Over the past weekend, the cast and crew of the Players Guild of Dearborn gave three final performances of Stephen Sondheim’s musical, A Little Night Music. The houses for all three shows were small, but enthusiastic and appreciative. The show came together nicely and all of the performances were smooth and spot on.
One cast member, Inez Hernandez, was hospitalized and missed the Friday night show. James Mayne, the Guild’s Production Governor, stepped into the role and handled it perfectly including the intricate choreography for the opening dance and the Act I finale. When I thanked James for stepping into the role he said, “The show must go on.” That’s a great theatre tradition. Inez was able to return to the stage for the Saturday and Sunday shows.
Following the show cast members gathered up costumes and properties for the PAGE Award ceremony on Tuesday at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts. The cast will present the Act I finale, “A Weekend in the Country” during the ceremony.
A Guild tradition is the Cast and Crew party. Kori Bielaniec, the Guild’s Program Governor, and her Mom, Carol, put up a fabulous dinner featuring, of course, Swedish meatballs. Following the dinner, Sally Goodman (Desirée) presented tokens of thanks to the many people who helped with the production. The helpers were asked to take a birch tree sapling as a remembrance of the show. Birch trees were the dominant feature in Jennifer Maiselow’s scenic design for the production.
There were thank you cards for the show’s Assistant Directors, Bob Jones, Rich Bulleri, and Tom Sparrow. During Friday night’s performance, the cast presented Director Harold Jurkiewicz with a copy of the show’s advertising postcard autographed by Stephen Sondheim. Cast member Brett Reynolds (Count Carl Magnus Malcolm), a Board member of Stephen Sondheim’s Young Playwrights, Inc., arranged for the autograph.
Following the dinner, Dave Wood, the Guild’s Stage Governor and John Sczomak, the Guild’s President, were seen in the auditorium dismantling the thrust on the front of the stage. Work on sealing off the stage and dismantling the other set pieces will continue during the coming week in preparation for the renovation activities that will take place this summer.
So, one more task for the cast: the PAGE Award Ceremony on Tuesday.
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The Cast Photo is seen below.
