A Little Night Music

Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, A Little Night Music is set in Sweden in 1900. Actress Desiree Armfeldt is caught in a love triangle with lawyer Fredrik Egerman and Count Carl-Magnus Malcom and their wives. After an unexpected invitation, suspicion and jealousy heighten as the characters all meet for one climactic weekend in the country.

Hayes Theatre Co welcomes back award-winning director Dean Bryant (Sweet Charity, Assassins, Merrily We Roll Along) to helm this production. He said, “A Little Night Music is beautifully honest about the human comedy of finding the person to live our lives alongside. Sondheim and Wheeler's creation is a gift to any actor, and I'm thrilled that the Hayes has assembled such a witty and passionate group to bring this story alive.”

Bryant has assembled a stellar creative team including choreographer Shannon Burns and musical director Andy Freeborn, set designer Jeremy Allen, costume designer Angela Doherty, lighting designer Veronique Bennett, sound designer David Grigg and associate musical director Alec Steedman.

In his review of the original 1973 Broadway production, Clive Barnes in The New York Times called the musical “heady, civilized, sophisticated and enchanting” and noted that “the real triumph belongs to Stephen Sondheimthe music is a celebration of 3/4 time, an orgy of plaintively memorable waltzes, all talking of past loves and lost worlds.” Be swept away by classic songs like A Weekend in the Country, The Miller's Son and the iconic and pensive Send in the Clowns.

Sondheim's towering wit and insight into human nature revolutionised musical theatre with shows like Sweeney Todd, Into The Woods, Gypsy, Assassins, and this legendary musical which many consider his finest achievement. In Sondheim's words “perpetual anticipation is good for the soul but it's bad for the heart” – so don't wait, come, and indulge in the wonders of A Little Night Music.