I am not going to lie, this was one production that I was looking forward to all year. Take that a step further… I was even more excited when the cast list first came out… to the point that I was jumping up and down in excitement and glee because it included several heavy hitters in the theatre community (Steve Schroeder, Pam Turlow, Susan O’Byrne, Randall Knott), relative novices (Teresa Reinalda), favorites (Heather Miller, Patty Yuen, Justin Triezenberg) and everyone else in between.

This blend of talents made for a very beautiful, well-crafted production of A Little Night Music that should be lasting longer than the original one month run.

First let us start with the director: Craig Gustafson. He has been known throughout the community to helm some very strong productions over the years… most recently Assassins at the Geneva Underground Playhouse and the Broadway Ballot at Wheaton Drama. This production of A Little Night Music is not just the exception to the rule… but the standard (for black box theatre productions).

With a strong production team that includes Douglas Orlyk as Musical Director and RJ Ogren as Set Designer… Craig masterfully directs this timeless production from the large stage into a small black box theatre with sitting only available for just short of sixty people per show. At first glance, one could only wonder at how a stage production such as A Little Night Music could fit into such a small venue… however it only takes about five minutes into the production to marvel at how effortlessly the cast and production team were able to put such a production up in an very efficient and effective manner.

A feat of engineering as I would call it… unlike myself I do not believe any one of them are engineers! How could I not be impressed? 😉

The set (as conceived by RJ Ogren) was gorgeous as we have come to almost expect out of him, but not just that it was also very functional. At the far ends of either side are platforms for various scenes that do not require much movement or interaction and the center stage area is set aside for the majority of the larger scenes. One platform however is designated for the various bedroom scenes one finds in A Little Night Music (take that as you will) while the other blends from moments of Madam Armfeldt with her granddaughter Fredricka to moments that members of the quintet have to themselves between scene changes.

Anyway… enough about the production team… what about the cast? Before I start talking about the cast… let’s find out who they are:

But where do I begin with the cast?
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