From L to R: Lindsey MacDonald as Anne Egerman, Tom Murphy as Fredrik, and Sally Goodman as Desireé
Well, I discovered that I was spelling Egerman wrong. There is only one “g.” I think I’ve been spelling it with two because of the way Brett Reynolds, who plays Count Carl-Magnus Malcom, says “Eg-german” with such scorn.
Sue Sucyta, the Publicity Chair for A Little Night Music, was at the rehearsal to take publicity pictures. Patricia LaFramboise, the Costume Chair, got some of the key players into costume and Director Harold Jurkiewicz helped Sue arrange some of the shots. Watch for them on Patch and in your local papers.
A number of the scenes we rehearsed included the Liebeslieder singers. Our Liebeslieders include Shardai Davis of Dearborn, Brian Townsend of Dearborn, Jillian Drapala of Dearborn Heights, Julie Ballantyne Brown of Dearborn, and Mark Byars of Garden City. They function as something like a Greek Chorus as they wander through the show singing, sometimes commenting on the action, sometimes becoming the alter-egos of the central characters.
Fredrik’s visit to Desiree’s Digs, another high point of the Act I, was also “polished” by Director Jurkiewicz. In the scene Fredrik (Tom Murphy of Allen Park) visits Desireé (Sally Goodman of Dearborn) in her dressing room at the theatre. They sing the duet “You Must Meet My Wife.” This is another Sondheim master piece in which, toward the end of the song, Fredrik says, “You must meet my wife,” to which Desireé responds “Let me get my hat and my knife.”
Fredrik and Desireé retire to Desiree’s bedroom and afterwards emerge to find that Count Carl-Magnus Malcom, Desiree’s very possessive and jealous lover, has unexpectedly arrived on the scene. A very funny scene ensues in which Fredrik and Desireé concoct a story to explain why Fredrik is wearing the Count’s robe.
Trying to get a handle on everything he has just seen and heard, Carl-Magnus sings “In Praise of Women” in which he lays out his philosophy about the opposite sex. During the song, we meet Charlotte (Valerie Haas of Inkster), the Count’s long-suffering wife.
Charlotte visits Anne (Lindsey MacDonald of Canton) and tells her about Fredrik’s dalliance with Desireé. Anne and Charlotte sing “Every Day A Little Death,” describing their unhappy marriages.
Desireé convinces her mother, Madam Armfeldt (Dianna Reynolds of Taylor) to invite the Egermans to her chateau for “A Weekend in the Country” and the song builds to a full-cast, glorious ending to Act I.
The later portion of the rehearsal was devoted to polishing the “Weekend” choreography with the help of Assistant Choreographer, Janeen Bodary of Canton.
Most of the lead characters are totally “off book,” especially for Act I. They are beginning to use props and costume pieces. We’re getting there. “Soon.”
A Little Night Music opens at The Players Guild of Dearborn on Friday, April 26. Click here for more information and to order tickets online.