LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

This brilliant staging of the 1973 hit by composer Stephen Sondheim, playwright Hugh Wheeler, and original director Harold Prince deftly balances farcical humor and wistful pathos. With its lilting yet conversational melodies, intricate rhythms, and literate, inventive rhymes, the score reveals Sondheim at the top of his game. And director Gary Griffin's stripped-down production does justice to the material's operetta charm while restoring a Chekhovian tone of yearning and wry humor that Sondheim intended but most directors avoid.

Based on Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night, this witty, touching tale of a middle-aged menage a trois among a bawdy actress, a stuffy lawyer, and an arrogant military officer features superb lead performances by Barbara Robertson, Kevin Gudahl, and Michael Cerveris and lustrous, detailed musical direction by Tom Murray.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand, 312-595-5600.

Through February 15: Wednesdays, 2 and 7:30 PM; Thursdays, 7:30 PM; Fridays, 8 PM; Saturdays, 2 and 8 PM; Sundays, 2 PM; Tuesday, February 3 and 10, 7:30 PM.
$48-$62.

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