A Little Night Music

Home » A Little Night Music

May 24 – July 14, 2024

Previews: May 24-June 1, 2024
Fridays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sunday at 6:00pm

Run: June 6-July 14, 2024
Thursday-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 6:00pm
*Please note no performance July 4.

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Suggested by a Film by Ingmar Bergman
Originally Produced and Directed on Broadway by Harold Prince

Directed by L. Walter Stearns
Music Directed by Eugene Dizon
Choreographed by Brenda Didier

Adapted from the celebrated Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, A Little Night Music follows actress Desirée Armfeldt, the affairs she is entangled in, and the men who love her. When everyone gathers at the country estate of her mother, new romances and second chances bloom in surprising ways. Full of hilariously witty and heartbreakingly moving moments of adoration, regret and desire, this comedy for adults is most noted for introducing the standard “Send in the Clowns.” Led by a multi Jeff Award-winning Creative Team and featuring celebrated Chicago artists Honey West as Madame Armfedlt and Colette Todd as Desirée Armfeldt, this is a not-to-be-missed production.

Special Thanks to our production sponsors Mary Alice & Peter J. Costello.

A Little Night Music is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.

Buy Tickets Now!

Production Team

Director - L. Walter Stearns

(he/him: Director) THEO: Debut. Producer/Director at Mercury Theater Chicago. Directed Sondheim’s Company (2003 and 2018) Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods (2010 and 2000) Pacific Overtures, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd (2004 and 1997) A Little Night Music (2001), Passion, Merrily We Roll Along. Walter has received Jeff Awards, After Dark Awards, BroadwayWorld Awards, the Larry Sloan Advocate Award (Season of Concern), the first Guy Adkins award for his contributions to musical theatre, and the Franny Award as a distinguished alumnus of the University of Illinois at Chicago. He recently collaborated with Brenda Didier on Jersey Boys. mercurytheatrechicago.com

Music Director - Eugene Dizon

(he/him, Music Director) THEO: Starting Here, Starting Now. CHICAGO: 6 Jeff Awards (Ragtime, Sweeney Todd, Amadeus, Company, Into the Woods, Merrily We Roll Along), Jeff nominations (A Grand Night for Singing, Candide, Nine, Closer Than Ever, A Little Night Music, Passion, Colette Collage, Falsettos); 4 After Dark Awards (Ragtime, Sweeney Todd, A New Brain, Merrily We Roll Along), a BroadwayWorld Award for Mercury’s Avenue Q. Recent projects: Jersey Boys and Young Frankenstein (Mercury); The Producers and Avenue Q (Music Theater Works); TO BE (Chicago Shakespeare), Mr. Burns – a post-electric play (Theater Wit). Thanks to Fred, Stephanie, Walter, and Brenda.

Choreographer & Musical Staging - Brenda Didier

(she/her, Choreographer & Musical Staging) THEO: Cats (directing debut in 2010!), Evita, Chess, Light in the Piazza, Jesus Christ Superstar, Hello Again and Smokey Joe’s Cafe. CHICAGO: Paramount, Chicago Skakespeare, The Goodman, Marriott, Porchlight Music Theatre, Mercury Theatre, Kokandy and many others. She is a multiple Jeff Award recipient in both direction and choreography. Thank you to Walter, Eugene, Chris and Fred for this opportunity and to this glorious cast, design team, band and crew for the collaboration. Artistic Director/Founder- Lincolnshire Academy of Dance-26th Season! For Molly LeCaptain.

Scenic Designer - Angela Weber Miller

(she/her, Scenic Designer) THEO: Debut. Angela is a two-time Jeff Award-winning Chicago-based scenery designer (Seascape, Remy Bumppo & Who’s Holiday!, Theater Wit) and a member of United Scenic Artists. Outside of theatre, she spends time with her family, gardening, and traveling.

