A Little Night Music Review - Michigan Opera Theater - 11/13/09

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 11/13/09 at 2:55pm

Okay! So in lieu of the upcoming revival, I decided to go see the final dress rehearsal of A Little Night Music down at the Detroit Opera House. Leslie Uggams and Ron Raines starred as Desiree and Fredrik. production is absolutely stunning! The set was a unit set of the country house, but brought in different furniture to change the location. I wish I had taken a picture, but that was illegal :) Leslie Uggams was absolutely phenomenal as Desiree, her acting was perfect, and even though it was the final dress, she went full voice. Her "Send In The Clowns" was jaw-dropping, her voice is so rich and delightful. Ron Raines, in my opinion, sang better than Len Cariou, his baritone was smooth and rich and very very strong. His acting was also wonderful. Henrik was played by Kevin Thomas Campbell and his voice was beautiful. It was the perfect amount of classical tenor and musical theater tenor and he was quite a good actor. Anne was played by Jennifer Giudice, I thought her voice was nice, not as stellar as the rest of the cast, but still pleasant to listen to. She definitely nailed the acting of Anne down, she was so innocent and young and it was really great. Madame Armfeldt was played by Bobbie Steinbach and damn did she nail the comedy. She got the most laughs. Her "Liasons" was great as well. The Count (played by Edward Watts) was amazing!! This really reminded me of a role for Marc Kudisch, his voice was so strong like Marc's and he really was very very commanding with his acting. The Countess was played by Lisa Vroman, who was very good for all the part had to do. She had a lovely voice and has great comedic timing. The stand out for me was Petra, played by Lindsay Rider, HOLY COW! What a voice, "The Miller's Son" was a show stopper, I can't get over how great her voice is! She did a nice, clean and healthy belt and still had a wonderful classical voice! All in all the show was really nice and I know that Detroit is far from NYC but for anyone in the Detroit area I HIGHLY recommend seeing this show! For me, alot of this cast should be brought to the Broadway production! I can't wait to come to NYC to see it!!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/27/09 at 10:29pm

Here is a clip of Leslie Uggams singing SEND IN THE CLOWNS from this production.

MICHIGAN OPERA NIGHT MUSIC

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/27/09 at 10:31pm

The clip is awful. She is just too old, and her dress is hideous. She is such a talent, but I am not impressed by the clip.