A Little Night Music – An Exquisite Production Of Classic Musical Theater

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The Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre (721 Howard Street, Evanston, IL 60202) has an interesting origin. The word Theo comes from the Greek word “divine gift” and Ubique comes from the Latin words “everywhere” or “omnipresence.”

Stephen Soundheim’s classic A Little Night Music (ALNM) at Theo Ubique is a divine gift to its audience, as it is a beautiful and genuine production worthy of not missing. Adapted from the film Smiles of a Summer Night, A Little Night Music follows the stage actress, Desirée Armfeldt, and the affairs she becomes involved in and all the men who love her. When everyone visits the country estate of her elderly mother, new romances and second chances bloom in various surprising ways. Full of hilarious, witty and deeply moving moments of adoration, regret and desire, this adult comedy is most memorable for Soundheim’s classic number “Send in the Clowns.”

The talented cast includes Colette Todd (DESIREE ARMFELDT), Honey West (MME. ARMFELDT), Patrick Byrnes (FREDRIK EGERMAN), J Alan (HENRIK EGERMAN), Madison Kauffman (PETRA/us CHARLOTTE), Chamaya Moody (ANNE EGERMAN), Tessa Newman (FREDRIKA/us ANNE), Maya Rowe (CHARLOTTE MALCOLM), Kevin Webb (CARL-MAGNUS MALCOLM), Mizha Lee Overn (ENSEMBLE/us PETRA & FREDRIKA), Michael Penick (ENSEMBLE/us FREDRIK), Peter Ruger (ENSEMBLE/us HENRIK), Brian Healy (us CARL-MAGNUS/us ENSEMBLE), Jenny Rudnick (standby MME. ARMFELDT) and Erica Silver (us DESIREE/us ENSEMBLE).

Theo Ubique Theatre offers a unique brand of award-winning cabaret-style theatre, where you are never more than a few feet from the performer and up close and personal in the story and what is happening onstage. This was perfect for experiencing ALNM, as the story, music and lyrics grabbed at our heart strings, while we sang along to the lyrics.

The cabaret-style seating was small, yet intimate, which allowed for a more immersive audience engagement. The set design was also minimal, yet effective, which put the main focus on the sophisticated performances given by the cast. It was a great use of confined space, along with well choreographed numbers, so each scene flows well from one to another.

In our opinion, we were very impressed with the ensemble, everyone was perfectly cast with strong vocals. All cast members pulled weight equally, giving a great range of voice and characterization. Each actor made their role their own, adding personality and life to the characters. Each musical number was expressive, well acted and touching.

The four-person orchestra that accompanied the performers highlighted the beautiful score of Sondheim’s brilliant lyrics and music. Then, there were the delightful and lovely Victorian period costumes, which fit in very well with the theatre’s version of ALNM.

ALNM is so memorable due to its music, lyrics, characters and many relatable life lessons involving love, romance, loyalty, the paths we choose in life, the mistakes we make and how we learn from it all.