Marriott’s ‘A Little Night Music’ makes for one enchanting evening

“A Little Night Music” — 4 stars

“The course of true love never did run smooth,” observes Lysander in William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

That is certainly true for the mismatched lovers whose tangled desires and misguided liaisons Stephen Sondheim depicts in “A Little Night Music,” his 1973 operetta — with a wry, urbane libretto by Hugh Wheeler — now in director Nick Bowling’s sumptuous, beautifully sung revival at Marriott Theatre.

Sondheim’s “Night Music” was inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s 1955 film “Smiles of a Summer Night,” which was reportedly influenced by Shakespeare’s “Dream.”

While Shakespeare’s mortals were bedeviled by a devious fairy king and his trickster sprite, Sondheim’s characters have only themselves to blame for their unhappy romances.

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.

At the center of these romantic entanglements is actress Desirée Armfeldt (Alexandra Silber), who tours Sweden’s countryside at the turn of the 19th century while her 14-year-old daughter Fredrika (Olivia Grace O’Sullivan) lives with her aging courtesan grandmother, Madame Armfeldt (Carmen Roman).

During a performance, Desirée spots in the audience her former lover Fredrik Egerman (Andrew Samonsky), a middle-aged attorney, and his 18-year-old wife, Anne (Addie Morales), an endearing chatterbox who, after 11 months, still refuses to consummate their marriage. (The revelation that Anne’s father is Fredrik’s friend prompted an audible groan from the audience opening night.)

After depositing his wife at home, Fredrik returns to Desirée. Their tryst is interrupted by Desirée’s married lover, the blustering popinjay Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (Alan H. Green), whose long-suffering wife, Countess Charlotte (Veronica Garza), knows her husband cheats and wants him to feel infidelity’s sting.

The collection of hapless romantics also includes Fredrik’s 20-year-old seminarian son Henrik (Eldon Warner-Soriano). In love with his stepmother, Anne, the conflicted Henrik unsuccessfully pursues her maid Petra (Madison Uphoff), a young woman determined to “celebrate what passes by” before she settles down.

Sondheim also incorporated a Greek chorus, the Liebeslieder Singers, a gloriously operatic quintet composed of Joel Gelman, Kelli Harrington, Michael Earvin Martin, Victoria Okafor and Colette Todd.

The first act concludes with the kinetic, effervescent “A Weekend in the Country,” during which lovers, ex-lovers and would-be lovers prepare to depart for Madame Armfeldt’s country estate to pursue their individual passions. (Had it not been for the intermission that followed, the number would have stopped the show.)

Complications ensue and relationships realign in the swift second act, which includes the 11 o’clock double shot of “Send in the Clowns” and “The Miller’s Son.” The former is an ode to missed opportunities in which Silber’s rueful Desirée recognizes ambition and bad timing cost her the love of her life. The latter is an acknowledgment that youth fades and affection dims, in which Uphoff's earthy, unapologetic Petra (the musical’s most genuine character) resolves to embrace love where she finds it, for as long as it lasts.

Bowling and music director Ryan T. Nelson have assembled an impressive ensemble of singer/actors.

Among them is Silber, a magnetic performer with a distinctive voice, whose “Send in the Clowns” conveys a kind of contained vulnerability.

Morales’ crystalline soprano, Warner-Soriano’s lyric tenor and Samonsky’s gorgeous baritone combine for the elegant “Now”/ “Later”/ “Soon.”

As Charlotte, a woman whose love for her husband outweighs the humiliation he inflicts on her, Garza nearly steals the show. Her expertly timed quips earned the production’s biggest laughs on opening night.

Nelson’s reduced orchestrations — played by conductor Brad Haak’s octet — retain the show’s lush symphonic spirit.

Sally Dolembo’s costumes are gorgeous: girlish lace and chiffon gowns in lavender and pink for Anne; tailored green dresses for Charlotte; a peacock blue uniform for the preening Carl-Magnus; and a combination of Bohemian chic (a purple velvet coat paired with an outrageous hat) and classic Greek (a silver gown fit for a goddess) for the artist Desirée.

Also, Jesse Klug’s mottled pastel lighting helps transform Regina Garcia’s Act II set into an airy estate, an ideal oasis for midsummer merriment.

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Location: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, (847) 634-0100, marriotttheatre.com

Showtimes: 1 and 7 p.m. Wednesday; 7 p.m. Thursday; 7:30 p.m. Friday; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday through Aug. 9. Also, 1 p.m. select Thursdays

Tickets: Start at $76; dinner/theater packages available

Running time: About 2 hours, 40 minutes, with intermission

Rating: For older teens and adults; includes mature content, sexual situations, brief nudity