Lighting Designer - Patrick Chan

(he/him; Lighting Designer) THEO: Debut. CHICAGO: Spring Awakening and Cabaret (Porchlight). He has been the resident lighting designer at the WagonWheel Center for the Arts in Warsaw, IN, for the past 32 years. A graduate of the MFA design program at Northwestern University, his lighting designs have enhanced numerous events for corporate clients, special live and televised events including McDonald’s, Mercedes Benz, Beam-Suntory, the opening and closing ceremonies of the AIBA World Boxing Championships, the Ryder Cup, and the NFL Honors, amongst others.

Costume Designer - Cindy Moon

(she/her, Costume Designer) THEO: The Threepenny Opera (Jeff nom.). CHICAGO: Wise Guys (The Factory Theater); The Diary of Anne Frank (Young People’s Theatre); On the 20th Century, Promises, Promises, & She Loves Me (Jeff nom., Blank Theatre Company). REGIONAL: Hello, Dolly! (Ohio Light Opera); Million Dollar Quartet (Tuacahn) & Costume Lead at Steppenwolf Theatre for Purpose and Little Bear Ridge Road. Cindy is a Chicago-based freelance costume designer, originally from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Education: MFA in Costume Design and Technology, Virginia Tech. cindymooncostu.me

Isa Noe - Properties Designer

(they/them; Props Designer) THEO: Baked!, Assassins. CHICAGO: The Singularity Play (Jackalope), Rooted (Oil Lamp), Skunk and Badger (Lifeline), The Consul (Third Eye Theatre), Shaw v Tunney and Chagall in School (Grippo Stage Company). Graduate of Northwestern University in Theatre with a specialization in scenic design. Isa would like to thank their family, mentors, and partner for their loving encouragement and unwavering support.

Rick Sims - Sound Designer

(he/him; Sound Designer) THEO: Songs for a New World & Once Upon a Mattress. CHICAGO: Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Northlight, Congo Square, Writers, Chicago Children’s, Court, & American Blues. BROADWAY: Composer, The Thanksgiving Play (Second Stage). REGIONAL: Arena Stage, Roundhouse, Alliance, South Coast Rep, The Getty, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Arden Theatre Co., 2nd Stage, Playwrights Horizons, Actors Theatre of Louisville and Portland Playhouse. Artistic Associate, Lookingglass & Artistic Affiliate, American Blues. Sound Design Jeff Awards for Moby Dick, Frankenstein & Hephaestus (Lookingglass); and a BTAA for Brothers In the Dust (Congo Square). Sims also wrote book, music, and lyrics for Hillbilly Antigone (Lookingglass).

Intimacy and Violence Director - Charlie Baker

(he/they; Intimacy & Violence Director) THEO: The Threepenny Opera. CHICAGO: Othello (Court); Man of the People (Stage Left); Twelfth Night (Midsummer Flight); Fences (American Blues); Big Fish, A Christmas Story, & Kiss Me Kate (Marriott); Romeo & Juliet (UIC); Into The Woods (Northwestern). REGIONAL: Unseen, Once on This Island, & How I Learned What I Learned (Oregon Shakespeare). Xploringgender.com

Assistant Director - Yasmeen Abiad

(she/her; Asst. Director) THEO: Debut. She is a director, teaching artist, and producer from New York City. She is a rising senior at The Theatre School at DePaul University where she double majors in Theatre Arts and Creative Writing. Yasmeen currently works with Creative Root and her past credits include Monster by Neal Bell and Machinal by Sophie Treadwell, both of which she assistant directed at DePaul.

Aaron Kahn - Assistant Music Director

(he/him, Asst. Music Director) THEO: Debut. CHICAGO: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Mercury Theater Chicago) & The Producers (Music Theater Works), both assisting Eugene Dizon, who he is excited to be working with again! REGIONAL: The Lightning Thief (Stagedoor Manor), Rent: School Edition (Glenbrook South High School), Spring Awakening and Be More Chill (4 Chairs Theater), & Edges (Phoenix Theater). Aaron is also a private voice teacher at the Christopher Laughlin School of Music in Northbrook.

