The Summer Night Smiles Three Times

Fredrika (left, Alexa Hughes) with her grandmother Madame Armfeldt (played by Mary Meyers) rehearsing for Tryon Little Theater’s “A Little Night Music.” (photo by Lorin Browning)

So says the eccentric Madame Armfeldt as part of her instruction to her solemn and serious granddaughter, Fredrika in this Stephen Sondheim musical “A Little Night Music.”

Mme. Armfeldt dislikes Fredrika touring across 1900’s Sweden with her actress mother and ‘rescues’ her to a more stable life in the country. There, Mme. Armfeldt’s teachings include thoughts of:

• romance: “Never marry, or even dally with, a Scandinavian… They are all insane.”

• suffering loss: “To lose a lover or even a husband or two during the course of one’s life an be vexing. But to lose one’s teeth is a catastrophe.”

Meyers moved to Tryon in 2008 after spending the most recent twenty-four years commuting from New Jersey to New York City as a member of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus, an accomplishment for which they will honor her in New York this coming April. In this production, Meyers will sing the well-known “Liaisons.”

Director Richard Sharkey says, “We are so fortunate to have Mary with us in this cast and especially in this area. She retired from her career at the Met because she has Parkinson’s disease but her love of performing is so evident in everything she does on stage. Mme. Armfeldt is such a strong character, and in fact much older and more frail than Mary herself is, but Mary knows that there is strength in us all - despite our frailties. She serves as an inspiration to us all!”

The talented sixteen year old Hughes will sing “A Glamorous Life” in this production. She has been a regular in TLT’s Summer Youth productions, beginning her career as the young Alice in Wonderland. Hughes also works for TLT shows in the tech booth and back stage.

The cast is full of commanding singers who are busy rehearsing the Tony Award winning musical score. Perhaps the most notable song in the production is “Send in the Clowns” sung by Debbie Craig-Archer of Spartanburg.

Performances will be at the Tryon Fine Arts Center, February 17-19 and February 24-26. Show times are 8:00 on Friday and Saturday evenings and 3:00 on Sundays.

To purchase tickets or for more information, contact Tryon Little Theater, Mon–Sat, 10am – 1pm. The TLT Box Office is at 516 South Trade, Tryon 828-859-2466.

Mimi Alexander