The long dark winters of northern climes add piquancy to the enjoyment of summer. That's something Minnesotans can wrap their arms around, and it's this sense of fleeting zest that permeates Stephen Sondheim's 1973 musical "A Little Night Music."
Mu Performing Arts' current production perfectly captures that mood, infusing the work with all the magic and crisp effervescence of a glass of champagne on a perfect summer evening.
Sondheim's musical literally waltzes as it punctuates its tale of mismatched lovers with witty, lyrical songs in 3⁄4 time. Loosely based on Ingmar Bergman's film "Smiles of a Summer Night," the play revolves around a series of interlocking love triangles.
Middle-aged attorney Fredrik has been married for 11 months to 18-year-old Anne when he meets up with his former lover, actress Desiree. Anne, meanwhile, maintains a coyly flirtatious friendship with Fredrik's son, Henrik, and Desiree is enjoying a fling with the hotheaded Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm, much to the chagrin of his neglected wife, Charlotte.
Everyone else races to keep up with the various permutations that develop.
While much of the cast of this production is Asian-American, director Rick Shiomi keeps the musical firmly within the boundaries of turn-of-the-19th-century Swedish high society.
Randy Reyes, the new artistic director of Mu, leads the ensemble as an appealing and wryly comic Fredrik, a man variously bemused and exasperated by his young wife.
In contrast, Sheena Janson's Desiree is steely and world-wise, making her rendition of "Send in the Clowns," with its revelation of the vulnerability beneath her poise, a stunningly poignant moment.
