1973: A Little Night Music at the Shubert Theatre

"A Little Night Music" opened at Broadway's Shubert Theatre on February 25, 1973 and had a respectable run of over 600 performances. Stephen Sondheim wrote both the music and the lyrics to the musical which was based loosely an Ingmar Bergman film. Harold Prince produced and directed the show.

"A Little Night Music" is a romantic comedy set in turn of the century Sweden. It centers around the romantic entanglements of a whole host of characters: middle-aged Frederick Egerman and his frustratingly virtuous wife Anne, Frederick's melancholy son Henrick, a maid named Petra, Desiree-Armfeldt, a famous actress and erstwhile paramour of Frederick, and her mother, Madame Armfeldt, an upper-class courtesan. A weekend excursion at a country house provides an intriguing setting for the characters to exploit and expose one another's misgivings.

"A Little Night Music" won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Stephen Sondheim won a Tony for his score, and Glynis Johns (right), who stole the show with her rendition of the iconic "Send in the Clowns," won Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Desiree-Armfeldt. Other notables in the cast included Len Cariou as Frederick and Hermione Gingold as Madame Armfeldt.

What a surprise, what a cliché . . .

"A Little Night Music" played at the Shubert Theatre, considered by some to be the finest theatre on Broadway. Barbra Streisand made her Broadway debut at the same theatre years earlier in "I Can Get It For You Wholesale."

Barbra only recorded one number from "A Little Night Music," but it has become one of her most popular ballads. "Send in the Clowns" is featured on three Streisand albums. It remains one of her favorites numbers to perform.

Her first live performance of this most famous of all Sondheim compositions was during her 1986 benefit concert, "One Voice" (right). In 2000, Barbra sang "Send in the Clowns" for American and Australian audiences who saw her "Timeless" concerts. At her Madison Square Garden performance in New York, Sondheim was there, and Barbra had the chance to serenade the composer with her version of his most well known tune.

Few composers of the caliber of a Stephen Sondheim would ever consider rewriting the lyrics to one of their signature songs. But as a testament to Barbra's brilliant artistry, Stephen Sondheim did just that when she wanted to record "Send in the Clowns" on "The Broadway Album" in 1985. Barbra knew that recording the ballad as written would be somewhat out of context. Sondheim was gracious in writing a bridge for Barbra to perform which connects the two otherwise disjointed stanzas. Here's what Sondheim recently said of his revision of "Send in the Clowns" for Barbra:

"When Barbra said, 'How do I get from the first chorus to the second chorus?' I said I will write a little bridge passage for you to do that, so she could make the emotional change. She is an acting singer. She likes to act while she sings. Everybody thinks I did it as a favor to her, but I did it because she was smart enough to realize that there is a missing emotional transition there."