Excerpted from The City Paper, Toledo, Ohio, Page x, May 16 - May 22, 2002
'Peyton Place' set to music
by Anne Biel
Sex and love, never the twain shall meet. It's usually a matter of timing. You've either got one or the other. Only if the stars are in alignment are you lucky enough to find both. And if you find them with the same person, that's even better.
The Village Players' production of Stephen Sondheim's, "A Little Night Music" weaves the stories of several characters whose lives intertwine, some through love, some through sex, in an early version of "Peyton Place," set to music.
It's a very interesting take on love, sex, marriage and infidelity, through the eyes of every person involved. It's a period piece, set in Sweden at the turn of the century (funny, not a Swedish accent to be found), and apparently the customs of this period allowed men to take on a mistress (or two) as well as the usual wife. We've got married couples Frederik and Anne Egerman (Steve Horowitz and Paula Vasko), the Count and Countess Malcom (Matt Richardson and Suzanne Jennens), and the mistress that binds them, Desiree Armfelt (Dana J. Pilrose). Also scattered about the cast are various children, domestic help and Desiree's mother (Jean Mills), as well as the five-member chorus.
Both leading men in this story are married, but the twist is that they share the same mistress. That can lead to some real confusion as to who went where with whom, as evidenced by the lyrics to, "Remember." A word to the wise, men: Don't say to your wife, "Remember when we took that trip to Cincinnati?" when you actually went with your mistress. Wifey tends to get a little upset at things like that. For the mistresses' part, they tend to get a little upset when their lover speaks about his wife. Frederick (Steve Horowitz) certainly is blind to the fact that not all mistresses want to meet the wife, as he suggests in, "You Must Meet My Wife." We see how the men view things from the line of dialogue, "A civilized man can tolerate his wife's infidelities, but not his mistress'." Very interesting, as Arte Johnson would say.
We see how each character, from multiple generations, perceives what is happening. The topic of infidelity, I'm afraid, is one that will never quite go away, meaning the emotions will be the same no matter where or when it occurs.
Standouts in the cast were Thereasa Rinder-knecht as Petra the maid, Pilrose as Desiree (she also delivers a moving version of "Send in the Clowns") and Mills as Desiree's mother, Madame Armfeldt. Jennens showed nice comedic timing and body language dealing with her husband's total lack of common courtesy. And Amanda Striph as Fredrika did the best job I've ever seen of playing the prop piano as she "accompanied" the singer. Those lessons paid off, Amanda.
Directed by Wes Skinner, with Debbie Wlodarski as musical director, "A Little Night Music" will play at The Village Players through May 18. Tickets available at (419) 472-6817.
Last Modified: 02/25/06