and Stahl's song Later, the singing took away more than it added.
Overall, the production is nevertheless successful. Provided with a talented design staff and a strong cast, director Barbara Grossman presents an enjoyable night at the theater.
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