Little Night Music, A

Little Night Music, A (1973), a musical comedy of manners by Hugh Wheeler (book), Stephen Sondheim (music, lyrics). [Shubert Theatre, 600 perf.; Tony, NYDCC Award.] The lawyer Fredrik Egerman ( Len Cariou) and his child bride Anne ( Victoria Mallory) have an odd marriage—she is still a virgin and is lusted after by Fredrik's grown son, the divinity student Henrik ( Mark Lambert)—so Fredrik is drawn to his former mistress, the actress Désirée ( Glynis Johns). But her lover Count Carl‐Magnus ( Laurence Guittard) is suspicious of her, so Désirée invites the Egerman family to the country manse of her mother, the aged courtesan Mme. Armfeldt ( Hermione Gingold). During a moonlit summer night, Henrik and Anne decide to run off together, the Count's jealousy brings him closer to his wife ( Patricia Elliott), Mme. Armfeldt quietly dies, and Fredrik and Désirée are free to pursue their romance. Notable songs: Send in the Clowns; Every Day a Little Death; Remember?; The Miller's Son; Liaisons; A Weekend in the Country. Based on the 1955 Swedish film, Smiles of a Summer Night, the musical's score was written entirely in three‐quarter time or variations thereof. Though the work displayed much of Sondheim's misanthropy, it was mellower than most of his later works and became one of his most accessible shows. The original mounting by producer‐director Hal Prince featured a superior cast, magical scenery by Boris Aronson, and elegant period costumes by Florence Klotz. The adult musical comedy has been frequently revived by both theatres and opera companies around the world.