A Little Night Music, a musical by Stephen Sondheim at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Bernadette Peters has been a personal favorite ever since I saw her as Josie Cohan when I was 17 in 1968. She was the brightest of ingenues then, and today, she proved to be a grand Broadway diva at the height of her powers. There was a sense of greatness in every move she made as Desiree Armfelt. Her singing of "Send in the Clowns" was the finest rendition I've ever heard of it and I doubt there was a dry eye in the packed theater. Looking as ravishingly beautiful as she ever has, Peters dominated the stage and keyed this fabulous, pitch perfect revival. She was matched by an equal legend in Elanie Stritch as Madame Armfelt. The audience was riveted by her every line. Her scenes with the young beauty Katherine McNamara were very poignant. We loved the Egerman of Alexander Hanson and he played beautifully with Peters. Also outstanding as the randy maid Petra was gorgeous Lee Ann Larkin. All of the cast was just about ideal. Though critics carped about Trevor Nunn's direction, we didn't see how it could have been better. This is one of the most memorable performances we've seen in this or any season. The casting of Stritch and Peters was a great summer gift to Broadway. Do not miss this. Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test Grade A+

The Grand Manner, a play by A. R. Gurney at the Lincoln Center Theater (Mitzi E. Newhouse). The Grand Manner is a gentle meditation by A. R. Gurney on what it means to be "grand" in the theater, and how one generation's grandeur can seem old-fashioned to a new generation.
Certainly the generation at this play was mostly old enough to have seen Katharine Cornell, and one man wheezed "Candida!" when Kate Burton, playing Cornell, mentioned Shaw's play. Another very elderly woman, who may well have seen Bernhardt, had a great deal of trouble with her hearing aid.
This play feels not quite finished, as if it's an enjoyable summerstock effort (something one would gratefully see at Williamstown), but not quite ready for prime time. The cast is excellent. Kate Burton is graceous as Cornell, showing quite a bit of the luminosity she was known for, while Boyd Gaines is superb as Guthrie McClintock her famous director-husband. Brenda Wehle is good in supporting part, but I found Bobby Steggert, though very smooth in his part, irritating, which is perhaps how we are supposed to feel about this importunate autograph seeker (ouch!).
Many critics noted that what is missing in the play is Cornell's "grand manner" and it is. But then, who could bring this to the American stage today? I'm old enough to have seen Eva Le Gallienne, who had the "grand manner" in spades. But who today, at least on this side of the ocean (Maggie Smith certainly does), has it? Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test Grade B