Director of Production - Matthew Chase

(he/him; Director of Production) THEO: Sondheim Tribute Revue, Assassins, Baked! (Sound Design). CHICAGO/Sound Design: Anything Goes, Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, Cabaret, The Apple Tree, Rent, Clear, Spring Awakening, Passing Strange & Nunsense (Porchlight); Shrek, The Producers & Pippin (Music Theatre Works); Who’s Holiday (Theater Wit); Elephant And Piggie (Marriott). CHICAGO/Production Manager: Spring Awakening and Broadway in your Backyard (Porchlight Music Theatre) & Mary’s Seacole and Heisenberg (Griffin). Director of Production at Theo (Assassins, Baked, The Threepenny Opera & Passing Strange) and Production Manager at Theater Wit (Inanimate, Who’s Holiday!, Household Spirits, the Whistleblower, Hurricane Diane & Mr. Burns).

Assistant Production Manager - Nicholas Reinhart

(he/him, Asst. Production Manager) THEO: Godspell, Once Upon a Mattress, 8-TRACK, Songs for a New World. NYC: Jungle Jim (Theatre Row). CHICAGO: American Psycho (2024 Jeff Award – Best Production of a Musical), The SpongeBob Musical, Hundred Days, Head Over Heels (Kokandy); Get Out Alive, Titus Andronicus (Haven); and Underscore, CPA Theatricals, and Circle Theatre. UPCOMING: Alice By Heart & Chicago Musical Theatre Festival (Kokandy); SENTINELS (CPA Theatricals). Previously named one of Windy City Times’ 30 Under 30, honoring the best and brightest individuals in Chicago’s LGBTQIA+ community, and currently serving as the Productions Manager at The Den Theatre.

Stage Manager - Shay Gordon

(they/them; Stage Manager) THEO: Assassins (Stage Manager). CHICAGO: Saint Hildegard: The Rupertsberg Tour (Workshop at Theo ASM), Sex Tips For Straight Women from A Gay Man (Greenhouse Theatre, SM), Right To Be Forgotten (Raven Theatre, ASM), Small Mouth Sounds (Human Needs Theatre Project, SM). They couldn’t be more grateful to work on another Sondheim masterpiece. Many thanks to the fabulous Theo team, friends and family for all the support!

Assistant Stage Manager - Ethan Colish

(he/they; Asst. Stage Manager) THEO: Debut. CHICAGO: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Shrek, Brigadoon & The Producers (Music Theater Works).

Asst. Production Designer - Nicholas Reinhart

Dinner

Add a 3-course prix fixe meal when you purchase your tickets for just $33!

Arrive early and enjoy dinner before the show! Dinner service commences 90 minutes prior to showtime (it is not served during the performance) and must be reserved 1 week in advance. Please ensure you contact the box office at the time of purchase to request the vegetarian option if preferred. (Drinks & gratuity not included.)

Thank you to our restaurant partner

First Course:

Ensalada Verde: green salad with tomato, avocado, queso fresco & guava vinai

Second Course:

Arroz con Pollo: braised chicken, sofrito rice, maduros
or
Arroz con Hongos: braised mushrooms, sofrito rice, maduros

Postre:

Banana Rum Tiramisu

Cast

Colette Todd

(she/her; Desiree Armfeldt) THEO: Passion (Jeff Award), Aspects of Love, Honky Tonk Angels. CHICAGO: Next to Normal (BoHo Theater), Annie Get Your Gun, Man of La Mancha, Oliver! (Light Opera Works), Parade (Writers Theater), Shrek (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Mamma Mia, Seussical (Marriott Theater). REGIONAL: Big Fish, Spamalot, Dames at Sea (Theater at the Center), The Addams Family (Williams Street Repertory). When offstage, she offers private voice instruction at Star Music Studio or can be found hiking off on an adventure.

