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A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

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#3

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/11/09 at 8:55pm

I am so happy A little night music is headed to the Kerr! I think it's ideal for the production because it would be swamped in a big house like the St. James.
#4

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/11/09 at 8:56pm

A Little Night Music AND Ragtime on Broadway at the same time. Heaven has come to earth in the form of Broadway!
I'm as jumpy as a virgin at a prison rodeo!
#5

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/11/09 at 8:58pm

Let's hope they follow the trend of recent revivals and use the FULL ORIGINAL ORCHESTRATIONS!!
#7

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/11/09 at 9:00pm

Don't count on it with Night Music. Don't want to sound sinister, but unless Sondheim intervenes, this production is probably going to use a small orchestra.
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
#8

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/11/09 at 9:03pm

^ That is true. Hopefully Sondheim will speak up. If not the original orchestrations, then at least a full orchestra.
#9

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/11/09 at 9:05pm

The Kerr Theater is very small. With the limited space there you'll be lucky if the orchestra consists of a single harmonica.
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
#11

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/12/09 at 12:01am

Yes, but Grey Gardens had an orchestra of 9 players. The Menier Chocolate Factory had 7 players. Needless to say, the original orchestrations are not written for either number.
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
#12

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/12/09 at 12:24am

I don't mind a stripped down orchestration if it suites the piece, like in the recent Sunday revival. It was a much smaller show, therefore, I think it justified the smaller orchestra, and I thought it was beautiful. I know I'm in the minority on this, but I think with just a few pieces, the music was haunting.
#13

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/12/09 at 3:48am

The Walter Kerr would be appropriate since NIGHT MUSIC was one of the few Sondheim musicals that Kerr actually liked.

As for the orchestrations, NIGHT MUSIC can be very effective with a chamber-sized orchestra. Shaw Festival used this approach last summer and it not only had a beautiful sound, it allowed them to do the show without amplifying the performers.

Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!

I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com

#14

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/12/09 at 6:56am

Last year I saw Night Music at Centerstage in Baltimore and they only had maybe a 5 or 6 piece Orchestra and it sounded like it should, amazing.
#16

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/12/09 at 11:11am

At last..."Night Music" back on BW. I agree with everyone who's said a smaller house will work best. "Night Music" is in many respects a chamber musical and a big house would swamp it. I also agree with RippedMan (as I often do) that "Sunday" sounded beautiful with a smaller orchestra and I think NM would lend itself to this if a smart orchestrator did it creatively. The original orchestrations were beautiful, but a new interpretation is fine with me if it's done right.
#17

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/12/09 at 11:17am

>"Sunday" sounded beautiful with a smaller orchestra<

The original Broadway production of Sunday in the Park only had 11 musicians, so it never exactly had a huge orchestra, although the OBCR augmented the orchestration.

I too think that Little Night Music could be fine with a chamber orchestra, but I do hope that it is more than seven.



Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
#18

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/12/09 at 11:34am

I wonder if they will use they versions of "The Glamrous Life" and "In Praise of Women/My Husband the Pig" that were used in the London Production with Judi Dench?
#19

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/12/09 at 11:38am

THE OCR of SUNDAY used 3 different sizes of orchestra. The regular pit band for some tracks, a slightly larger orchestra with a few more strings for the sweeping romantic numbers, and a much enlarged orchestra for the Finales. There was great article about the recording session in the NY Times magazine at the time where Tom Shepard explained a lot of the changes he made for that recording.

Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!

I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com

#20

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/12/09 at 11:46am

MTVMANN- They don't use those versions (thankfully). The only change they made was putting in "Silly People" and they didn't even give it to the right character. They gave it to Petra and Fritz instead of Madame Armfeldt. I'm all for small creative orchestrations, but I'm just not a fan of this production. There was SO much that just didn't work, the orchestrations only being a small part of that. I'd rather they just start from scratch for this revival.
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
#22

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/12/09 at 11:50am

"Silly People" was for Frid in the original production, and then cut. Nunn put it back in, but the number still doesn't work if you give it to that character. Nobody cares about him or what he has to say.
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
#24

re: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC takes the Kerr?

Posted: 6/12/09 at 12:00pm

Nowhere. It was just an idea that the song would be better suited for Madame Armfeldt.
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.

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