A Little Night Music
MrM and I went to see A Little Night Music at the State Theatre tonight. It was the first time I'd seen a live preformance of Sondheim - I know the music to Assassins and Company and Into the Woods reasonably well, but I've never seen any of them live.
It was a great show, with some fantastic lines and situations, and farcical while not being cringe-worthy: I was never afraid that the characters wouldn't be able to talk themselves out of trouble, and quite looked forward to seeing what they'd come up with, whereas I watch most farces thinking "this is just going to be embarrassing for everybody" and wishing they would end.
We booked very late, so had tickets in the second front row, just below stage level, which wasn't the best angle for listening, but was great for seeing all the little facial expressions and details that aren't visible from further back - particularly for those of us, like me, whose eyesight is far from perfect even with glasses!
The performances were good; the women perhaps more than the men, although Ben Lewis as the Count was delightfully appallingly pompous. I enjoyed Kate Hoolihan as Petra, especially her physical comedy (although the fast sections of her solo felt a bit frantic) and Katrina Retallick as the Countess with her beautifully dry delivery. Sigrid Thornton was good as Desiree, although having seen her so much on tv it's a bit difficult to "buy" her as a character - she doesn't have the knack that some actors have of inhabiting a persona and making themselves unrecognisable (Paul Bettany is a stand-out at it.) But tonight Nancye Hayes as Madame Arnfeldt stole the show.
It was a great show, with some fantastic lines and situations, and farcical while not being cringe-worthy: I was never afraid that the characters wouldn't be able to talk themselves out of trouble, and quite looked forward to seeing what they'd come up with, whereas I watch most farces thinking "this is just going to be embarrassing for everybody" and wishing they would end.
We booked very late, so had tickets in the second front row, just below stage level, which wasn't the best angle for listening, but was great for seeing all the little facial expressions and details that aren't visible from further back - particularly for those of us, like me, whose eyesight is far from perfect even with glasses!
The performances were good; the women perhaps more than the men, although Ben Lewis as the Count was delightfully appallingly pompous. I enjoyed Kate Hoolihan as Petra, especially her physical comedy (although the fast sections of her solo felt a bit frantic) and Katrina Retallick as the Countess with her beautifully dry delivery. Sigrid Thornton was good as Desiree, although having seen her so much on tv it's a bit difficult to "buy" her as a character - she doesn't have the knack that some actors have of inhabiting a persona and making themselves unrecognisable (Paul Bettany is a stand-out at it.) But tonight Nancye Hayes as Madame Arnfeldt stole the show.