Honey West

(she/her; Madame Armfeldt) THEO: Debut. CHICAGO: Clue and “Bernadette" in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Mercury)—the role she previously received a Supporting Actress Jeff nomination and Best Actress Broadway World Award—”Jacqueline” & understudy “Albin” in La Cage Aux Folles (Music Theater Works), Holiday Inn (Drury Lane), “Mrs. Cratchitt” & “Electra” in Gypsy (Porchlight), as well as Dirty Dreams of a Clean-Cut Kid, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Diva Diaries, Jerry’s Girls, Tony and Tony’s Wedding, As You Like It and Pussy on the House (Best Actress Award, Broadway World). TV: “Proven Innocent” (FOX). 2012 inductee into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.

Patrick Byrnes

(he/him; Fredrik Egerman) THEO: A Marvin Hamlisch Songbook. CHICAGO: Clue (Mercury Theater Chicago), I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (u/s) (Steppenwolf Theatre), The Sound of Music (Beverly Arts Center), Casa Valentina (Pride Films & Plays), Marie Christine (Boho Theatre), Far From Heaven (Porchlight Music Theatre), Titanic (Griffin Theatre), Assassins (Kokandy Productions), and Sunday in the Park With George (u/s) (Chicago Shakespeare Theater). TV/FILM: “Chicago Med”, “4400”, “Power Book IV: Force”. Represented by Shirley Hamilton Talent. patrickbyrnes.us.

Kevin Webb

(he/him; Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm) THEO: Sweeney Todd. CHICAGO: Sweeney Todd (Jeff Award–Principal, Kokandy); The Killer (Jeff nomination–Supporting), Mother Courage and her Children, The Pragmatists, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Trap Door); The Secret Garden (Court); Sweeney Todd (Porchlight); Mary Rose (Jeff nomination–Supporting), Shockheaded Peter, Coraline (Black Button Eyes); WOZ (Victory Gardens); Marie Christine (BoHo); The View UpStairs (Circle); The Pitchfork Disney (Interrobang); Songs from an Unmade Bed (Jeff nomination–Principal, Pride Films & Plays); Assassins (The Viaduct).

Chamaya Moody

(she/her; Anne Egerman) THEO: The Threepenny Opera (Jeff nom.), Passing Strange, 8-Track: The Sounds of the 70’s (Jeff Award, Best Ensemble). CHICAGO: Sweeney Todd (Kokandy), Safronia (Lyric Opera of Chicago), In My Granny’s Garden (Goodman). Graduate of Northwestern University from the Musical Theatre Certificate Program. Outside of performing, she likes to make social media content about neurodiversity and accessible business practices. Represented by Shirley Hamilton Talent.

Maya Rowe

(she/her; Charlotte) THEO: Debut. CHICAGO: Beautiful (Marriott), Beauty and the Beast (Chicago Shakespeare), MotherFreakingHood (Mercury Theatre), Shrek and You’re a Good Man… (Drury Lane),The Sound of Music (Paramount). REGIONAL: Cabaret (The Studio Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Disaster!, Beehive (Rocky Mountain Rep), The Light in the Piazza (AGPA Festival). TV/FILM: “Tankhouse” (AppleTV). Graduate of CCPA at Roosevelt. Outside of theatre, Maya spends her free time wielding a hot glue gun for all types of arts and crafts and snuggling with her husband, Gabriel. Represented by Gray Talent.

J Alan

(she/her; Henrik) THEO: 8-Track: Sounds of the 70’s, Once Upon a Mattress, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Things We Don’t Say, Sondheim Tribute Revue. She is grateful for her friends and partners at Starbucks for their never ending support and patience!

Madison Kauffman

(she/her, Petra & u/s Charlotte) THEO: Debut. CHICAGO: Comedy of Errors, Sinister, & A Midsummer Night's Dream (Chicago Shakespeare); Fiddler on the Roof (Lyric Opera); Brigadoon (Music Theater Works); The Secret of My Success & The Little Mermaid (Paramount); Heathers (Kokandy), A Christmas Carol (Drury Lane). NYC & REGIONAL: A Taste of Things to Come (Broadway in Chicago); Mamma Mia!, Rumors, & Rabbit Hole (Ozark Actors Theatre), Numbers Nerds (NYMF), Grease (Casa Manana). BFA Musical Theatre (Millikin University); represented by Gray Talent. Madison would like to thank the team for this wonderful opportunity, as well as Ben and her family for their endless love and support.

