KristyWes

A Little Night Music...

...is playing on Broadway and I saw it a few weeks ago. While overall it was an enjoyable afternoon of theater-going, I left a bit confused by the story. Specifically the ending, which - judging from the score's bright finish - was intended to be a happy one. However, the romantic arrangements that the characters have settled into by the finale seemed to me more oedipal and pitiable than health-ful and happy.

But if someone has a different take on things, I'd be glad to hear it! In the meantime, I wrote a little poem. Just 'cause.

The set design is simple but entirely effective
Chorus members add an unusual perspective

Quite the cast of characters populate the stage
‘Fredrika’s voice delights despite her precocious age

Angela, that grand dame, delivers lines with vim and vigor
(One wishes that her part could have been a little bigger)

Catherine Zeta is just lovely, treading boards in her bare feet
Singing “Isn’t it bliss?” with irony, after ‘Desiree’s defeat

And though I might give praise for Send in the Clown’s melody
It’s harder to applaud the characters’ infidelity

When curtain fell on second choices and second chances -
Marriages broken to make way for new romances -

I wondered if Sondheim had meant it all for whimsy?
The “happy ending” for me just felt a little too flimsy.


(Meter's broken, but I'm too lazy to fix it. Oops!)