THEATRE WEST LAUNCHES 25TH WITH ‘NIGHT MUSIC’

“I love doing old ladies,” Betty Garrett said. “After all, I’m getting to be one myself. And I love playing old character parts. I’ve been doing them since I was 21.” This weekend, Garrett steps into the old-lady shoes of Mme. Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-winning “A Little Night Music,” which launches Theatre West’s 25th anniversary season.

“It’s taken from the (Ingmar Bergman) movie ‘Smiles of a Summer Night,’ about the intrigues in this upper strata of society (1910 Sweden) and this eternal night where the sun never sets,” the actress said.

“The music makes it almost an operetta,” Garrett added. “Every song is a waltz--very flowing, with a dancing feel to it. But Sondheim writes some difficult songs. Melodically and lyrically: Whatever you expect him to do, he doesn’t.”

Garrett is also bucking some old ghosts: “I saw it in New York, then here with Jean Simmons--and, of course, the movie (with Elizabeth Taylor, Len Cariou and Hermione Gingold), which wasn’t very good. I don’t know if it’s Gingold or how it’s written; I fell right into a broad mid-Atlantic accent, that upper-class affectation. But it fits the part, feels right. Otherwise, I spend the whole time in a wheelchair.”

Garrett will venture out of the wheelchair on Oct. 17, when--as one of the theater’s founding member--she’ll be honored with a private banquet at the Biltmore. “Last year I was chairman of the event,” she said serenely. “This year I don’t know what’s going on.”

“My object was to have a lot of fun with this--hopefully not at the expense of the text,” said director John C. Fletcher of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” opening Wednesday at the Westwood Playhouse.

“I was inspired by children’s books, especially in terms of color,” he said. “I remembered the color spectrum and thought, ‘Why don’t we get airplane mechanic suits and dye them really bright?’ I also talked about a kid’s-book quality with the composer, Peter Erskine, and (upon hearing the music) my own kids got these crazed, joyful looks on their faces, started moving around. So I knew I was on the right track. But I didn’t deliberately design this as a kid’s show. I just said: ‘Let’s not be pretentious. This is not a message play.’

“Then I had to make the cast believe me. I told them, ‘You don’t need to think about it. Make sense; just have a good time.’ Today, people are suspicious of that. But it’s an amazing kind of freedom--like jumping out of a plane. So it’s no-holds-barred, colorful and silly, but hopefully respectful, too. At this time in my life, I have no interest in investigating the psychosexual netherworld. This is fun; it moves me. And I must confess to being a secret romantic. All I aspire to is sending people away smiling and happy. That could represent a major challenge in Los Angeles.”

LATE CUE: “The Gospel Truth,” a musical starring Johnny Brown (“Good Times”) as a reverend clashing with his newly ordained son, arrives Wednesday at the Beverly Theatre, after successful runs in Washington and Detroit. Composer William (Mickey) Stevenson (“Dancing in the Streets,” “Devil With the Blue Dress”) adapted the piece from his own book and wrote all 16 songs. Co-writer Cliff Roquemore directs.

CRITICAL CROSSFIRE: “Babbitt: A Marriage,” Ron Hutchinson’s adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’ 1922 novel, recently bowed at the Mark Taper Forum under the direction of Steve Robman.

Said The Times’ Dan Sullivan: “I hate to put the knock on a perfectly respectable show like ‘Babbitt,’ especially when it’s ours. But after the exotic stuff we’ve been seeing at the Los Angeles Festival, it does seem a little, well, average. . . . But darn it, this is a good stage version of ‘Babbitt’ and I did like it. For instance, Charles Hallahan is just about perfect as George F.”

From Viola Hegyi Swisher in Drama-Logue: “ ‘Babbitt’ sings, dances and acts out novelist Sinclair Lewis’ findings and speculations regarding a significant slice of society. In the bright light of musical theater and colorfully adapted by Ron Hutchinson, this George F. Babbitt from the great little town of Zenith is cut from a pattern that leaves the stage door wide open to many interpretations. . . . Not a nostalgia trip, this premiere production may be listened to and looked upon as a reminder that Babbitt is still with us, playing a role in the industrial complex he continues to serve.”

Said Daily Variety’s Kathleen O’Steen: “Lewis’ vision of America, a glimmering land o’ plenty where false patriotism and greedy capitalism abound, is never more clearly felt than in the first act of ‘Babbitt.’ It’s a powerful statement due to the images it evokes and, more importantly, the penetrating tension brewing under the facade.

“Unfortunately, the second act never lives up to those dynamics. Instead, as the intricately woven hairline cracks split into tedious emotional chasms, the play becomes about as mundane as its characters.”

Richard Stayton, in the Herald-Examiner, noted that “ ‘Babbitt’ ain’t no toast to the regular guy. What it is isn’t exactly clear; what it hopes to do is obvious: grow giants from the pygmies living on Main Street. Only problem is, Babbitt is no Willy Loman. Never could be. Mixing tragedy and whimsy won’t sell. Nevertheless, for the first act, Taper and company make an intoxicating sales pitch. . . . Gradually this sales package is exposed as false promise. The production is interesting but not compelling, stagecraft lacking conflict, counterpoint without collision.”

Groused the Orange County Register’s Thomas O’Connor: “The famous novel of small-town boosterism (features) a near-omnipresent chorus made up of two barbershop quartets. It is possible you find the a cappella harmonies of early-20th Century America a form of music akin to the divine. It is even possible your appetite for barbershop quartets is insatiable. Under those circumstances, it is possible you will find the Taper’s opening quite enchanting. In all candor, I can’t stand more than about five minutes of the stuff and can’t imagine a whole lot of other reasons for recommending ‘Babbitt.’ ”

Last, from Sandra Kreiswirth in the Daily Breeze: “It’s a play that has everything in place and a place for everything. A rattan cornucopia is stuffed full when the play begins. It’s empty by the second act. Things do change. Money is called plunks. Pals are tagged ‘secondhand lumps of cheese.’ Gosh punctuates sentences like commas. . . . The strength of this production is Charles Hallahan’s George: the rapidity of his speech, his physical stance, his attitude. Couldn’t ask for a better booster. Couldn’t ask for a better cheater. Four square in both departments.”