Tessa Newman

(she/her; Fredrika & u/s Anne) THEO: Debut. CHICAGO/REGIONAL: “Elle Woods” in Legally Blonde (Theatre on the Hill) and “Janet Vandegraf” (The Drowsy Chaperone, Westmont Performing Arts). Opera highlights include Lucia in Lucia di Lamermoor (Mediterranean Opera Festival) and Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte, FAVA Opera).Tessa Newman is a singing actor and AGMA soprano based in Chicago, Illinois. She received her Bachelors of music in voice performance from the University of North Texas and is pursuing her Masters of Music at DePaul University. In addition to her professional singing career, Tessa can be spotted playing princesses, super heroes, and other famous characters across Chicago.

Peter Ruger

(he/him; Ensemble & u/s Henrik) THEO: Once Upon a Mattress, Baked! CHICAGO: Queer Eye the Musical (Second City), Anything Goes (Metropolis), Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog (Black Button Eyes), 1776 (Porchlight Revisits). A graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Peter is thrilled to be performing in his first Sondheim show! “Love to my endlessly supportive family and friends!”

Michael Penick

(he/him; Ensemble & u/s Fredrik) THEO: Assassins, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. CHICAGO/REGIONAL: 4000 Days (PrideArts); Hot Mikado (Skylight Music Theatre); Little Mermaid (Northern Stage); Curly, Oklahoma! (Revival Theatre Company); Charlie Price, Kinky Boots (Circa '21); and Candide, Candide (Third Avenue Playhouse). Michael studied music performance at Luther College (BA) and The University of Iowa (MA). michaelpenick.com

Mizha Lee Overn

(she/her; Ensemble; u/s Petra & Fredrika) THEO: Debut. CHICAGO: Debut. REGIONAL: A Christmas Carol (Milwaukee Rep), Dial ‘M’ for Murder (Milwaukee Rep), Little Women (Milwaukee Rep). From Minnesota, is a 2023 graduate of Bethany Lutheran College earning her degree in Theatre and Media Arts. After finding success at The Open Jar Institute in NYC and the Emerging Professional Residency Program at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, she’s thrilled to jump start her career by moving to Chicago. She’d like to express her gratitude to all her loved ones; she wouldn’t be here without them.

Erica Silver

(she/her; u/s Desiree & Malla) THEO: Debut. CHICAGO: Get Out Alive (Haven) The Christmas Schooner (Beverly Arts Center), The Prom (Dominican University), Ritual (Reggie’s). TV/FILM: Christmas Caroler Challenge Season 1 (Finalist). Graduate of Chapman University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a vocal emphasis.

Brian Healy

(he/him; u/s Carl-Magnus & Ensemble) THEO: Debut. CHICAGO: Red Summer (MPAACT), Sunset Boulevard (Porchlight), Best for Winter (Idle Muse), Die Fledermaus and Candide (Music Theater Works), Women in Jeopardy (First Folio), Hamlet and A Dickens Carol (Oak Park). TV: "Chicago Fire," "World’s Greatest Prison Escapes.” Graduate of the Acting program at DePaul University. He enjoys playing guitar, piano and violin and spending time with his fiancé Catie and cat Puck.

Jenny Rudnick

(she/her; standby Madame Armfeldt) THEO: Grey Gardens. CHICAGO: Addams Family (Metropolis), Pippin (Music Theater Works), Sister Act (Mercury Theater), Bright Star (Boho Theater), 1776 (Porchlight Revisits), Little Women (Brown Paper Box), Full Monty (Theater Nebula), Follies (Devonshire Playhouse), Music Man (Glenview Theater Guild), Billy Elliot (Highland Park Players), Into the Woods (Deerfield Theater). She is a CPA by day and enjoys traveling the world whenever possible. She dedicates her performance to her late mother and grandmother, both of whom wiled away the day playing solitaire in their later years.

Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know when tickets go on sale.

SUBSCRIBE NOW!