A Little Night Music premiered on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on February 25, 1973, directed by Harold Prince with book by Hugh Wheeler. The published text appeared from Dodd, Mead. The show won six Tony Awards including Best Musical.
Based on Ingmar Bergman’s 1955 film Smiles of a Summer Night, the musical follows the romantic complications of a middle-aged actress (Desiree Armfeldt), her current lover (the married Count Carl-Magnus), her former lover (the lawyer Fredrik Egerman), his young wife (Anne, who remains a virgin after eleven months of marriage), his son (Henrik, who is in love with Anne), and Desiree’s aging mother (Madame Armfeldt). A weekend at Madame Armfeldt’s country house resolves all entanglements.
The entire score is written in variations of triple meter — waltzes, sarabandes, mazurkas, the rhythm of three reflecting the show’s themes of triangles and thirds. “Send in the Clowns” — Desiree’s rueful reflection on missed opportunities — became Sondheim’s only commercial hit single (recorded by Judy Collins, Frank Sinatra, and dozens of others). Sondheim was reportedly ambivalent about its success: it succeeded because of its apparent simplicity, which concealed the sophistication he valued.
Collecting A Little Night Music
Original cast recording (Columbia, 1973): LP.
Market values:
- Original cast LP, sealed: $20–$50
- Signed by Sondheim: $150–$400