A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theatre combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22, 1930) is an American musical theater lyricist and composer. ... Hugh Wheeler (19 March 1912 - 26 July 1987), also known as Patrick Quentin, was an American playwright, librettist, poet, and translator. ...

Plot

Based on the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it tells the story of a lawyer, Fredrik Egerman, who is married to a very young wife, Anne, who, despite the fact that they have been married almost a year, is still a virgin. He sees an old flame, Desiree Armfeldt, who is appearing in a popular play, and his romantic interest in her is rekindled. However, she is having an affair with a jealous, and married, military man, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm. Complicating matters is Egerman's son, Henrik, a divinity student who is in love with his stepmother. The play culminates in a weekend at the country estate of Desiree's mother, Madame Leonora Armfeldt, who is looking after Desiree's daughter, Fredrika, while Desiree is on tour. Ingmar Bergman (pronounced in Swedish, IPA notation) (born July 14, 1918 as Ernst Ingmar Bergman) is a Swedish stage and film director who is one of the key film auteurs of the second half of the twentieth century. ... Sommarnattens leende (Smiles of a Summer Night) is a 1955 film directed by Ingmar Bergman. ...

The music

All of the music in the show is written in waltz (3/4) time, and the work is often considered an operetta rather than standard musical comedy. Despite the oblique Mozart reference in the title (see below), the elegant, harmonically-advanced music in this show pays indirect homage to the compositions of Maurice Ravel, especially his Valses nobles et sentimentales. The score contains Sondheim's best-known song, "Send in the Clowns", as well as such songs as "The Glamorous Life," "You Must Meet My Wife," "Every Day a Little Death," "Liaisons," "In Praise of Women," "A Weekend in the Country," and "The Miller's Son." The score makes heavy demands on performers, with extensive use of counterpoint and most singing parts written with an operatic range. The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in 3/4 time, done primarily in closed position. ... The time signature (also known as meter signature) is a notational device used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each bar and which note value (minim (half-note), crotchet (quarter-note), quaver (eighth-note), and so on) constitutes one beat. ... Operetta (literally, little opera) is a performance art-form similar to opera, though it generally deals with less serious topics. ... Musical theatre (sometimes spelled theater) is a form of theatre combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... Harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity and chords, actual or implied, in music. ... Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937) was a French composer and pianist, known especially for the subtlety, richness, and poignancy of his music and generally considered to be one of the major composers of the 20th century. ... Both Schubert and Ravel composed Waltzes (Valses) that were characterised as noble and/or sentimental. ... Send in the Clowns is a song by Stephen Sondheim, from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music. ... Counterpoint is a musical technique involving the simultaneous sounding of separate musical lines. ...

Production history

A Little Night Music opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on February 25, 1973, with a cast which included Glynis Johns, Len Cariou, Hermione Gingold, Victoria Mallory, Mark Lambert, Laurence Guittard, Patricia Elliott, and D. Jamin-Bartlett. It won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and the Tony Award for Best Musical. For more information see A Little Night Music at The Internet Broadway Database. Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Many theatres are named the Shubert Theatre; many of these are now or were previously owned by the Shubert Theatre Corporation. ... February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Glynis Johns (born October 5, 1923) is a British stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer (notably of Send in the Clowns in Stephen Sondheims A Little Night Music). ... Len Cariou (born September 30, 1939 in Saint Boniface, Manitoba) is a Canadian actor. ... Hermione Gingold (December 9, 1897-May 24, 1987) was a British actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother encouraged her not to remove. ... Laurence Guittard is an actor and singer, mostly appearing on the Broadway stage. ... Patricia Elliott (born July 21, 1942 in Gunnison, Colorado) is an American actress. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... // 1940s 1949 Kiss Me, Kate - Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. ... The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. ...

The subsequent London production in 1974 starred Jean Simmons, Joss Ackland, David Kernan, Diane Langton, and Hermione Gingold reprising her role as Madame Armfeldt. Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons in Angel Face Jean Merilyn Simmons (born January 31, 1929 in Crouch Hill, London, England, United Kingdom) is a British actress. ... Joss Ackland (born February 29, 1928) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films in his career. ... Hermione Gingold (December 9, 1897-May 24, 1987) was a British actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother encouraged her not to remove. ...

