“Night Music” Closing: Final Thoughts
What’s there to say about the closing of “A Little Night Music” on June 20 that I haven’t already put forward? It was crystal clear that when the producers hadn’t lined up replacements for Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta-Jones a month before those stars were leaving that no continuation was happening. The producers claim that they’ve tried for months to find suitable successors. (My favorite was Lauren Bacall, who reportedly visited the dressing room of the theatre and, in fine Elaine Stritch fashion, said she could do the work but not the stairs; she’s now having a knee replacement.) I realize that a lot of celebs don’t want to do 8 shows (or even 6 shows) a week, and that some stars are too proud to be “replacements.” But there are a lot of old broads out there who’d still love to work, and I don’t think the producers tried hard enough to secure them. Say what you will about the Weisslers, who’ve been filling “Chicago” with stars for 14 years now, but they would have had “Night Music” replacements lined up months ago. I suspect the “Night Music” producers wanted to cut their losses, since there’s no sign that the production re-couped.
