Seasons of A Little Night Music

On Saturday afternoon, Kari and I met up with Alicia and her husband to see the TheatreWorks production of A Little Night Music in Connecticut. It was not only a chance to see this Sondheim masterpiece in another season, but also an opportunity to see a show in Connecticut which has a grand tradition of regional theatre and especially to see my friend Brendan Padgett singing the role of Henrik. Several weeks ago, Alicia, whom I met because of her blog Things You'll Learn To Love About Me , was looking at my facebook and discovered that we have friends in common (not bloggers!), including Brendan! Facebook served it's purpose that day. One thing led to another and we planned the evening. It was perfect. The production was definitely "local," but a little more upscale in costume and concept. It was one of the tiniest stages I've ever seen and the actors made their entrances on a turntable - the effect was quite lovely. Jane Farnol as Madame Armfeldt stood out - she was just about perfect and much better than Polly Bergen who we saw play the role in Baltimore. Mark Feltch as the Dragoon was terrific, with just the right amount of absurdity. My friend Brendan was very good as Henrik. He has a great voice! It was so thrilling to see somebody I know in a staged production. Kari and I are three for three so far this year for seeing A Little Night Music - three seasons, three states. Where will we go next I wonder?