Elaine Stritch and Bernadette Peters make beautiful ‘Night Music’ together

Ongoing Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's romantic musical glides along with two new stars

BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

BROADWAY REVIEW

Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch have now succeeded Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury as the leading ladies for "A Little Night Music," and their ravishing charms were formally revealed Sunday at the Walter Kerr Theatre, where the revival of Stephen Sondheim's delectable musical has been in residence since November.

They are, in a word, bewitching. And they give performances quite unlike their predecessors.

Just for the record (go look it up), I enjoyed more than some colleagues director Trevor Nunn's leisurely, intimately scaled, darker-toned take on this sophisticated musical affair about former lovers Desiree and Fredrik, now middle-aged, who rekindle their romance in spite of other attachments.

The beautiful Zeta-Jones (who would win a Tony Award for her Broadway debut) was a physically graceful, emotionally high-spirited Desiree. Oh-so elegant as Desiree's imperious old mama, Lansbury offered a crisp, subtle portrait of a courtesan in wealthy retirement.

Among Broadway's most accomplished charmers, the petite, sweet-voiced Peters looks utterly lovely in Desiree's grand 1900s gowns and fits her role just as perfectly. Peters conjures up a playful woman who is absolutely sure of her outward effects — Desiree is an actress, after all — but becomes touchingly wistful whenever she contemplates the muddle her personal life has become.

Her pensive "Send in the Clowns" is sung quietly and movingly with a sniffle of regret.

While Zeta-Jones was vibrant in the role, the far more stage-seasoned Peters effortlessly imbues Desiree with a glow that warms the cool nature of Hugh Wheeler's story. She's exquisite in every radiant way.

Ever a scene-stealer, Stritch presents a more flamboyant Madame Armfeldt than Lansbury. Alternately grimacing in a puckered scowl or blazing with a brilliant smile, Stritch depicts the crusty old dragon in a remarkably bittersweet manner: In fact, this Madame Armfeldt manages to be bitter regarding her present days and sweet about her past glories in the same sentence.

A prickly, unsettling presence amid the show's moonstruck atmosphere, Stritch turns the character's "Liaisons" aria of recollection into a mini-drama all its own. Broadway buzz murmurs that Stritch remains unsure of her lyrics and indeed, right in the middle of "Liaisons" during last Friday's preview, Stritch obviously experienced trouble grasping the right words. The prompter could be faintly heard getting her back on track. But I wonder whether this cunning trouper really was being forgetful or was artfully making it seem that way just to give the reflective song an immediate jolt of danger. Any bets?

Anyway, Stritch ultimately triumphs in the number and otherwise provides a delicious portrayal of a salty old soul. Anybody who's long loved her theater work or those who know Stritch merely as Alec Baldwin's mom on "30 Rock" will be tickled to see her grimly dominate every moment she's onstage.

Buoyed by an excellent company, the production confidently glides along. A gentlemanly Alexander Hanson remains an exemplary Fredrik who is urbane yet ruefully struck by midlife doubts. Swaggering about as the pea-brained dragoon who duels for Desiree's affections, Aaron Lazar suggests Basil Rathbone on steroids. Erin Davie gleams with irony as a long-suffering wife while Ramona Mallory hyperventilates amusingly as a silly child bride.

Of course, Sondheim's lilting score and Wheeler's witty script provides sophisticated entertainment that no other current Broadway musical offers. That in itself is reason enough to see "A Little Night Music," but the glittering presence of Peters and Stritch boost an already brilliant occasion into an unforgettable time.

"A Little Night Music" continues an open-end run at the Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 W. 48th St., New York. Call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.nightmusiconbroadway.com.