A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC Reviews....- Page 5

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 12:27am

Yes, could someone post the link to Brantley's review...the elpasoinc link doesn't seem to be working anymore.

Thanks in advance.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 12:33am

Brantley's Review

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 12:49am

Thanks! I'm so thrilled with the three paragraphs of a rave for Angela Lansbury - she deserves the 2010 Tony Award!

I'm sorry that he didn't like Leigh Ann Larkin though - I thought she was wonderful.

Given these mixed reviews, I wonder if there will be discounts in January...

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 2:59am

Here's an opening night video

http://www.etonline.com/news/2009/12/81935/ Updated On: 12/14/09 at 02:59 AM

[MarkK]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 6:35am

NY Post - Mixed-to-Negative

Vincentelli loved Lansbury, and just liked Zeta-Jones.

Trevor Nunn's murky-looking production (did he and lighting designer Hartley T A Kemp take the "night" in the title literally?) isn't particularly subtle or graceful.
Lacking both nuance and energy, it struggles to match the sophistication and gamesmanship of Sondheim's score, which evokes the effervescence of love, the abject pain it can cause, and the melancholy of its aftermath -- sometimes all in the same song.

link fixed
NY Post Updated On: 12/14/09 at 06:35 AM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 7:53am

How many stars did she give it? It won't show up on my BBerry.

[lull89]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 7:55am

2.5/4. The link to that review has an extra "htt" before it for some reason, which is probably why you can't open it.

[artscallion]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 7:55am

Mark, your link isn't working.

http://tinyurl.com/New-York-Post

[massofmen]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 9:26am

withoutatrace, you thought leigh ann larkin was wonderful? Oh my gosh. Ok now at least i have a litmus test for where your intelligence concerning theater lies.
her performance was dreadful. Absolutely dreadful. Worst acting i have seen on a broadway stage since...I don't even know when.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 10:38am

I actually wish this show had been a little darker, ha.

[JimCo]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 1:04pm

I don't understand how anyone can complain about the show itself. The book is one of the best. It's intelligent, funny, intelligent, and beautifully constructed. The score is genius. It is one of my all-time favorites having done it myself many times with Jean Simmons, Hermione Gingold, Dorothy Collins in different productions. I also think that it's fascinating that Ramona Mallory who plays Anne is the daughter of the original Anne, Victoria Mallory. I love this show.....and I wish it well. Angela is perfect. I have done SWEENEY TODD and MAME with her, and she is the best there is! I wish them all luck, and I would give anything to see it....

[Roscoe]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 2:46pm

Astonishing. Brantley complaining about a Trevor Nunn production? Nunn must have fallen behind in his bribery payments.

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 3:05pm

Didn't Brantley hate Gone with the Wind, too? Of course, didn't everyone?

[jv92]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 3:53pm

JimCo, Dorothy Collins did 'Night Music'? Where? When? Was she Desiree?

[fflagg]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 7:22pm

Yet, again, it comes down to money. I am really looking forward to seeing the show tomorrow night but know full well that the show will look cheap and the sound will be cheap. You do not mount a classic musical with some stupid "vision" that is a way to cover the fact that you do not want to spend the bucks. If this show looks cheap I can imagine the forthcoming miscast Promises. . .

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 9:55pm

I just came across this blog post about ALNM. What a great, great read! It really makes me want to see the show - and not just for its two stars.

The guy obviously adores the show itself and has seen many versions. And he loves this revival.

I was most impressed with his analysis about the staging - going back to the source material, Ingmar Bergman's movie.
ALNM Blog

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 11:37pm

For what it's worth, Word of Mouth loved it overall.

http://www.broadway.com/videos/show/little-night-music/word-of-mouth-review-a-little-night-music/

Randi was not a fan of the production, or Lansbury.

Updated On: 12/14/09 at 11:37 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 12/15/09 at 12:29am

NY1 is a rave:

"Sondheim being Sondheim, you know that anything he writes is going to be intelligent, sophisticated, witty and lyrical, often self-consciously so. That's all there in the revival of his 1973 musical "A Little Night Music," directed by Trevor Nunn whose acclaimed London production made the trip across the pond. As modern musicals go, it's considered by many the gold standard and this production turns out to be beautiful and deeply resonant, hitting every note with stunning honesty.

...

Trevor Nunn's direction cut right to the soul of this work meticulously casting great voices all equally adept as actors. The complex material is well served by all of them. Other standouts include Aaron Lazar as the blustery Count Malcolm, and Ramona Mallory, playing Egerman's much too young wife.

But it all really comes down to Zeta-Jones. And when she finally sings "Send In The Clowns," exquisitely I might add, she sends us into musical ecstasy.

The show is long -- three hours with intermission and there are spots that could be cut. Too much of a good thing perhaps. But Sondheim being Sondheim, the virtues far outweigh the flaws."
Review and Video

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 12/15/09 at 1:13am

Typical of the reviews Sondheim gets...ALL over the map.

The tally so far:

5 Raves
6 Positives
5 Mixed
2 Negatives
0 Pans

But the reviews may not matter with this production. SO far the box office numbers have been very strong.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/15/09 at 1:14am

^ Yup. I heard sales were quite strong today.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/15/09 at 8:41am

Randi was not a fan of the production, or Lansbury.

If she didn't like the production, fine. But not liking Lansbury... Randi continues to be an idiot.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/15/09 at 9:39am

Sondheim being Sondheim, the virtues far outweigh the flaws.

I think they should use that for the name of the next revue of Sondheim songs: SONDHEIM BEING SONDHEIM.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 12/15/09 at 3:12pm

There are a lot of contradictions in those reviews. And there is truth even in some of those contradictions.

But I do like the Stephen Mosher blog that lovesclassics links.

That guy can appreciate contradictions.

And, in this case at least, so can I.

[binau]

Posted: 12/15/09 at 3:34pm

How can there be truth in a contradiction :P? Contradictions by definition are necessarily false.

[wonkit]

Posted: 12/15/09 at 5:40pm

Contradictions are not necessarily false. They merely suggest a lack of consistency. If I say the coffee is too bitter and you say the coffee is too sweet, the opinions are inconsistent but it does not mean that either of us is right, nor does it change what the coffee IS.