Review: A Dated 'A Little Night Music'

There are many things wrong with "A Little Night Music," now being performed by the Rhode Island Stage Ensemble (RISE). Despite the contributions of legendary composer Stephen Sondheim, this is an interminable show featuring unlikable characters and a mess of a story about mismatched lovers.

The setting is Sweden in the year 1900. We are introduced to Fredrik Egerman (Patrick Murphy), a lawyer, and his 18 year-old wife, Anne (Britt Simard). After 11 months of marriage, they still have not had sex. Maybe they should've tried couples' therapy.

Fredrik is in love with Desiree Armfeldt (Leslie Nevola), an actress with a teenage daughter (Madeleine Nystrom) and an elderly mother confined to a wheelchair (Mary Case).

Meanwhile, Fredrik's son Henrik (Ryan Alexander) is studying for the priesthood, but later becomes infatuated with his stepmother. And there's Desiree's married lover, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm, a military man, constantly degrading his unhappy wife Countess Charlotte (nicely played by Jeanine Belcastro Went).

"A Little Night Music" made its Broadway debut in 1973. The book is by Hugh Wheeler, and was based on a film by Ingmar Bergman. It was nominated for 12 Tony awards and won six, including Best Musical.

I came across a review of another production of this show recently. The critic said "A Little Night Music" humiliates its female characters. I'd go a step further and say it humiliates its male characters, too. Everyone in this production is sex-obsessed. When they're not lounging around in their undergarments, they're pawing each other like dogs in heat. It's really bizarre.

Fredrik treats Anne as a trophy, with no consideration of her thoughts and feelings. Not only that, but he later runs off for a tryst with Desiree. Fredrik is a real creep. And this is who we're supposed to be cheering for!

Carl-Magnus is intended to be a man's man, a real charmer with the ladies. All I saw was a misogynistic brute with a sense of entitlement.

The writing of the female characters is particularly atrocious. When Carl-Magnus orders Charlotte to pack his bags after a weekend stay at a posh country estate, does she refuse and tell him what he can do with his luggage? No. Instead, she meekly submits to her husband without a hint of resistance.

Anne doesn't seem to have a brain in her pretty head, as she allows Fredrik to have affairs with no complaints, and then submits to Henrik's sexual propositions.

Director Gordon Dell ("The Count of Monte Cristo"), who also conducted the orchestra, seemed unsure if he was staging a bawdy sex farce or a romantic melodrama.

Greg Bonin, who plays Carl-Magnus, delivered the best vocal performance in the show. Bonin has a booming delivery, which is strong enough to shake the ceiling. Listening to him sing was a pleasure.

Nevola was pitch-perfect with her rendition of the classic ballad "Send In The Clowns."

Cass Caduto ("Rock of Ages") displayed raw sex appeal and confidence as Petra, Fredrik's maid. Caduto's rendition of "The Miller's Son" was another highlight, due to her magnetic stage presence.

I also enjoyed the jaunty "A Weekend in the Country," as well as "The Glamorous Life" sung by a quintet of servants.

Rose Linnell's period costumes, especially the gowns for the ladies, were gorgeous.

But, despite those incidental pleasures, "A Little Night Music" features too many awkward and unfunny moments. When it isn't bad comedy, it's a bad soap opera.

A climactic scene features everyone gathered for a lavish party, like the type featured on "Downton Abbey." This is when secrets are revealed. But the drama falls flat, because the dialogue doesn't sparkle with wit. It's simply depressing.

"A Little Night Music" runs through April 2. RISE Playhouse. 142 Clinton St., Woonsocket, RI. For tickets, visit ristage.org.