Unfortunately we were unable to obtain the rights to perform Company, so we are going to switch to A Little Night Music which is available to us. Another Stephen Sondheim classic, it is a stunning tour de force in which he takes Ingmar Bergman’s comedy of manners, Smiles of a Summer Night, and turns it into a musical of masterful execution and elegance.
Auditions will still be held August 7 and 9 from 7:00-9:00 and callbacks August 12 from 1:00-3:00 at the Goddard Visitor Center, so you will not need badges to attend. The Visitor Center is located just to the left of the Goddard Main Gate off ICESat Road. We will try to provide audition materials in MAD’s member services area, https://madtheaterarchive.org/mem. Contact director Randy Barth (Randy.Barth@comcast.net) if you need the password. Since time is short, people are welcome to audition using songs from Company (or other musicals). A pianist will be available at auditions or you can bring in sheet music of your own or sing a cappella.
For those unfamiliar with the show, here is a description from Music Theater International. Set in 1900 Sweden, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of affairs centered around actress, Desirée Armfeldt, and the men who love her: a lawyer by the name of Fredrik Egerman and the Count Carl-Magnus Malcom. When the traveling actress performs in Fredrik’s town, the estranged lovers’ passion rekindles. This strikes a flurry of jealousy and suspicion between Desirée; Fredrik; Fredrik’s wife, Anne; Desirée’s current lover, the Count; and the Count’s wife, Charlotte. Both men – as well as their jealous wives – agree to join Desirée and her family for a weekend in the country at Desirée’s mother’s estate. With everyone in one place, infinite possibilities of new romances and second chances bring endless surprises.
Fredrika Armfeldt: Desiree’s witty teen-aged daughter who is very self-contained and formal with the precise diction of the convent-trained.
Madame Armfeldt: Desiree’s elderly mother; brutally honest and a veteran of discreet encounters with the crowned heads of Europe.
Henrik Egerman: Fredrik’s gloomy son. He is serious but confused, as he studies for the Lutheran priesthood.
Anne Egerman: Giddy and virginal; naive at times. A breathtakingly gorgeous child bride and Fredrik’s new wife.
Fredrik Egerman: Middle-aged lawyer who is married to his second wife, Anne, and has a son, Henrik, from his first marriage.
Petra: Anne’s earthy maid and closest confidante. She seizes every moment to rustle in the hay.
Desirée Armfeldt: A self-absorbed, once-successful actress now touring the country-side. She becomes entangled in a love triangle with the Count and Fredrik.
Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm: Vain, arrogant, and splendidly proportioned but ferociously jealous. He is Desiree’s newest lover.
Countess Charlotte Malcolm: The Count’s manic depressive, mistreated, and downtrodden wife.
The Liebeslieder Singers: A Greek chorus of three women and two men, with substantial singing commentary and who play also some character parts.
Frid: Madame Armfeldt’s manservant. Has a tryst with Petra.
Malla: Desiree’s maid, who is with her constantly.
Osa: Maid at Madame Armfeldt’s manse.
Bertrand: Page at Madame Armfeldt’s manse.