Trevor Nunn to direct 'A Little Night Music.' Emma Thompson as Desiree?- Page 3

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 2:26am

I think the small orchestra suited the production of Sunday just fine. With the use of the projections, the show seemed smaller and less grand than the original. And I think a smaller orchestra can be just as beautiful as a complete one - just look the Sweeney Todd revival - I thought it worked beauitufl and sounded wonderful.

[Plum]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 2:45am

Sunday doesn't need a big, lush sound, but having only 6 pieces did mean the score sounded tinny at times. Which is a crying shame when you're staging Sondheim- the music matters, deeply. Where was the French horn? Having a few more players in that pit would have made a tremendous difference.

That said, there's absolutely nothing to indicate that A Little Night Music will be staged in Studio 54, with its limited pit space, or that Nunn will feel the need to have some woefully limited sextet comprise his entire pit for it if the production hits the West End and/or Broadway. And since there's no way I can get to the Menier this time around, I'm choosing not to worry. Much.

[Weez]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 6:25am

The Chocolate Factory's quite good with its admittedly limited space.

Within the confines of their theatre, they can make the stage as big or as small as they choose. When I saw 'Total Eclipse', it was basically a short catwalk bisecting the room (if you imagine the room in landscape format, the catwalk ran vertically) and an array of chairs on either side. When I saw 'Take Flight', half the room was given over to raked seating, and the other half *was* the stage.

When they do musicals, they always seem to put the band up high, get 'em out of the way. There were 7 for 'La Cage' and 8 for 'Take Flight'. So if they want to build their up-high platforms bigger, they could certainly fit more musicians in. It'd cost more though. :P