Nominated for 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, the first Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Tony Award-winning masterpiece A Little Night Music, directed by Tony Award®-winner Trevor Nunn, based on Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night, is set in a weekend country house in turn of the century Sweden, bringing together surprising liaisons, long simmering passions and a taste of love's endless possibilities. Now starring Tony®, Grammy® & Golden Globe® Award winner Bernadette Peters and Tony® & Emmy ®Award winner Elaine Stritch. Casting after November 7 is TBD.
Nunn's minimalist approach contrasts sharply with Prince's original opulent staging, with mixed results. There will be many who bemoan the visually drab sets (largely composed of a large shifting wall and multiple mirrors) and monochromatic costumes, which add an unnecessary level of literal darkness to the proceedings. Even more painful to endure is the reduced, mere eight-piece orchestra which, despite the undeniably skillful orchestrations, simply doesn't do sufficient justice to Sondheim's magnificent, Tony-winning score. On the other hand, this intimate version does a wonderful job of accentuating the emotional complexities and endlessly witty dialogue of Hugh Wheeler's book, even if some of the overly broad performances by the supporting players threaten to overwhelm it.
They are, in a word, bewitching. And they give performances quite unlike their predecessors. Just for the record (go look it up), I enjoyed more than some colleagues director Trevor Nunn's leisurely, intimately scaled, darker-toned take on this sophisticated musical affair about former lovers Desiree and Fredrik, now middle-aged, who rekindle their romance in spite of other attachments.
| 1973 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 1974 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
| 1975 | West End |
London Production West End |
| 1977 | College/University (US) |
Northwestern University Production College/University (US) |
| 1981 | Off-Off-Broadway |
Off-Off-Broadway Revival Off-Off-Broadway |
| 1985 | Off-Broadway |
Equity Library Theatre Revival Off-Broadway |
| 1989 | West End |
London Revival West End |
| 1990 | Off-Broadway |
New York City Opera Revival Off-Broadway |
| 1991 | Off-Broadway |
Return Engagement [NYCO Revival] Off-Broadway |
| 1995 | West End |
Royal National Theatre Production West End |
| 2002 | Regional (US) |
Sondheim Festival Production Regional (US) |
| 2003 | Off-Broadway |
New York City Opera Production Off-Broadway |
| 2009 | West End |
West End Transfer West End |
| 2009 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
| 2020 | Los Angeles |
Knot Free Productions Production Los Angeles |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Angela Lansbury |
| 2009 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical (tie) | Catherine Zeta-Jones |
| 2009 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Angela Lansbury |
| 2009 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | A Little Night Music |
Videos