Is Night Music an acquired taste?

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:40am

Hi, everybody. Hope you all enjoyed your holidays. I got Night Music tickets for Christmas and I was wondering if its one of those shows that take a while to warm up to. I didn't like Sunday in the Park at first glance, and would hate for something like that to ruin my Night Music experience.


Also, just a random question - Does CZJ do an American accent for this production?

[MusicSnob1]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:46am

To answer your original question... No.

[wonkit]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:50am

CZJ doesn't do a Scandinavian accent either.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:51am

As much as I like Sondheim, I wasn't crazy about "...Night Music" when I first heard it. It took a few listens for me to like just a few songs but I do really like it and finally saw it last summer.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:52am

You didn't like Sunday...? The production or the show?

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:53am

With regard to Sunday, I watched the DVD a few times before I finally decided to see the revival. I don't think I would have liked it as much if I didn't.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:55am

Well I think it really depends on the person. I'm the same way in that I didn't fully appreciate Company after a few viewings. Now it's my favorite.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 12:01pm

I don't think it is an "acquired" taste...but that it does take a more mature take on the world. I don't mean this in any way to be insulting to younger people, but I think the themes are more relevant to those above a certain age.

THAT being said, I was first exposed to ALNM when I was 20 and loved it.

I don't believe in 'acquiring' a taste as live isn't a movie which is convenient to see several times and should be more enthralling from the get go...not that every show will do that for every person.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 12:13pm

Isn't EVERYTHING an acquired taste when it comes to theatre...?
Updated On: 12/28/09 at 12:13 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 12:43pm

No one is using an American accent. The entire cast is doing a variation of a British accent.

It's a musical about sexual liaisons with an operatic score. I don't think it's for everyone. But no Sondheim piece is.

[Edna Turnblad]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 12:53pm

I don't think most Sondheim shows are an aquired taste per se, but rather some of them take multiple viewings to fully grasp that meaning. It did take some time for me to fully understand some of the shows, but I still liked them. "Sunday..." was the only one that I didn't like much at first but then liked it after several times. "Passion," however, I still am not fond of. "A Little Night Music" is now one of my favorite Sondheim shows, I loved it as soon as I finished viewing the Lincoln Center production on youtube.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 1:05pm

I took me a while to warm up to the show. It was one of those shows I listened to the cast recording once and set aside, only to return to it a few years later and have it become a favorite. But that's just me, and I think it's a common thing for a lot of music in general. One day, you're just in a different place and it clicks. Or you love it instantly.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 1:11pm

All Sondheim is something of an "acquired taste," because his lyrics are sometimes densely packed with surprising ideas and his music is sophisticated.

That said, Night Music is possibly the most accessible of all his shows.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 2:31pm

Depends on your particular taste. I suggest you get the OBCR and listen to it a few times..reading synopsis as you go along. It will prepare you for what you are going to see. Sondheim scores reveal more with each successive listen, which is one reason why he is held in such high regard.

[Gavin Rehfeldt]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 3:36pm

Night Music might be his most accessible score, actually. Lovely waltzes, and group choral sings sounding very much like traditional European music. If the orchestration is right it should sound positively sumptuous from the first moment all perfumey, and lilting.

Sunday... I could see being an acquired taste to someone unfamiliar with Sondheim.

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 5:44pm

Night music is one of my favorite shows ever. I saw it two summers ago and saw that particular production 5 times in a 2 week period. There is something so charming about the entire show.

[NGeorgiaBwayFan]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 5:47pm

I'm glad this question was asked. I was wondering the same thing. There are several of Sondheim's works that have taken me a little while to warm up to, so I'm glad to hear this is an accessible piece. Thanks for asking (and answering) a good question.