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Theater Review: Fall Musical Falls Short
By Irene Maslanik '07
STAFF WRITER

During Families’ Weekend, Sweet Briar Theatre performed Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music.” There are certain things Sweet Briar students have come to expect when attending on-campus theatre. The first is that though we have a theatre major and many talented actresses among our student body, there will be several outside performers who often make up the majority of the cast—sometimes more than others, depending on the play.

In this production, five major characters were performed by men from the community. In addition to preventing many students from getting major roles, it seems that the male actors, Albert Carter in particular, stole the show, in his compelling performance as Frederick Egerman. Katy Johnstone played his his blushing bride, Anne Egerman, and Jared M. Anderson played his repressed son, Henrik.

Carter’s comedic timing and personality translated beautifully from the stage. The audience loved him. His chemistry with his son and wife was lively and enthralling. His first song, “Later,” charmed the audience, equally because of his delivery and his elocution -- we could actually understand the words he spoke and sang. Carter, juxtaposed with Anderson’s youthful vitality, created a lovely dynamic and some of the play’s strongest scenes. Johnstone, one of the youngest performers on stage, she was able to use her age to her advantage and actually act some of her role, instead of simply going through the motions, which some of the other performances felt like.

Throughout the play, hearing the dialogue was a strain, and not always because of the sound system. One student who outshone the rest in this respect was Emily Olson, who played the naughty and cantankerous grandmother, Madame Armfeldt. Olson’s delivery and attitude really separated her from the rest of the performers, especially in her song “Liasons”.

While “A Little Night Music” was fun and just a little bit wicked, I wish some of the passion that was written in the words and songs had come across more vibrantly to the audience. I do think that the sense of humor that continues to pour out of Babcock is fantastic, and I loved the way they utilized the servants and gave the audience physical comedy alongside Sondheim’s complicated lyrics.

Ultimately, the theatre program is in a bit of a quandry. Theatre is a graduating major, so to some extent the theatre productions ought to provide experience for the major students. However, if the directors insist on choosing plays that involve many outside male roles, using students may not be the best option, as the disparity in performance ability is often distracting. Right now, the middle of the road approach does not seem to be working. Most of all what translates from the stage to the audience is jumble of professional and clearly student performances.