Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...The most artful and sophisticated Marriott Theatre production in quite some time, director Nick Bowling’s exceptional, in-the-round staging of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s “A Little Night Music” — an adaptation of a 1955 Ingmar Bergman movie and often described by its composer as a “tragic farce” — is a throwback to the more ambitious days of suburban musical theater in Chicagoland."
Daily Herald
- Highly Recommended
"...Fueled by love and desire — mostly desire — their youthful passion, middle-aged regret and elderly acceptance play out against a lilting score composed mostly in waltz time in this merry confection perfect for midsummer."
Chicago Reader
- Not Recommended
"...Directed by Nick Bowling, A Little Night Music is frustrating in the extreme. The balance between the orchestra and the vocals is far too heavily weighted toward the musicians, leaving the vocals murky and often downright unintelligible. The sound design (by Michael Daly) turns the intricate, morally complex plot laden with subtleties and subtext into a trivial farce."
Stage and Cinema
- Highly Recommended
"...There aren’t many shows that can convince large numbers of city dwellers to make the journey out to Lincolnshire, but for Stephen Sondheim, I think many will be willing to spend “A Weekend in the Country,” as the characters in his musical A Little Night Music do. At Marriott Theatre, those Sondheim lovers can catch one of this musical giant’s less frequently performed works at Marriott Theatre. It’s a musically brilliant, complicated comedy of manners."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...A story about following your heart’s desire and the restrictions of societal expectations; of heavy
church morality and the lure of human connection; the questionable appropriateness and
compatibility in large age-gap relationships, and realizations of what kind of love you want at
different ages. A Little Night Music is the Midsummer Night’s Dream I needed this year, magic of
nature nodded at rather than faerie folk embodied, but the bitter tug of parent and child, lovers
and friends, propriety and mores inverted by the light of the moon (or the sun that never sets)."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Marriott Theatre’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” is thoroughly enjoyable. This is a story about spouses and lovers in Sweden, circa 1900, whose ideas of love, sex, and romance differ from each other. Sondheim’s profound music and lyrics spin a tale of confusion, distrust, dishonesty, and remorse. We hear the occasional discordant chord in keeping with piques of emotion fueled by the characters’ mismatched love interests. Meaningful direction by Nick Bowling makes the performance flow from one scene to the next, and he has assembled a very talented cast, crew, and orchestra to delight us, together with music director Ryan T. Nelson."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...Nick Bowling’s sumptuous production is so many things. It features some of the most beautiful costumes ever seen at this theatre, designed by the always reliable Sally Dolembo. And they are enhanced with an exquisitely coiffed hair, wig and makeup design by Miguel A. Armstrong. The show is a sweet-sounding songful celebration of gorgeous, lilting melodies and witty and wise wordplay, masterfully composed by Stephen Sondheim. Professionally sung and skillfully accompanied, audiences are guaranteed an enjoyable evening at the Marriott. But moreover, directed with a feminist’s eye, this production truly belongs to the production’s talented ladies. With a strong showing by each and every actress, there are no weak performances. This is A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC that is most certainly “In Praise of Women.”"
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...Marriott Theatre’s in?the?round intimacy turns A Little Night Music - which premiered on Broadway in 1973 and later became a 1977 film - into a quietly seductive swirl of glances, secrets, and second chances, the kind of production where the waltz feels like its own character. Under the soft glow of perpetual twilight, Sondheim’s lovers and liars circle one another with equal parts longing and restraint, and the space itself heightens every stolen look and half?spoken truth. It’s a show built on emotional undercurrents, and Marriott’s staging lets those currents ripple right through the audience."
Chicago Theater and Arts
- Recommended
"...With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler, audiences can expect a fine evening out at Marriott Lincolnshire for “A Little Night Music.”"
Chicago Culture Authority
- Highly Recommended
"...Spiritual heir to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Best Musical Tony Award-winning A Little Night Music beguiles, enchants and amuses with a top-notch cast at Marriott Theatre."
Splash Magazine
- Highly Recommended
"...I was absolutely blown away by Sally Dolembo's period costumes. They were stunning. The fabrics are rich and lush while the colors dazzled. Compliments to Miguel Armstrong's elegant period wig and makeup design. Intimacy Coordinator Kristina Fluty's staging of sex scenes is tastefully coordinated. Award-winning Jesse Klug's lighting strikes the right notes for mood in this long summer evening of perpetual twilight and sexual escapades. Professor Regina Garcia does an outstanding job setting the mood for this intimate production in an arena-style staging where the actors must reset props. The properties designed by Amy Peter demonstrate her brilliant creativity. I loved the Japanese lantern as the fading sun, allowing us to embrace our imaginations."
NewCity Chicago
- Recommended
"...Based on the Ingmar Bergman film “Smiles of a Summer Night,” “A Little Night Music” is as unique as Sondheim works go. It is more of an operetta than a musical, with its constant use of triple meter and waltz-like rhythms. Its optimistic and dreamlike sonorities and unabashed use of melody and counterpoint delightfully contrast and serve to soften its often bitingly cynical lyrics into humorous irony."