In 1978, a film version of A Little Night Music was made, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Lesley-Anne Down, and Diana Rigg, with Len Cariou, Hermione Gingold, and Laurence Guittard reprising their Broadway roles. The setting for the film was moved from Sweden to Austria, and was filmed on location. Much of the score was cut, and many of the performers, including Taylor, were dubbed by other singers. Stephen Sondheim wrote lyrics for the "Night Waltz" theme ("Love Takes Time") and wrote an entirely new version of "The Glamorous Life" which has been incorporated into several subsequent productions of the stage musical. The film marked legendary Broadway director Hal Prince's first time as a motion picture director. For more information see A Little Night Music at The Internet Movie Database. Elizabeth Taylor in 1948 Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor DBE (born February 27, 1932) is an iconic two-time Academy Award-winning actress. ... Lesley-Anne Down as Jacqueline Payne Marone Lesley-Anne Down (born March 17, 1954 in London) is a British actress. ... Rigg in her most famous role as Emma Peel. ... Len Cariou (born September 30, 1939 in Saint Boniface, Manitoba) is a Canadian actor. ... Hermione Gingold (December 9, 1897-May 24, 1987) was a British actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother encouraged her not to remove. ... Laurence Guittard is an actor and singer, mostly appearing on the Broadway stage. ... Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22, 1930) is an American musical theater lyricist and composer. ... Hal Prince (born January 30, 1928), full name Harold Smith Prince, is a American theatrical producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical productions of the past half-century. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, television stars, video games and production crew personnel. ...

In addition to the original Broadway and London cast recordings, and the motion picture soundtrack (now out of print), there are recordings of the 1990 studio cast, the 1995 Royal National Theatre revival (starring Judi Dench), and the 2001 Barcelona cast recording sung in Catalan. In 1997 an all-jazz version of the score was recorded by Terry Trotter. The Royal National Theatre from Waterloo Bridge The Royal National Theatre of Great Britain is a building and theatre company on Londons South Bank, located immediately east of the southern end of Waterloo Bridge. ... Dame Judi Dench as the widowed Queen Victoria in Dame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE (born 9 December 1934), known as Dame Judi Dench, is an Academy Award-winning English actress born in North Yorkshire. ... Catalan (Català IPA: ) also called Valencian (Valencià IPA: ) is a Romance language, the only official language of Andorra and co-official in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia. ...

Musical Numbers

• Overture
• Night Waltz
• Now
• Later
• Soon
• Glamorous Life
• Remember?
• You Must Meet My Wife
• Liaisons
• In Praise of Women
• Every Day a Little Death
• Weekend in the Country
• Night Waltz I/The Sun Won't Set
• Night Waltz II (Liebeslieders)
• It Would Have Been Wonderful
• Perpetual Anticipation
• Send in the Clowns
• Miller's Son
• Send in the Clowns Reprise
• Last Waltz (orchestral)

Send in the Clowns is a song by Stephen Sondheim, from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music. ...

Awards

In 1973, the original Broadway production was nominated for eleven Tony Awards. It won in the following categories: 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award® but is formally the Antoinette Perry Award is an annual American award celebrating achievements in theater, including musical theater. ...

• Best Musical (Harold Prince, producer)
• Best Book of a Musical (Hugh Wheeler)
• Best Original Score (Stephen Sondheim)
• Best Actress in a Musical (Glynis Johns)
• Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Patricia Elliott)
• Best Costume Design (Florence Klotz)

The following were the other nominations. In the Best Featured Actress category, both Hermione Gingold and Patricia Elliott were nominated against one another for their work on the same show. Hugh Wheeler (19 March 1912 - 26 July 1987), also known as Patrick Quentin, was an American playwright, librettist, poet, and translator. ... Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22, 1930) is an American musical theater lyricist and composer. ... Glynis Johns (born October 5, 1923) is a British stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer (notably of Send in the Clowns in Stephen Sondheims A Little Night Music). ... Patricia Elliott (born July 21, 1942 in Gunnison, Colorado) is an American actress. ... Hermione Gingold (December 9, 1897-May 24, 1987) was a British actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother encouraged her not to remove. ... Patricia Elliott (born July 21, 1942 in Gunnison, Colorado) is an American actress. ...

• Best Actor in a Musical (Len Cariou)
• Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Laurence Guittard)
• Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Hermione Gingold)
• Best Scenic Design (Boris Aronson)
• Best Lighting Design (Tharon Musser)
• Best Direction of a Musical (Harold Prince)

Additionaly in 1973, D'Jamin Bartlett, Patricia Elliott, and Laurence Guittard were honored with Theatre World Awards for their work on the show. Len Cariou (born September 30, 1939 in Saint Boniface, Manitoba) is a Canadian actor. ... Laurence Guittard is an actor and singer, mostly appearing on the Broadway stage. ... Hermione Gingold (December 9, 1897-May 24, 1987) was a British actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother encouraged her not to remove. ... Boris Aronson (c. ... Hal Prince (born January 30, 1928), full name Harold Smith Prince, is a theatre producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical (and less notably, dramatic) productions of the past half-century. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Patricia Elliott (born July 21, 1942 in Gunnison, Colorado) is an American actress. ... Laurence Guittard is an actor and singer, mostly appearing on the Broadway stage. ... The Theatre World Award is an American honor given annually to an actor or an actress in recognition of an outstanding breakout performance in their New York City stage debut. ...

A Little Night Music is also an occasionally used translation of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, the nickname of Mozart's Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, K. 525. The Serenade for strings in G major, better known as Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A little night music, or, less literally, A little serenade), is one of the most popular compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart; January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly popular composers of European classical music. ...