Regional NewsKate Baldwin, Graham Rowat, Alyssa Wray, More Star in American Theater Group's A Little Night Music Beginning March 7
Hunter Foster directs the Tony-winning Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler musical.
By
Andrew Gans
March 07, 2024
Two-time Tony nominee Kate Baldwin (Finian's Rainbow; Hello, Dolly!) gets the chance to wrap her rich tones around the Stephen Sondheim classic "Send in the Clowns" as she begins a run as Desiree in American Theater Group’s season premiere production of Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler'sA Little Night Music.
Directed by Tony nominee Hunter Foster (Little Shop of Horrors), the production runs March 7-10 at the Sieminski Theater in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, followed by a March 14-24 engagement at Hamilton Stage in Rahway, New Jersey.
Baldwin shares the stage with husband Graham Rowat (Dear Evan Hansen, Sunset Boulevard) as Fredrik, American Idol finalist Alyssa Wray as Petra, Jack Dossett as Henrik, Abby Middleton as Charlotte, RJ Christian as Frid, Tara Rajan as Fredrika, Lillie Langston as Anne, Ruth Gottschall as Madame Armfeldt, and Benjamin H. Moore as Carl-Magnus Malcolm.
“We are thrilled to present this stellar cast led by the luminous Kate Baldwin,” ATG Producing Artistic Director Jim Vagias said in an earlier statement. “This production will represent a new interpretation of this beloved musical, and our accomplished cast will bring the lush, glorious Sondheim score to life magnificently.”
The production also has musical direction by Keith Levenson.
Based on Ingmar Bergman's comedy of manners, Smiles of a Summer Night, A Little Night Music—featuring a score by Sondheim and a book by Wheeler—originally opened at Broadway's Shubert Theatre February 25, 1973, with a cast that included Glynis Johns as Desiree, Len Cariou as Fredrik, and Hermione Gingold as Madame Armfeldt. The show, directed by Harold Prince, garnered six 1973 Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical. The Sondheim score features what may be the composer's best-known tune, the aforementioned "Send in the Clowns," as well as "Every Day a Little Death," "The Miller's Son," and "A Weekend in the Country."
The Fred Ebb Award recognizes excellence in musical theatre songwriting, by a songwriter or songwriting team that has not yet achieved significant commercial success.