The show - based upon the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night - was originally produced on Broadway in 1973, winning five Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical. The popular Sondheim score features such tunes as "Send in the Clowns," "Every Day a Little Death," "The Miller's Son" and "A Weekend in the Country." Veteran stage and screen actress Polly Bergen ("Desperate Housewives," "The Sopranos," Follies, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks) leads a starry cast in the role of Madame Armfeldt.
Three of the original Broadway cast members of William Finn's Falsettos have reunited for this production: Stephen Bogardus (Love! Valour! Compassion!, Man of La Mancha) plays the central male role of Fredrik Egerman; Barbara Walsh (Company, Hairspray) portrays his former mistress Desirée; and Jonathan C. Kaplan (Tony-nominated for Falsettos at age 11) appears as the butler Frid.
Also featured on the roster of principal players are Julia Osborne (Anne), Kate Baldwin (Charlotte), Josh Young (Henrik), Sarah Uriarte Berry (Petra), Mattie Hawkinson (Fredrika) and Maxwell Caulfield (Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm).
Tickets, priced $10-$65, are available by calling (410) 332-0033 or by visiting centerstage.org.
Centerstage is located at 700 North Calvert Street in Baltimore, MD.
Here is a glance at the production, which runs through April 13:
All photos by Richard Anderson